Desert Bloom Designs

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

I want to wish everyone a very happy and safe 4th of July. Take care everybody and I will see you soon. TTFN.

Sunflower Patch Brag Book Freebie

2010-06-12T05:07:00.000-06:00

Well, it is almost 5:00 in the morning and I am finally finishing up all of the tasks that I had before me. I had a major English paper to type up last night and about 4 pages of essay questions to answer for my Paralegal class. I swear, my Paralegal Studies class is going to kill me yet. It sucks being a full-time student sometimes. LOL. But, I am hanging in there.

I am back today with another freebie for you. This is a set of 4 Brag Book pages created using Carolyn's 'Sunflower Patch' kit. There are also 4 coordinating backs to go along with them. Here are a couple of previews for you to look at.

Download here

I hope that you like them. I am working on a few other surprises that I hope to have finished in the very near future to share with all of you. I am not going to make any promises of when that is going to be, though. My schedule lately is so erratic and chaotic, I don't even try to plan anything anymore. If it happens, it happens and if it doesn't, I gave it my best attempt at least.

Okay, I am off to bed. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple of hours sleep before it is off for a fun day in the sun. I am taking the camera along and hope to take lots of pictures to share. Take care everyone and have a great day. Hugs. TTFN.

Freebie is finally ready

2010-05-29T21:15:00.000-06:00

Whew... it took me a while, but I finally have your freebie ready for you. I finally figured out what happened to the originals. My hard drive is too full and it wasn't saving the files to the folder it was supposed to. Then, my computer had a mental meltdown and shut down on me. I think I have the situation resolved now, at least, I hope so anyway.

Your freebie today is the first set of 2 brag book pages with matching backs from Carolyn's 'Color My World' scrap kit.

Click on image to download

Come back tomorrow and I will have another set for you from this same kit. TTFN.

Issues

2010-05-28T19:56:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. Sorry for the mess up today. I don't know exactly what happened last night, I had all of my creations put together and ready to send off for you, when my computer shut down on me and I lost EVERYTHING. I don't know where they went. I have went looking for them and can't find them at all. So, I am in the process of rebuilding them and getting them uploaded to mediafire for everyone to download. I will get them posted here as soon as I have the download links for you, so check back in a few hours. What a day. Sorry for the delay.

Decidedly Absent Again

2010-05-05T07:31:00.001-06:00

Sorry for my absence again. Real life just keeps rearing it's ugly head. So many things going on lately. I would go into the list, but that would probably just bore everyone to tears, so I will resist temptation and not write a book telling the tale.

I have something more important to pass on right now, anyway. See, Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps is having a CT Call. She is looking for a few fans that would be interested in receiving all of her kits for free. The only requirements are:

1) Preview her new kits on your blog
2) Post a minimum of 1 (one) layout per kit on your blog and 2-3 galleries
3) Offer a freebie Quick Page or Brag Book from that layout

Here is her CT Call Ad

Image is linked to her blog so that you can go check it out. If interested, you can shoot her an email, it is listed on her Ad. I can't say enough wonderful things about her and working on her Creative Team. She is one of my best and dearest friends and a wonderful person to work with. We look forward to hearing from you and adding you to our awesome team.

Finally...

2010-04-06T23:35:00.001-06:00

I am getting around to updating my blog... it has been a few days in coming. I swear sometimes, if it isn't one thing it is another. My 10 day break between class sessions went by so fast, it was a blur. And I didn't get much of anything accomplished. Now, I have started my second session at Colorado Technical University and have Business Algebra and English Composition I this time around. I am going to be busier than a one-armed paper hanger trying to stay on top of everything. LOL

I am going to try to stop by on a daily basis from now on and update my blog daily. We will see how that goes. LOL The first thing that I am going to work on is putting a blog background together, something a little more spring-y. Maybe something with some soft shades of blue, since that is my favorite color.

I am thinking about using one of Tracy's new kits she has available. Her newest kit is called "A Stitch in Thyme" and is just perfect for spring related scrapping. Here is a preview so that you can see what I mean.

Then there is her "Lavender Green" kit, also. Here is a preview for that one.

Now comes the tough choice. Tracy also has another kit called "Replenish" that has some beautiful soft shades of blue in it also.

Or, "Gabriella".... This one has some wonderful soft shades of blue mixed with shades of pink...

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

You know what? I can't decide, so I am going to make a blog background or two from each kit, then post them here and let each of you vote and decide which background to use. How does that sound? Boy, I guess that means that I had better get to work and start getting them put together.

BTW, if you are interested in taking a closer look at any of Tracy's kits posted above, you can click on the preview to be taken directly to her store for each kit. Also, as an added bonus... They are on sale for 50% off, so hurry on over and take a peek.

I better take off and get down to business. Take care all and I will be back tomorrow with another posting. TTFN.

I am back and many Thank You's

2010-03-08T04:19:00.000-07:00

I am back from the dead, so to speak... It has been a trial lately, I feel like I have been shuffling around in the mire, aimlessly wandering through life. I am better now, though. I have several wonderful friends that have been helping me see my true self-worth and potential. I have a wonderful counselor that has been helping me see the light and figure out how to get past all of this and move on with my life. I have even enrolled in an online University and am working on finishing my Paralegal Degree. Now, I just need to get back into scrapping and putting together some wonderful freebies for you all.

I want to extend some very warm and long overdue Thank You's to several of you that left me personal messages and emails, wishing me well and cheering me on. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU. You have no idea how much it means to me that you took time out of your busy schedules and lives to leave me a message of encouragement. I will try in my copious amounts of spare time (LOL) to reply to one and all of you individually.

My schedule is open tomorrow, so I plan on doing that and updating my blog wear to something a little more springy. I have a few other plans up my sleeve, but I am not going to reveal those just yet. You will have to come back in a few days and check out the surprise. Take care one and all, and Thank You again, so much. TTFN.

My Absence Lately

2010-02-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a while to finally get around to explaining why I have been absent as of late. I try to keep my personal trials and tribulations seperate from my digital scrapbooking life, but this situation has been unavoidable. I felt it was time to explain what has been going on and the reason why I haven't been around for a while.

After being together for 20 years, my husband has decided that he doesn't want to be married anymore and is filing for divorce. This decision has torn my whole world to shreds and forced me to make a lot of decisions and unexpected adjustments . It hasn't been an easy time for me, trying to figure out what I am going to do, where I am going to go and trying to find a job to support myself. I won't go into the rest of the gory details, just that it hasn't been very pretty and has been very stressful.

I apologize for not getting around to this sooner, my life has been chaos lately. Not a whole lot else I can say at the moment. I have no idea what direction my life is going to take from here. I will try to keep you posted as much as possible.

Second Set of Luggage Tags

2009-12-24T22:01:00.001-07:00

The next set of Luggage Tags were put together using ‘Red Wine and Rag Time’ by Tracy of Ambowife Designs. Here is a preview of the kit.

This is definitely one of my favorites, along with all of her Christmas kits. Her kit can be purchased at her store, at Stone Accents Studio.

She also has another new one coming to her store very soon, called ‘Into the Wide Blue Yonder’. Here is a quick peek.

I absolutely love the shades of Blue in this one. I will be coming up with some wonderful creations with it very soon. Okay, on to the Freebies now. Here is the first Luggage Tag in the set.

Click on Preview to download.

Luggage Tag 2

Click on Preview to download

Luggage Tag 3

Click on Preview to download

That is all I have for you for right now. I will get to work here shortly on putting the Back Covers together for the Gingerbread Christmas Brag Book and have those available for download for you tomorrow.

Everyone have a wonderful Christmas Eve and a very Merry Christmas tomorrow. Wishing you all the best the Season has to offer, from our house to yours. Merry Christmas everyone. Muah!!!!

First set of Luggage Tag freebies

2009-12-24T17:38:00.001-07:00

Here is the first set of Luggage Tags that I have put together. The first one is from Julia’s ‘Cozy Holiday’ kit.

Click on Preview to download

Be back in a flash with more luggage tags from Ambowife Desigsn.

Another set of Brag Book pages

2009-12-24T16:25:00.002-07:00

This set of Brag Book pages are long over due, also. This is a set of 8 4x6” Brag Book pages I put together for Julia of BeaconScrap using her ‘Gingerbread Christmas’ kit. I still have to put the back covers together for the pages, but figured I had better hurry and get these posted before Christmas.

Click on Preview to download

I am off to go collect some more, be back shortly.

Next Set of Christmas freebies

2009-12-24T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here is the next set of freebies I have for you. This is a set of coordinating Brag Book back covers to go with BeaconScraps ‘Fuzzy Sweaters’ Brag Book pages.

Click Preview to download

I am having issues with Mediafire currently, so as soon as it stops being buggy for me, I will have more downloads for you. TTFN.

Christmas Freebies…

2009-12-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

I am finally back bearing more gifts. I am soo far behind the times, it isn’t even funny. It has been so crazy around our house getting ready for the Holidays, I haven’t had time to post anything. Time for me to play catch up. I have lots of goodies to share today and tomorrow. I am going to split each one up into a separate post, so be sure to grab them all.

To start off with, I have a layout I put together for Tracy using her ‘Home For The Holidays’ kit for her ‘Speed Scrap Challenge’ at Stone Accents Studio. You can purchase the kit at either SAS or Digital Paper Hearts.

For it being a speed scrap and not knowing what I was going to do initially, I think it turned out pretty well.

Okay, now onto the freebies. The first set is a little late in arriving. I put these together a while ago for Julia of BeaconScrap and almost forgot about them. This is a set of 8 Brag Book pages, with Front and Back Covers, also.

Click on Preview to Download

Happy downloading and be sure to check back for more freebies throughout the rest of today and tomorrow. TTFN.

My apologies...Freebie has been fixed...and a request

2009-12-17T02:01:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry, I don't know exactly how it happened. How embarrassing. I have fixed the link and it should be working now. Here is the corrected link.

Gingerbread Christmas QP's

Please accept my sincerest apologies, I am so sorry I didn't find out about this and get it fixed earlier. I was gone all day yesterday trying to help a very dear friend of ours. I am going to explain the situation and make a request, so please continue reading once you have picked up your gift from me.

My husband and I have a very close friend that is in dire straights right now. He recently had to take his truck in to see why it wasn't running right. The temperature in our area dropped down below freezing for a few nights and his truck wouldn't start one morning in order for him to go to work. He checked the antifreeze levels to find out that it was almost empty, with no clue as to where the antifreeze went.

When he took it into the shop, he found out that there was a sensor that went bad, allowing all of the oil from the engine to get into the radiator and all of the antifreeze had been burned off. The bad part is, the radiator has to be boiled out to remove all of the oil and all of the belts and hoses need to be replaced, along with the sensor. Repairs on the truck are going to cost in the ballpark of $3000 in order for him to get his truck back. This is a severe hardship for him and we have been helping out in anyway that we can think of.

He also recently went through a divorce a couple of years ago and filed bankruptcy last month because of it. He has about $300 in his checking account and that is it. We have tried the local charities, finance companies, payday loans and the such. It has come to the point that I helped him yesterday go around to local pawn shops and sell off some of his valuable possessions, only to come up with about $400. He has even tried to get a loan against his retirement and his life insurance, to no avail.

The situation has gotten grim, even if he can come up with the rest of the money, he will be broke for the next month and won't be able to afford groceries for himself, or Christmas presents for himself and his two young daughters. He has no food in the house now at it is, and nothing even for a Christmas dinner.

I don't normally do this, I try to keep my personal life and my scrapbooking life seperate as much as possible, and I don't make requests for help like this at all. I try to help out with charity collabs for others as much as possible, but now I am asking for help, not for myself, but for our friend.

It makes me very sad to see anyone in this kind of situation, and I am asking if any of my loyal visitors that visit my blog on a regular basis can help out in any way. Even if it is one dollar, that is more than he has currently. If any of you can help us make this a wonderful Christmas for our friend and his daughters, I would be so grateful.

I know it is a lot to ask this time of year with the holidays just a week away, but again, I am not asking for myself. If you could find it in your heart to make even a small donation, please send it to my paypal account at dawnecarr[at]cableone[dot]net. I will make sure that you receive a special gift for your generosity. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Gingerbread Christmas QP’s freebie

2009-12-16T04:42:00.003-07:00

I finally have made it back. I spent 2 days and got my widgets all put back in now and organized, so I am thankful for that. I would really like to hear what you think of my new blog layout and content, whether you like it or don’t like it, if something is missing, etc. Be gentle with me, though. LOL I am still a newbie to all of this blog design.

Okay, on to the real reason why you are here today. I have 3 QP’s for you from Carolyn’s ‘Gingerbread Christmas’ kit. She really likes how they turned out. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Here is a preview of them.

Download

I have also put together a blog background for Carolyn using this same kit.

I don’t have the header put together yet, but I am working on it. My designing and blog posting has suffered lately with everything going on lately with real life issues and preparations for the holidays coming up. But, I promise, I will be back as soon as I can with more freebies for you as soon as I can.

Unfortunately, that is all I have for you for the moment. Have a great day and take care. And please don’t forget to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you. TTFN.

Freebies are uploaded…finally

2009-12-09T15:36:00.001-07:00

I am finally back with the freebies I promised from yesterday. It took me forever to get them uploaded. I had to try and upload the last bunch 3 times before they finally uploaded successfully. Not sure what is going on, I have never had trouble uploading to mediafire before. Anyway, it is all done and taken care of now and I have links for you, that is the important part.

To start off with, I have the Tagger size and Scrapbook Max Booster Packs for ‘Holiday Wishes’, if anyone is interested.

Next up, I have the first part of the ‘Candy Cane Lane’ kit. This time around is just a small paper pack for you. I need to finish up some more elements, yet. I wasn’t real happy with what I came up with before, so I scrapped it and started over. I think this version looks a lot better. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Downloads

Full Size

Tagger Size

Booster Pack

I think I have everything set up right this time and there shouldn’t be any problems. Please let me know if there is, though, and I will get right on it.

That is all I have for right now. I will try to be back tomorrow with another freebie for you. Take care and have a great day. TTFN.

Update...and a small freebie

2009-12-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Sorry for my absense of late. I have been hard at work again. Unfortunately, I don't have much to show for it.

I am sure everyone has noticed the changes I have made to my blog. I recently changed from a 2-column template to a 3-column one, and lost all of my widgets in the process. But, I am slowly working on it behind the scenes to try and get them all back, I hope. LOL. I am not very good as html code, so I have asked Jeanette of 'Easy Custom Blog Design' to see if she could help me figure out what went wrong. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I have some wonderful kits to show you from my CT designers. First up is Tracy of Ambowife Designs with her totally awesome 'Home for the Holidays' kit. It is absolutely gorgeous. Check it out for yourself.

Be sure to watch here and keep an eye out for some upcoming tags and brag book pages from me using this kit. You can purchase this kit from Tracy's Stores at Stone Accents Studio or Digital Paper Hearts. If you check out her store at Stone Accents Studio, you will also see that she is having a 10 for $10 sale currently also. That is ten of her best selling kits, including 'Home for the Holidays, for $10. Wow, awesome deal.

Next up is Julia of BeaconScrap. She has a new release out in her store called 'Cozy Holiday'. It is absolutely gorgeous, also.

I will have some Keyplate tags and brag book pages put together for this kit in the very near future, also. She has another new kit coming out in the near future, but I can't show that one to you yet. You can check out the current kits she has available for sale by going to her blog, or preview all of her kits here. She is also having a December sale currently, where you can purchase all 14 of her Christmas kits for $9, soon to be 17 kits when she gets them all finished. But, please be patient, she recently had a mishap with her external hard drive and is working as quickly as she can to get them finished and into the store.

That is all of the CT news I have for you currently. I was going to post a brand new freebie for you, but the zip file is not cooperating with me, again, as usual. I am going to have to re-zip it and re-upload to mediafire and hope it works this time. So, I will be back in a little while with a little sample of a new kit called 'Candy Cane Lane'.

Also, I guess there has been some continuing issues with the 'Holiday Wishes' zip files, so I recreated those files and re-uploaded them to mediafire, also. If anyone missed the freebies from before, could not get them to download, or had problems with them unzipping...here they are again.

I will be back a little later this morning with the Tagger Size links and the Scrapbook Max Booster Packs for 'Holiday Wishes', also. Please bear with me and my sincerest apologies for being late with this one.

That is all I have for you now, but check back in with me in a few hours and I will have some more goodies for you to pick up. I hope you all have a great day today. TTFN.

Blog updates

2009-12-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

I hope my blog visitors enjoy the blog updates that I have been adding. The next step will be to see if I can get a new blog background to show up, since the fall one never did decide to work properly. Hopefully the Holiday Ice blog wear that I am putting together will look better. TTFN.

Link is fixed

2009-12-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

I just tested the link for the Holiday Wishes Elements 1 file and downloaded it successfully, so it should be good to go now. Sorry for the inconvenience everyone. Thank you for letting me know the link was broken. Hopefully, the rest of the links are working just fine. Take care and have a great day.

Choo Choo…

2009-12-01T13:15:00.004-07:00

The Starving Artist Holiday Blog Train is on its way down the track.

Sorry I am so far behind…it took me almost 2 hours to upload my portion to mediafire, it is so huge. 288mb in total. I have broken it down into smaller files to make it easier to download. And there are a lot more wonderful kits to pick up along the way.

Here is what you can pick up from me today.

Downloads

Elements 1

Elements 2

Elements 3

Elements 4

Elements 5

Papers 1

Papers 2

Here is the link for the Blog Train Hub

and here is the rest of the blog train stops along the way

http://oceanmystdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://nettesnightowlworks.blogspot.com/

http://twinkydezines.blogspot.com/

http://bitsnpiecesofqbd.blogspot.com/

http://desertbloomdesigns.blogspot.com/ <---You are here

http://barkingpenguinscraps.blogspot.com/

http://gothicinspirations.blogspot.com/

http://mimiscreationz.blogspot.com/

http://sgrowedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://caysdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://www.michelles-angels.blogspot.com/

http://www.fearlessangels.com/blog/

http://debeedezines.blogspot.com/

http://rosemadedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://karen9417.blogspot.com/

http://pattywraps.blogspot.com/

http://www.alikasscraps.blogspot.com/

http://www.pimpyourscrapbook.com/

http://pimpmytagswithscraps.com/blog/

http://pimp-your-tags.blogspot.com/

http://www.darksistersstore.blogspot.com/

http://darkpheonixquietcorner.blogspot.com/

http://saphirasworld.de/scrapdesign

http://ellanoir.blogspot.com/

http://www.charlieonline.it/TheGoodieTrain.htm

http://www.addicted2scrapz.blogspot.com/

http://debscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

http://polkadotscraps.blogspot.com/

http://blueridgemeadows.blogspot.com/

http://blackcherryscraps.blogspot.com/

http://designedbystinaagain.blogspot.com/

http://humbuggraphicsgalore.blogspot.com/

http://digitalblueprint.blogspot.com/

http://tootypupscraps.blogspot.com/

http://www.sacredcreation.blogspot.com/

http://digitalcreationsfrommillstreamcottage.blogspot.com/

http://jbs2designs.blogspot.com/

http://graphicsbypokadot.blogspot.com/

http://digiscrapations.blogspot.com/

http://created-by-jill.blogspot.com/

http://diteshaven.blogspot.com/

http://angelsdigiscrap.blogspot.com/

http://staceysdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://snackpackgu.blogspot.com/

http://ladyannesscraps.blogspot.com/

http://countryhollowcreations.blogspot.com/

http://stickykissesdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://graphicsbyliz.blogspot.com/

http://lifewithshal.blogspot.com/

http://dolphinlover09.blogspot.com/

http://creationzbyjo.blogspot.com/

http://www.dazzlingscraps.blogspot.com/

http://heavensdesignz.blogspot.com/

http://hippiedazescrappinstuff.blogspot.com/

http://bluebird-ddu.blogspot.com/

http://my-blog-creationsbyg.blogspot.com/

http://chilidesignzz.blogspot.com/

http://josdzigns.blogspot.com/

http://lifewithshal.blogspot.com/

http://www.charlieonline.it/TheGoodieTrain.htm

http://i-dont-give-a-scrap.blogspot.com/

http://maureenwatlingdesigns.blogspot.com/

I have the full size kit available for you today. Come back tomorrow and I will have the Tagger Size and Scrapbook Max Booster Packs available, also.

Have fun and enjoy your trip down the blog train. TTFN.

Sneak Peek

2009-11-28T00:58:00.002-07:00

My Starving Artist Blog Train kit is finally finished. *Whew* Finally. This one took me forever. Here is a sneak peeky for you.

Be sure to come back on Dec. 1st to pick this and the World Wide Christmas freebie that I will have available for you to download.

Back to work I go. I have 2 more kits to finish putting together for Christmas and 2 late entries for Thanksgiving kits. TTFN.

Fall Into Autumn QP’s Freebie

2009-11-23T11:46:00.004-07:00

Sorry I am late, everyone. I don’t know where my head was. I guess I was soo busy creating and putting layouts together, I completely forgot about posting these. Urgh. Sorry about that.

I have 3 QP’s for you today, from Carolyn’s part of our ‘Fall Into Autumn’ collab. Nothing too fancy here. I am running so far behind, I don’t have time to put previews together…so here goes.

This is a layout I put together using pictures of Prince in his sweater I am making for him. It is almost finished, now. You can tell what his opinion of the whole situation is, lol.
And this is the QP for you to download.

Click on preview to download

The next layout is of photos from 5 years ago, when Chelcey was 15, and our pups first Fall. Chelcey went out to rake up leaves from our giant maple we have in the back yard, and Lilah thought it would be great fun to jump into the middle of the leaves and scatter them all around again for Chelcey to rake up again. This went on for a couple of hours.

For this layout, I used some photos of the beautiful scenery from our hunting trip last year. The colors were just gorgeous and I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures.

These two pages are meant to compliment each other and go together as a double page layout.
They are both included in the zip file above.

That is all I have for right now, but I will be back with some more layouts that I have put together, and maybe another freebie…

Talk to you later. Have a great day and take care everyone. TTFN.

Starving Artist Holiday Blog Train is coming….

2009-11-15T15:50:00.005-07:00

We'll have something for everyone come Dec. 1st and with

Well over 50 designers, this is one blog train you won't want to miss!

Stop by the Official Blog to follow us so you won't miss out on anything!

http://holiday-train.blogspot.com/

Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I have been working really hard on all of the blog train kits I have signed up to do so far. The Starving Artist Blog Train is just the first one in a long string of Blog Trains coming up that I am participating in.

I am also working on 2 extra Thanksgiving kits that will be available Thanksgiving Day, along with some CU items including some scripts that I hope to have finished soon. I have been a very busy girl. Just wanted to let you know what I have been up to, didn’t want you to think that I was ignoring anyone or dropped off the face of the earth again, lol.

I will talk to you all again very soon. Have a great weekend and take care everyone. TTFN.

Fall Harvest Alpha Freebie

2009-11-02T15:59:00.004-07:00

I am back with another freebie from the ‘Fall Harvest’ mega kit. This time, I have an alpha for you, both upper and lower case.

Downloads

Full Size Alpha

Tagger Size Alpha

Scrapbook Max Booster Alpha Pack

I also have the next Luggage Tag in the series for you.

Click preview to download

If anyone has any more issues with downloads, please let me know right away so that I can try to get it fixed. It seems that mediafire is running a lot smoother now, so hopefully every thing will be fine.

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful comments and words of encouragement. I appreciate it so much. It helps to inspire me. In fact, I may even be back later today with another little present for you. We shall see. LOL. Talk to you later. Have a great afternoon. TTFN.

Link issue explained

2009-11-02T12:42:00.003-07:00

Okay, I feel like I have been beating my head against a brick wall all morning trying to figure out what was going on with one silly little link for the Gingerbread Christmas blog train and why it wasn't downloading correctly. I thought maybe it had something to do with my bandwidth again and that it may have corrupted the file or something, so I reuploaded it and got a new link. Then, I got 2 more emails telling me that the links were invalid. So, I went in and deleted the old file from mediafire, deleted it from my computer, re-created it and uploaded again, getting another new link. I got 2 more emails. Okay, this time I left the old link, created another new zip and tried uploading it, but it kept dying on me. Grrrrr!!!!

So, I used 3 different computers and tested the link, downloading the file to all 3 computers and unzipping it. It worked. Okay, what is going on here? It's working, right? But, I got another email saying it wasn't working. So, I went to check the file again and guess what.....

The issue isn't with me or my computer, it's mediafire. They are updating and completely re-doing their website today. So, all I can suggest is patience and keep trying. It will work eventually. It would have been nice if Mediafire had let us know that they were going to be working on the website and may be causing malfunctions like this.

And, just to make sure, here is another link for the Gingerbread Christmas Blog Train Full size kit.

I hope this explanation helps. Talk to you soon. Hugs.

Link has been updated

2009-11-02T03:10:00.002-07:00

I fixed the link for the Full Size Gingerbread Christmas download. It should be good to go now. Let me know if you have any more issues with it. I apologize for the delay. I stayed up until about 10 this morning and then crashed, so I didn't see the messages right away. Hopefully, this resolves the issue for everyone. Thank you for letting me know that it wasn't working. I will be back with your next freebies in a little while, just putting the finishing touches on the preview right now. TTFN.

Gingerbread Christmas Blog Train…and massive amounts of freebies

2009-11-01T05:52:00.008-07:00

Choo Choo…. Is everyone ready for a blog train? I hope so.
This is going to be a really LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG post, so make sure you follow through all the way to the end. Otherwise, you may miss out on all of the freebies you can collect from me today.

I was finally able to get my portion of this blog train put together and ready to post. I am only 6 hours behind the times for a change. LOL.
Here is the preview for my portion of this wonderfully awesome blog train.

Here are all of the download links for my portion

Full Size

Tagger Size

Scrapbook Max Booster Pack

Here are the links to the rest of the stops along the way

MagsGraphics

Digital Keepsakes

Danos Pookie

Michelle @ My Digital Fun Place

Isabella @ Lots Of Pretty Things

SunshineArtz

Waite For The Moment Designs

88 Designs

Desert Bloom Designs <---You are Here

Judith @ Just Another Scrap

Janalyn's Place

Fairydust Princess Magicmaker

Deli Scraps

PinkUpPixie

Van Jo Designs

Be sure to follow along and collect all of the parts for this wonderful blog train.

Check back in with me in a couple of days, I will have another small freebie from this kit available for you.

Okay, now…Again, I must apologize for not getting the last portion of my ‘Fall Harvest’ mini kit out to you in a timely manner.

Our very good friend, Neal, decided to make one last attempt at bagging a deer for this year…and guess what,…..he got one. He called to let DH and I know that he had one down and was headed back to town to clean it up. So, we hurried and got in the car and went running. That is what I was doing for most of the day yesterday, until about 4 in the afternoon.

By the time we got back home, it was time for me to hurry and put something together for today’s blog train. It is now almost 6 in the morning and I haven’t been to bed yet, working my fingers to the bone trying to get all of this done for you. LOL.

To top it off, Today is also ‘All Saints Day’ and my DH’s 48th birthday. I am just not going to have time to slap a preview together real quick with everything else that is going on today. So, since it is my hubby’s birthday today, you all get the presents today. I am going to leave it as a surprise, but believe me, it is worth it. It is all of the last of my ‘Fall Harvest’ elements and papers.

It is soo big in fact, I had to break it down into several smaller parts. Here are all of the downloads.

I’ll be back later with the Scrapbook Max Booster Packs. It is taking almost an hour to upload just the Full Size and Tagger Size files alone.

Don’t go away just yet, though. I am not done yet, lol. I also have 2 more Luggage Tag Back freebies for you, also. Since I am running so far behind, I decided to give you both of the tags.

Click on Preview to download

I think that is all I have for you today. As if I could possibly hand out any more freebies today. LOL. Check back in with me tomorrow and I will have the first alpha for ‘Fall Harvest’ available, along with the next Luggage Tag Back for you.

Take care everyone and have a most excellent November 1st. Hugs to all. TTFN.

Fall Harvest Part 6 Freebie is Finally Ready

2009-10-30T05:01:00.006-06:00

Thank you so much everyone for being so patient with me in getting this posted, 2 days late now. Oh my goodness. I swear, everybody and their Uncle wanted to come over and visit yesterday. We had company in and out of the house all afternoon.

It took me forever to get my previews done. And then, when I was finally ready to upload everything, all the members of my household were on the net playing games. My upload speed was atrocious. I had to wait until later this morning, after everyone went to bed to finally be able to get everything uploaded and ready to post. Even then, it took over an hour to do it. Hmmm, wonder what is up with that?

Saturday will be my last mini kit with #7. I will have 2 Alphas to post yet, sometime next week. It is still going to work out that I will be posting a freebie a day until about Tuesday of next week, with the rest of the Ruby Remedy Luggage Tags and the ADSD Gingerbread Christmas Blog Train starting on Sunday. This will get drug out for a while yet. LOL.

Well, anyway, here is your freebie for today. On to the downloads.

Elements

Papers

Tagger Size

Scrapbook Max Booster Pack - Elements

Scrapbook Max Booster Pack - Papers

Be sure to come back tomorrow to get the 7th mini kit from me. I believe yesterday was Carolyn’s last portion for her mini kits, but she may still have some surprises in store.

Also today, you get to pick up the next Ruby Remedy Tag Back in the series. Here is a look at what you get today.

Click on the preview to download

Also, if you haven't already done so, you can go to Tracy's blog to download the Ruby Remedy Luggage Tag 2. But hurry, they won't last long.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to the download link

That is all I have for you today. Time for me to get busy on tomorrow’s preview. I ran out of papers, so I will have to put a few together real quick. LOL Talk to you later. Have a great day. TTFN.

Apologies

2009-10-29T10:44:00.002-06:00

Please accept my apologies. Life has interfered yet again and my 'Fall Harvest' freebie is late once again.
I haven't been able to get much computer work done yesterday, I just wasn't feeling well and running a fever. I think I sweated it all out last night, though, and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to work.

To top it off, yesterday morning I found out that my computer decided to do a random restart of the system and shut down, closing all of the programs and all of the files that I had open at the time. *Urgh* I was so upset and discouraged, on top of not feeling well. I lost all of the new items that I had been working on to add to the Fall Harvest files. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now but recreate them and get them added to the next zip file.

That is what I am going to be spending my morning doing this morning. I will be back a little later with the next preview and download when I get them put together. For now, though, I have the next Luggage Tag back for you from Tracy's 'Ruby Remedy' kit.

Click on image to download

As I am sure you can tell, most of the Luggage Tag backs have journaling elements on them to provide an area for journaling whatever photo you choose to add to the Luggage Tag front before printing out and using to your hearts desire.

Also, I have had some questions about the .smb files for the 'Fall Harvest' freebies, what they are and how to use them. The downloads with the .smb file extension are the Scrapbook Max Booster Packs and can only be used with the Scrapbook Max Software Program. I just wanted to let some of you know that. I know that there has been some confusion about that and I apologize for not making it clearer.

If you do not already have this program downloaded and installed on your computer, you can go to Carolyn's blog and download a free 30 day trial to try it out and see how you like creating scrapbook pages with it. Just click on the purple Scrapbook Max banner on the top of her blog and it will take you directly to the Scrapbook Max website where you can download the free trial. I absolutely love using it to scrap pages with. As soon as I can afford to buy the liscence for it, I am going to.

Okay, that is all I have for you now. I am off to get back to work putting together the rest of the next portion of 'Fall Harvest' part 6. I will be back as soon as I get it finished. TTFN.

Fall Harvest Part 5 Freebie

2009-10-26T03:57:00.003-06:00

I am back...with the next portion of 'Fall Harvest' for you to download. Putting this kit together has been a lot of fun and a learning experience for me. I hate to see the end of it, but I am down to the last little bit of what I put together for you. I think I will make one last portion for Wednesdays download. I have another kit that I need to get started on for the ADSD Christmas blog train and a bunch of CT work to do.

Don't forget to stop by Carolyn's blog tomorrow to pick up her next portion.

Click on the preview to be taken to her blog.

Anyway, here is a preview of today's portion.

Full Size Elements

Full Size Papers

Tagger Size

Elements SBM Booster pack

Papers SBM Booster pack

By the time we get done posting all of our portions, you should have a total of a dozen mini kits for one massive mega kit. Almost like our own mini blog train. LOL. I hope you have enjoyed our creations.

Don't take off just yet, though. I have one more freebie for you today. I also have the second Luggage Tag Back for Tracy's Ruby Remedy Luggage Tags to hand out today.

Click on the preview to download

If you haven’t already downloaded the Luggage Tag 1 from Tracy, then head over to her blog to pick it up. But, you need to hurry. They are only available for a limited time before Tracy puts them in her store. Grab them while you can.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to the download link for this tag. Then, come back tomorrow to pick up the Back for Tag #2 in the set.
Okay, I think I am done for now. I will catch up with you again later. TTFN.

Tracy’s Ruby Remedy Luggage Tag Freebie

2009-10-25T04:32:00.003-06:00

I did a not so smart think recently. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, lol. I created some Luggage Tags for Tracy to give out as freebies last week.

Well, silly me forgot to include the backs for the tags for those of you who would like to print them out and use them. So, here they are.

I am going to start with the first tag, then have another Tag Back for you tomorrow, along with the next portion of my ‘Fall Harvest’ freebie. This is the preview of what you can pick up today.

Download

If you haven’t already downloaded the Luggage Tag 1 from Tracy, then head over to her blog to pick it up. But, you better hurry. They won’t be available for very long before Tracy puts them in her store. Grab them while you can.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to the download link for this tag. Then, come back tomorrow to pick up the second Tag Back in the set.

That is all I have for you for now. Talk to you later. Take care and have a great day. TTFN.

Fall Harvest Part 4 freebie

2009-10-24T23:49:00.006-06:00

Now that I have figured out what the issue was with the previous downloads, I can finally post the next portion of this kit. A little late, of course. What can I say. *shrug* I try.

Here is the preview for today’s portion of ‘Fall Harvest’.

Downloads

Papers SBM
(all links have been checked and verified)

Whew!!!! Do you think there are enough download links there? LOL. Okay, I think I have this one all set up and should be working properly. As always, if you have any difficulties downloading any of my freebies, please send me an email to let me know what the issue is and I will get right on trying to fix it. Thank you for all of your patience and hanging in there with me through all of these trials and tribulations. I really appreciate it.

Check back tomorrow for another surprise freebie from me. Also, just a reminder for you to stop by Carolyn's blog tomorrow to pick up the next part of her 'Fall Into Autumn' kit. Here is her preview.

Click on the image to go directly to her blog for the download.

I think that is enough out of me for one day. Take care everyone and have a great day. TTFN.

I fixed the issue

2009-10-24T22:51:00.002-06:00

I think I have figured out what the issue with the downloads has been and have them all fixed. Short version of the story is, I took my computer downstairs and was using a wireless network card. When I brought the computer back upstairs, I forgot to disconnect the wireless card and reconnect the firewire cable for the internet. *Duh*

So, the issue should be resolved now. I even went so far as to delete the files from mediafire, delete the zip from my computer, rebuild the zip, and reupload to mediafire. I have tested each link that was having issues twice and downloaded to my computer to make sure that they were working. It may be running a little slow, but the do download and the downloads work. *whew* Got that problem solved. Now I am off to get today’s freebie uploaded and posted since I finally got the other download links working. Be back shortly.

Booster Pack Freebies are available

2009-10-23T15:04:00.002-06:00

I am back, bringing more freebies with me. LOL.

I finished converting the first and second portion of my 'Fall Harvest' Mini kit into Scrapbook Max booster packs and they are uploaded and ready to go. All you will need to do is click on the link to download. The link will take you to Mediafire to download the file. When you click on download, it will pop up with a message box, asking if you want to open the file with the Scrapbook Max Installer. Click on okay, and the Scrapbook Max software will do the rest for you. Easy as pie.

I really love this software program for designing layouts and pages with. A great big thank you goes out to Carolyn for making me aware of it.

Just to recap, here is the preview for Day 1.

Day 1 Elements SBM

Day 1 Papers SBM

and the preview for Day 2

Day 2 Elements SBM

Day 2 Papers SBM

Okay, that is all I have for you for now. I will be back soon, though, bearing more gifts. So keep an eye out. LOL. Talk to you again soon. TTFN.

Day 3 Freebie is finally Ready

2009-10-23T10:43:00.009-06:00

Whew!! What a day yesterday was. I finally got everything ready for what was supposed to be yesterday’s freebie. I was up until 2:30 this morning working on it, until my computer malfed on me. All is well, though. My sincerest apologies, I seem to be having a lot of issues with my blog the last few days. I am going to continue working on it and try to come up with a solution to the problem. Worst case scenario, I may have to create a new blog and move everything. We shall see, only time will tell.

Anyway, on to the freebies. Here is a peek at what you can pick up from me today.

Downloads

Element

Papers

Taggers

*(Links have been fixed)*

And….As an added bonus for those of you that use Scrapbook Max, I have created a Booster Pack for today’s Mini Kit, also. I will go through and create Booster Packs for the first 2 Mini Kits and get those posted for you as soon as I can.

Day3 Mini Kit Elements SBM
Day3 Mini Kit Papers SBM

*I changed the file and broke it into smaller files to make it easier to download.*

~~Sorry about the file size on this one, it is a little large at 59mb~~. Hopefully, no one will have any problems downloading it. If you do, just send me a message and I will see what I can do. I hope you like what we have come up with for you. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Thank you.

Since I am running so far behind and posting my portion of the collab a day late, you get to pick up 2 freebies today for the price of one. If you hurry on over to Carolyn’s blog, you can pick up her portion for today as well.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to her blog.

She is such a sweetheart. She spent a lot of time yesterday trying to help me figure out what the issue is with my blog background. We are at a stand still for now, though. I guess I am just not going to worry about it. It has been taking up too much time and too much frustration trying to figure it out. As long as everyone can see the previews and images in the blog posts, I am happy with that. For now, anyway.

I will be back in a little while with the other Booster Packs for you and another surprise or two. See you later and have a great day. TTFN.

Freebie download links and previews

2009-10-21T22:14:00.001-06:00

This is just a quick note to let you all know that tomorrows freebie links and previews are going to be a little late. I will get them posted, probably a little later early tomorrow afternoon. My apologies. I have been trying to deal with this photobucket issue and get my blog background back up again. It just isn't working for me for some reason and I am ready to give up for tonight. I am not fluent in html code and copying the code from Flickr into Blogger is not working the same way for me as it did with Photobucket. I don't know what it is I am doing wrong. I am so frustrated with all of this nonsense, I could spit nails right about now.

Time for me to rant. I think that photobuckets 'exceeding bandwidth' is a gimmic for them to get our money. Granted, it is only $25 a year, a drop in the bucket compared to some of the services we put money out on. I am not sure about anyone else out there, but I am not made of money and just don't have the $25 to spend right now. So, I am scrambling to come up with other solutions. Otherwise, there really isn't much point in me posting freebies on my blog until after Nov. 1 when my bandwidth usage goes back up. You wouldn't be able to see what you are getting in your downloads and be able to decide if you really wanted it or not. Frustrating.

Okay, that is my rant for now. I am off to bed to try and get some sleep and wake up fresh in the morning and get the previews for my next portion finished and uploaded for you all. Though, I will probably dream about previews and images all night long, lol. Take care everyone. TTFN.

Day 5 of Freebies- Carolyn's 3rd Installment

2009-10-21T12:53:00.002-06:00

Today is Carolyn's Day for posting freebies. You need to visit her blog to download the next piece of our mega fall collab. Here is what the 3rd installment of her portion looks like.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to her blog post to download todays freebie.

On another note, I was finally able (after several hours) to get all of my images transferred over from Photobucket to Flickr. I am still in the process of getting most of the kit previews changed out. I will leave my layout images and pictures alone, though. There are just too many to find them all and change everything out.

I may be running a little late with tomorrow's freebie. Today is my daughter, Chelcey's, 21st Birthday. Today is a big day for her, so I may not get much computer work done at all. I promise I will get it posted as soon as I can. Dad already has her birthday present bought and hidden, but I need to run and go pick up her cake and ice cream for the party later this evening. I will take some pics and post them here tomorrow of her big day. Talk to you guys later. Take care and hugs to all. TTFN.

Photobucket Issues

2009-10-20T16:03:00.000-06:00

Apparently, with all of the freebies that Carolyn and I have been handing out, I have exceeded my photobucket bandwidth for this month. Please bear with me as I switch all of my previews over to Flickr. I understand that they have a larger storage system and can't run out of bandwidth with them. So, some of my previews may disappear temporarily, but they will be back up as soon as possible.

I have also decided, while I am at it, that it is time for a blog wear change. I am in the process of putting together a new fall look with the collab kit that Carolyn and I have been working on. I was hoping to have that done today, until the issues with photobucket cropped up. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get all of this settled and put back into order. Thank you for bearing with me during this time. TTFN.

Day Four of Freebies-Fall Harvest Day 2

2009-10-20T02:55:00.002-06:00

Finally, I finished up in a timely manner for a change. Here is your day 2 freebie from me. Some of the elements are similar to my previous freebie, just in a different color. And some of the elements are brand new, as of today, lol. I hope you like this kit and enjoy using it.

Fall Harvest Day 2 Kit Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Fall Harvest Day 2 Paper Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Elements

Papers

And for those who would like to download the Tagger Size Version

Tagger Size

Be sure to visit Carolyn tomorrow for the next portion of this kit. Well, that is all I have so far for you today. Time for me to hit the hay and catch up with you a little later. Hugs to all. TTFN.

Freebie Links Are Fixed

2009-10-18T14:41:00.002-06:00

Oh my word.... Do I feel knee high to a grasshopper now. I am sooo, sooo, sorry everyone. I was up late getting everything put together, uploaded and posted and must have been more tired than I thought I was. I went to bed around 5 this morning and thought everything was set up and ready to rock and roll. My sincerest apologies. I am so embarrassed and feel like an idiot now.

Here are the links again, for those who would still like to download.

Elements

Papers

And for those who would like to download the tagger size

Tagger

I promise to be more careful in the future. Thank you for letting me know that the links were not working everyone. I will be sending links out to everyone that sent me emails and messages. I am going to go hide in my corner now. I already broke out the wet noodles, lol.

Day 2 of Freebies- Fall Harvest Part 1

2009-10-18T03:57:00.001-06:00

I am back with another freebie for you. Today is Part 1 of my portion of the Mega Collab Carolyn and I have put together for you. Here is a preview of what today's mini kit looks like.

Fall Harvest Day 1 Kit Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Fall Harvest Day 1 Paper Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Download Elements
Download Papers

Carolyn and I have also decided to offer all of our kits in Tagger size from now on, PTU and Freebies alike.

Download Tagger Size

Be sure to visit Carolyn's blog tomorrow for Day 3 of Freebies and get her second portion of 'Fall Into Autumn'. Here is a sneak peek at what she will have available.

DCS_Fall Into Autumn_PREVIEW2, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

That is all I have for you today. Come back and see me on Tuesday for my next portion of this wonderful freebie collab. Until then, take care and have a great day. TTFN.

I am back...bringing freebies

2009-10-17T18:28:00.000-06:00

Whew, I made it back. A little late, as usual, but better late than never.

I have been super-duper busy this last week. It is officially fall now. The weather has finally caught up with us, it has been windy, rainy and cold. Which you know what that means. Yep, harvest time. So, I have been busy the last week canning and freezing this years produce to help carry us through this winter. I processed 1 bushel box of peaches into 18 jars of peach jelly, 41 lbs of concord grapes into 26 jars of grape jelly, and 2 bushel boxes of apples into apple butter, dutch apple pies and apple sauce. I haven't counted those yet. I also processed a 12 lb pumpkin into enough raw pumpkin for 8 pies for this holiday season. *Whew* Man, am I tired, and sore.

Anyway, that is why I haven't been around a lot lately. So I am a little behind and have a lot of catching up to do. My sincerest apologies. Before I get too far, I have some things I would like to show you first.

Tracy of Ambowife Designs has 2 new kits available for Sale. The first one is called "Gone A Courtin". I haven't had a chance to put anything together for this one yet, but I will very soon. Here are the previews for it.

Ambowife-Gone A Courtin' Kit Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Ambowife-Gone A Courtin' Paper Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

You can purchase it at either one of her stores at Stone Accents Studio or Digital Paper Hearts for $4.50. You can also check out her blog at http://ambowife.com/blog/.

If you do check out her blog, you will see that she is showcasing a week of freebies made by little ole me, using her 'Ruby Remedy' kit. I have to admit, I was quite surprised. I am blushing now. Thank you Tracy. Here is a little peek at what she has available on her blog.

A Week of Freebies Ad, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

And here is a layout I put together using the cluster element and quick page I put together for her.

RubyRemedyQP2layout, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

The pictures are of my son, Brandon, and his girlfriend, Terrea, getting ready for his birthday party back in April. Don't they make such a cute couple?

Tracy's Newest kit is called 'Tracy's Tricky Treats' and is available just in time for Halloween. Here are a couple of the previews for you to check out.

Ambowife-Tracy's Tricky Treats Kit Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Ambowife- Tracy's Tricky Treats Paper Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

I can't wait to play with this kit and create some layouts of my children's Halloween pictures from when they were little. I am sure that they will just love me for it too, lol.

Also, Julia of BeaconScrap has several new kits available at her store, ScrapDebris for $1 each. What a deal. Her newest kits are 'Vintage Florals', 'Fuzzy Sweaters' and 'Sam'. Here are some of the previews for you to check out.

BeaconScrap_VintageFlorals_AniPreview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

BeaconScrap_FuzzySweaters_AniPreview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

BeaconScrap_ElementPreview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

BeaconScrap_PaperPreview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

I have 2 freebies for you today from 2 of these kits, but more about that in a minute. BTW, be sure to check out her blog, also. She has a surprise gift available, coming soon.

First, though, I need to let you know that Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps and I have teamed up together and put together a super mega Fall collab kit for you. We have decided to hand out one freebie each day, alternating days between us, until the end of the month. You need to check out her blog today for the first mini part of this massive kit. Here is a preview of what Carolyn has available for you today.

DCS_Fall Into Autumn_PREVIEW1, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Click on the preview to be taken directly to her page to download.

Then, come back here tomorrow and download my portion for the next installment of our collab kit. Here is a preview of what you can pick up.

Fall Harvest Day 1 Kit Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Each part will coordinate perfectly to mix and match and scrap all of your fall pictures. As Carolyn says, that is two kits for one low price, FREE. LOL.

Okay, I have kept you in suspense long enough. On to what you came here for, the Freebies.

I have 2 freebies for you today. Both are Quick Pages that I put together, using Julia's kits. The first one is a set of Quick Pages using her 'Sam' kit. Here is the preview for it.

DBD-Sam QPs Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Download from Mediafire here.

Next is a set of 2 Quick Pages from Julia's 'Vintage Florals' kit. Here is the preview for those.

DBD-Vintage Florals QPs Preview, originally uploaded by Desert Bloom Designs.

Download from Mediafire here.

Well, that is all I have for you for right now. But come back tomorrow and I will have another freebie for you, from my 'Fall Harvest' kit collaboration with Carolyn. Hope to see you then. Take care and have a great day. TTFN.

Second Round of Voting At Stone Accents

2009-09-16T13:09:00.000-06:00

The polls are open and voting has begun on the Second Round of the Next SAS-y Lady Contest. There are a lot of really great kits for you to pick up while there, also. I have voted for my 3 favorite picks. Now it's your turn.

If you have not registered already, you can go here to do so.

You can visit the gallery to download all of the wonderful kits here.

And here is the link to cast your vote.

Remember, don't forget to vote for your favorite designs, and leave lots of love for the designers. They deserve every ounce of encouragement that you can give them. They have put a lot of work and effort into this weeks submissions.

My Sincerest Apologies and Update Link

2009-09-16T12:42:00.001-06:00

Please accept my sincerest apologies. I don't know what happened, but the link for "Land of the Free" Frames and WordArt should be good now. I went through and completely redid the zip file, then uploaded to mediafire, again. I tested it myself to make sure that it was working correctly and not corrupted this time, before posting the new link, so it should be work properly now. Let me know if it isn't and I will do my best to correct it.

If there are ever any other issues or concerns like this, please, do not hesitate to email me and let me know. Customer satisfaction is my #1 priority. Thank you for letting me know, I feel absolutely terrible about this.

Download Frames and WordArt.

Newest Updates from the Front and a Freebie

2009-09-11T22:44:00.001-06:00

I have some good news for you,... some sad news,... some exciting news,...and a freebie, finally.

Let's start with the sad news first and get that out of the way right off the bat. The votes were tallied up for the First Round of the Next SAS-y Lady Contest on Sunday night (Monday morning, depending on your time zone) and I did not move on to the next round. But, hey, all is well that ends well, right. It is okay. Turns out, I have other projects that need attending to. I wish all of the ladies competing in the next round the best of luck and know that they are going to come up with some totally wonderful kits for us to download. Check out the gallery at Stone Accents Studio. There are some wonderful kits already there, ready for downloading. Remember, don't forget to come back later and vote for your favorite designers, and leave lots of love for them. They deserve every ounce of encouragement that you can give them.

On to the good news now. Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps and I have been bouncing kit ideas off of each other for a few days and we have come up with some really good ones. She and I have decided to do a Vintage collab together, so watch out for that one. It is probably going to be humungous and very unique. I am bouncing off the walls with excitement. I also have design ideas in the works for at least 2 Fall kits, so watch for those too.

Now on to even better, more exciting news. Tracy and I are back together again. Yes, I am a member of her Creative Team once again. This is fantabulous. I am overjoyed.

I let myself get involved in too many projects and let some of my commitments start to slide, but I am not doing that again. Thank you so much, Tracy for having me back. I promise, I won't let you down again. I have some pages for her Ruby Remedy coming up very, very soon. Here is a preview. You can check out all her latest kits on her blog or at her store at Stone Accents Studio.

The other exciting news is that I have been accepted by Julia Moniz of Beacon Scrap to be part of her Creative Team, also. I am so looking forward to working with her beautiful kits. You can check out all of her latest kits on her blog or her store at ScrapDebris. She has a new kit coming out very soon that I will be working with, so watch for those, also.

On to the best news of all....the freebies. Yes, that's right. I said freebies, as in two. The first one is part 1 of the Vintage Dreams Add On kit. I am handing out the papers this time around. Next time will be a small grouping of the elements. There are so many, I have to break them down into smaller groups.

Sorry I didn't get these out to you sooner. As I said, Carolyn and I have been coming up with lots of new creative ideas for future kits, so I have been a little preoccupied. My apologies.

Here is a preview of what you will be picking up today.

Download Here.

Also, since I was away for so long and didn't get these posted back in July, I am including my entire Land of the Free kit as a freebie download for you all. I feel it is especially appropriate for today, since it is the 8th Anniversary of September 11th. Here are the previews for it.

Download Links:

Elements

Papers

Frames and WordArt

You can also go to Carolyn's blog to pick up a coordinating alpha. She has a wonderful post on her blog to commemorate the day. Be sure to leave her some love, also. She so richly deserves it.

I hope you like them. Thank you for taking a look.

Time for me to take off and try to get some shut-eye for tonight. I will try to be back tomorrow. Take care all and have a wonderful day. TTFN.

I made it.....(9-6-09)

2009-09-06T15:33:00.000-06:00

I made it, just barely. I entered into Stone Accents Studios 'Next SAS-y Lady' Contest earlier this week and have been working diligently on putting my entry together in order to get it submitted on time. Today was the deadline for having entries in for round 1. You know me and deadlines. I always come dragging in at the very last minute, pulling up the rear. LOL. I wish I could organize my time better, but it just never seems to work in my favor.

I absolutely loved the color palette. It felt very Vintage/Heritage to me, so I went with a Victorian Theme for my entry. Here is a preview of the mini kit I put together for the competition, titled 'Vintage Dreams'.

All of the elements are hand created by me, the only CU items used were the ribbon tails on the fan and the string on the tag. No scripts, actions or other CU items were used to create any part of this kit. Just me and my imagination.

It was a great learning experience for me. I figured out how to do a lot of interesting effects while I was playing. I also found a lot of files and features in my program's software that I didn't know was there before. I learned how to make some really kewl new effects and how to texture papers a better way. I think my papers turned out better this time than they ever have before. I had so much fun and am very excited. I have lots of playing to do. I am even thinking about scripting the fan and making it a CU item for download. That is how generous I am feeling.

Of course, you know what that means for you. With the entries submitted and voting taking place, it means tons of freebies for you to download, and there are a lot of wonderful kits to grab.
Be sure to check out all of the kits in the SAS Designer Competition.

While you are there, don't forget to vote. You need to be a member of SAS or register in the forums in order to vote. You can vote for up to 3 favorites, just make sure that you select all 3 before clicking on the submit button, you can only vote once and voting ends at midnight on Sept. 9th.

Go here to register- http://www.stoneaccentsstudioforum.com/forum/
Go here to view and download all of the wonderful kits- http://www.stoneaccentsstudioforum.c...ry.php?cat=964
and go here to vote for your 3 favorites- http://www.stoneaccentsstudioforum.c...ead.php?t=5782

Also, much to my surprise, I was checking the links, verifying I had them correct, when I saw that Tracy of Ambowife Designs created a layout with my kit. Thank you so much Tracy. What a wonderful surprise, and a stunning layout. Muah. You can check it out in the gallery by clicking on the link, Great Grandmother. I hope that I get a few votes in the next couple days, I don't have any right now. *sniff* Seriously, if you think that my entry deserves it, I hope you will vote for me. Thank you.

I also wanted to let you know that I created soooo many papers and extra elements that couldn't be included in the mini kit, I am putting together an add on freebie for you all. Check back in the next couple of days for the rest of the kit. I am hoping that you will like it.

Okay, I am off to bed now. I was up all night last night putting on the finishing touches, zipping files and uploading everything. Time for me to get some rest. Have fun and have a wonderful Labor Day weekend. TTFN.

Update (08-31-09)

2009-08-31T17:54:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. Sorry for my absence of late. Yes, I am still alive, LOL. I have been out of touch with reality lately with everything that has been going on in our household lately. We went from 3 full-time members in the house to 8 now. The house has been a flurry of activity and people, but I love it. We have been spending a lot of family time together this summer, but summer is almost over and time to get back down to business.

Also, Chelcey has been using my computer a lot as of late, for her classes through iSucceed Virtual High School. Her school laptop should be here tomorrow, finally (crossing fingers that it will be here on time). So, I should have my computer back full-time very shortly.

I have lots of kits in the works, lots of ideas for upcoming kits, and lots of QP's and Bragbooks coming up for you. Please be patient with me as I get back into the flow of things and get the creative juices flowing again. I may be a little all over the place with everything going on.

Take care everyone and hugs to all. TTFN.

Spring Basket Freebie

2009-04-15T10:42:00.000-06:00

Finally got everything ready and uploaded for today's freebie. What should have taken about an hour from start to finish, has ended up taking me 4 hours to get all set up and ready to rock and roll. My computer crashed on me twice and I had to restart the computer. This morning has just been fraught with problems.

Anywhoo, the freebie is uploaded to MediaFire, and the previews should be working now, so moving on. This is a set of Brag Book pages I put together for Carolyn's 'Spring Basket' blog train. There are a total of 4 pages, 2 fronts and 2 backs. Click on the preview below to download.

I wanted to get more pages put together yesterday, but unfortunately, Brandon had an allergic reaction to the same kind of medicine his dad is allergic to, also. I spent the better part of the day yesterday keeping an eye on him and making sure he was okay.

Today is a big day for him, too. Today is the big 18. Yeah!!!! He is so excited. Mom is excited for him, too, in some ways. He has grown up and matured a lot in the last year. I am so proud of him. But, in some ways, I still miss my little boy. It doesn't seem that long ago that I brought him home from the hospital, and now, he is almost a grown man. *sniff* Time flies by way too fast sometimes.

Anyway, sorry for that little interlude there. Enjoy your freebie and I will try to be back later with more updates, computer willing. Hugs to all. TTFN.

New CU Products

2009-04-10T06:40:00.000-06:00

I have some new CU Floral Overlay products coming to stores near you, sometime today. I promise, I am working on it as hard as I can, but this blasted computer and I are going to come to blows before too long. And I know who will win.... ME. *cackles*

In all seriousness, I have been having some real serious issues lately with my computer and email. So I don't want anyone to think that I had dropped off the face of the planet, ignoring people or something like that.

Anywhooo, here are the previews for you to look at and see if you like. The individual Overlay Paks are going to be $2.00 (unless on sale at some stores) and $5.00 for the collection of all 4 Overlay Paks ( unless on sale at some stores) LOL

What a deal. Please, let me know what you think, but take it easy on me, okay. This is my first time creating overlays and my very first CU products.

Pssst. BTW, My new kit previews are courtesy of Steph from Lady Snowflake Designs. Aren't they absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much Steph.

Showing Off

2009-03-30T18:31:00.000-06:00

I have some tags and layouts to show off for you today. I will start off with the ones I created and get the embarrassment out of the way first thing. LOL.

This is a tag that I created using "Adore Me" by Crystal of Scrap Happiness. I really enjoyed putting this one together. Thank you Crystal for letting me use your wonderful kit. You can click on the link above to be taken to Crystals store to purchase it.

Next are 2 tags that I created for Stephanie of Lady Snowflake Designs using her "Heart's Persuasion". These were a lot of fun to put together and mean a lot to me. Click on the kit name above or one of the tags below to be taken to any one of her store in order to purchase this kit. Thanks Steph. Love you. *Hugs*.

The Word Art reads " A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all of my love for you."

The Word Art on this one reads "A true friend reaches for your hand but touches your heart." So true of Steph and I.

Okay, I got those out of the way, so now it is time to show of some creations that were made for me by other designers.

The first one was made for my by Stephanie using her Bittersweet Charity kit. It is absolutely gorgeous and I love it dearly. Thank you Steph. MUAH.

This tag was created for me by Steph so that I could post it in honor of her.
Says everything that needs to be said.

The next 2 tags were created for me by Sue, who is a Store CT member for Michelle's Angels, using my "Blooming Romance" kit. I love it. You can click on the tags below to be taken to her tuts. Thank you so much Sue. These are awesome. Sorry it has taken me so long to getting around to posting these. *hugs*

This one is called "Faeries Dust".
Click on the image to be taken to her blog for the tut.

This tag is called "Late Bloomers".
You can click on the tag to be taken to her blog for the tut.

Okay, last, but not least, I have 2 layouts created by Foxy of Foxy's Designs. She is a Designer and CT for Scrap Happiness Store. She created these layouts using my "Blooming Romance" kit, also. Thank you so much, Foxy. These are terrific. I love them and really appreciate you using my kit. *MUAH*

That is all for now. I hope you enjoy. Take care and have a great day. TTFN.

Bad blogger

2009-03-28T23:22:00.001-06:00

I am finally getting around to posting and updating my blog. I am sorry for being gone so long and apologize for my recent absence. I have had lots of issues to deal with in my personal life. It had me overwhelmed and down and out, mentally and physically. I am doing better now and think I have a handle on things.

I felt it was time to get busy and update everyone on what has been going on. There is so much going on right now, and so many projects that I am involved in, I don't know where to begin.

Roxy's puppies are now officially five weeks old and little bundles of energy. They are hopping, jumping and running around the house now, getting into as much trouble as they possibly can. Damien knows how to get out, and back into his basket now. It will soon be time for time for them to get their first shots and me to find them a good home. The unfortunate part is that Prince, our little black and brown boy, is legally blind. He can't hardly see anything and will make life difficult for him. I feel so bad for him, because he is such a sweetheart. The good part is, he is promised to someone who will give him lots of love and understanding with his disability. I think that they will be a perfect fit for each other.

These are the most recent pictures I have of them. Sorry, I can't seem to keep batteries around this house to save my soul.

This is Damien, our little sweetheart. He is the ornery one, but loveable, too.

This is Max. He is our little devil child and like to rip and tear everything up. He is going to need lots of discipline.

This is Prince. He is such a sweetheart and a little lover. Because of his eyesight, he likes to be held and comforted constantly, and doesn't do much of anything else. He is a big snuggler.

It is going to be very hard for me to let them go. I love them all so much and wish I could keep them. It is going to tear my heart out to see them leave.

Okay, that is an update on all of that. Now down to business. I have lots of other news to share with you.

That is all I am going to post for right now. It is after 2 in the morning and time for me to take a break. I will be back later with some tags and layouts that I created, among other things. TTFN.

Carolyn's Faith Anew Album Freebie

2009-03-13T01:39:00.001-06:00

Here is the next installment of Scallop Album Pages from Carolyn's new scrap kit "Faith Anew". I limited myself to 6 pages this time, 3 front pages and 3 back pages. You can get the rest of her kit by going to her store at Michelle's Angels. Remember, almost the entire store is on sale for this weekend. So you can pick up this wonderful kit for only $1. And just to let you know, you get a wonderful freebie with any $5 purchase. It is a Mother's Day Collab all of the designers at Michelle's Angel contributed to.

Here is a preview of the pages for todays freebie.

You can download them from Mediafire
link has been removed

Time for me to take off. This is the latest I have been up all week. Time for me to trundle off to bed and get some sleep, now that I have taken care of everything that needed to be done. Hugs to all. TTFN.

ADSD Links Have Been Refreshed

2009-03-12T19:40:00.000-06:00

I want to apologize to everyone who has tried to download the "Hurry Up And Get Here Spring" blog files in the last couple of days. I uploaded a small contribution to 4shared for Jilliann to add to Farrah's charity kit and password protected that file. For some reason, 4shared took that password and applied it to all of my files.

I have went in and edited the blog post for those files and refreshed the links to the files I uploaded to Mediafire. From this moment on, all downloads will be through Mediafire from now on. I am tired of dealing with 4shared and its issues. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

Carolyn's Happy Birthday Scallop Album Pages Freebie

2009-03-05T10:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I am running a little behind today. I went to bed last night around 6pm and got the first good nights sleep in weeks. I actually slept for once when I should have and normally am up working. It was a first. I was so tired last night, I didn't know we had a sudden unexpected Thunderstorm roll through and take our power out some time during the night.

Needless to say, I had left everything up and running on my computer when it happened. I can't access some of the files now, or Chelcey's external, because of it.

Anyway, all is well that ends well. Here is what you will be picking up from me today. There are 12 pages all together, 1 Front and Back Cover, 5 Front pages and 5 Back pages.

I am trying out a new service through Mediafire. Please let me know how it works, if there are any problems or issues. Download link has been removed.

Okay, it has been a long morning already and it is only 11 am. I am off to go play a video game with Brandon for a little while, before I need to get back to work. TTFN.

ADSDesigners-Hurry Up And Get Here Spring Blog Train Freebie is Finally Ready

2009-03-01T12:19:00.002-07:00

I finally got the previews done and the files are uploading as I type this.

This kit is not as large as others I have done, it isn't complete yet, with only 12 papers and 54 elements. But here is what I have so far.

Download Elements One Here.
Download Elements Two Here.
Download Papers Here.

Happy Downloading. Here are the rest of the links.

Follow the Train to More Fabulous Freebies... the ADSD 2009 March Blog Train!

Mags - http://magsgraphics.blogspot.com
DesignsByAmilyn - http://designsbyamilyn.blogspot.com
Gina - http://gina-moondancecreations.blogspot.com/
Jen - www.scrappingwithjen.blogspot.com
Aubrey's Mom - http://scrappinbyaubreysmom.blogspot.com
Donna - www.tootlebugz.com
Foxy - http://foxyladycreation.blogspot.com/
Debbie - http://digital-keepsakes.blogspot.com
Becky - http://beckysscrap.blogspot.com/
Linda - http://lindasdreamdesigns.blogspot.com/
Candy - http://candystreasures.blogspot.com
Joyful Moments Designs- http://digitalshop-margie.blogspot.com/
Shel - http://shelbellescraps.blogspot.com
Joni http://mooscrapworld.blogspot.com
Lei - http://fairydustprincess-magicmaker.blogspot.com/
BlueVelvet DeZigns- http://nutnbutdezigns.blogspot.com
AllieKat Creations -- www.alliekatcreations.blogspot.com
Lynn - http://themathematiciansassistant.com
EmCeeScraps http://emceescraps.blogspot.com
Buzybee Designs - http://buzybeehive.blogspot.com
Deanna at Flower Scraps - http://flowerscrap.blogspot.com
Anne - http://mousee23.sosblog.com/
Bits N Bobs - http://scrappingbits.blogspot.com/
Willow Grace Designs - http://willowgracedesigns.blogspot.com
Cyndi, Wetfish Designs - http://wetfishscraps.blogspot.com
Bonnie/The Maltese Scrapper - http://bonniecarter.blogspot.com/
Mardesia - http://craftersboutique.blogspot.com
Catt - http://cattscrapps.blogspot.com/
Gail - http://gails-space.blogspot.com
Morgaine Creations© - http://morgainecreations-gone-scrappy.blogspot.com/
VanJo Designs- http://harley310.blogspot.com/
beckmoore(Debbie) - http://beckmoorescrapalittle.blogspot.com/
Elemental Pixie - http://www.elementalpixie.blogspot.com
Isabella - http://www.lotsofprettythings.blogspot.com
Wendy & Sarah - www.kikkinkreations.blogspot.com
WillowRaven @ Purple Dragonfly Creations - http://www.purpledragonflycreations.blogspot.com/
Lynn - http://heavenlycrafts.blogspot.com/
Blind Sight Designs - http://blindsightdesigns.blogspot.com/
Bhe Lacson - http://www.bhebhethartzdesignz.blogspot.com/
Cottage Stella - http://stellarificcreations.blogspot.com
Mandy - http://scrapswithspunkitude.harkinsfamilyblog.com/
Jessi-http://stormiescraps.blogspot.com/
SnapScrapCreate - http://snapscrapcreate.blogspot.com
Panda Bear Designs - http://www.pandabeardesigns.blogspot.com/
My Sweet Tater http://tatersplace-mjstitch.blogspot.com/
Lois AKA Ladye - http://scrappinwithladye.blogspot.com/
Mary: http://barkingpenguinscraps.blogspot.com/
Stacy @ Kalo Designs http://kalodesigns.blogspot.com/
Dawne at Desert Bloom Designs - http://desertbloomdesigns.blogspot.com
ScrapperGirl Designs http://scrappergirldesigns.blogspot.com
Erika {aka PinkuPixie} - http://ppbits.blogspot.com/
by God's design - http://digibygodsdesign.biz
Creative Digital Scraps by Chiara - http://creativedigitalscraps.blogspot.com
Digital Scrap Fun - http://www.digitalscrapfun.blogspot.com
Heather - http://giftedgoose.blogspot.com/

ADSDesigners-Hurry Up And Get Here Spring Blog Train Will Be Late

2009-03-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

My portion of the ADSDesigners Blog Train is going to be a little late. I recently have had some major medical issues with Roxy and almost lost her Friday night. The puppies are on 100% milk supplementation now. We can not let Roxy nurse the puppies because it is drawing too many nutrients, vitamins and minerals out of her.

I apologize that my portion of the blog train has taken a back seat due to this unforseen circumstance. I am working on getting the previews put together and zipped up for uploading to 4shared. I will have it posted hopefully a little later this morning or early afternoon.

Also, does anyone have a good recommendation for an alternative file sharing site, due to the issues with 4shared? I have checked into a couple others, but they charge a monthly fee to use them and I haven't gotten to the point that I would be able to afford to do that just yet.

Thanks. TTFN.

My Love Album Pages Freebie

2009-02-24T02:52:00.001-07:00

Today is my day to be in the spotlight for Carolyn's CT. I have a freebie for you today, 18 Scallop Album Brag Book pages in total from her 'My Love' scrap kit. Download includes 1 Front and Back Cover, 4 Front pages, 4 coordinating Back pages and 8 plain Back pages. The coordinating Back pages and the plain Back pages can also be customized any way you like if you would like to embellish them yourself and use for extra pages. You can go to Carolyn's blog at Digi Cyber Scraps to get the rest of the kit to use. They also can be printed out and used with the Basic Gray Scallop Album pages.

I had a lot of fun playing with this kit. Thank you so much, Carolyn.

Here is a preview of what you are downloading.

Download links are expired

It has come to my attention very recently that 4shared has been having some issues lately.
If you have any troubles downloading this file in any way, please email me and let me know.
I have changed my email to dawnecarr@cableone.net, as some of my emails to the other email address were not getting through.

I hate to post and run, but the puppies are whining and need to be fed. After that, it is my bed time, so I will catch you later today. I hope you enjoy the freebie. Have a great day and take care. TTFN.

Award...Times Three

2009-02-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't gotten to this sooner. Probably a good thing, though. LOL.
I have been given another new award, by 3 different designers, Nip of Nips Creations, Lori of Bateau-maison Creations, and Joni Gray of Joni Gray Digiscrap Freebies.

Wow, I am honored and speechless. Thank you ladies.

I apologize. It is going to take me some time to come up with a list and get it posted. I am in the middle of sooo many different things right now. I barely have time to get this posted, before I have to take off again.

The puppies are hungry and demanding to be fed. I also have some surprises for everyone that I am working on, so please bear with me. I know, I work slower than a snail. LOL. But, I will get there eventually. I haven't given up, yet.

I want to thank everyone that has stopped by little spot on the world wide blog, left comments and sent me emails. You guys are what keeps me going and just wanted to let you know how much you are appreciated and loved. Thank you. Hugs to all. TTFN.

New Kit

2009-02-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have a new kit available in both stores, called 'Chocolate Cherries'. Kind of late for Valentine's Day, but can be used for Romantic pictures, Mother's Day, weddings, prom, and other every day uses.

Kit contains 34 Papers and 150+ Elements including:

14 Butterflies
7 Fasteners
7 Ribbon Laces
7 Frame Wraps
7 Satin Ribbon Wrap Frames
7 Bows
7 Eyelet Lace Heart Frames
6 Heart Jewel Dangle Curtains
7 Diamond Heart Pendants
6 Diamond Bling Doodles
12 Layered Flowers
6 Ribbon and Hearts Frame Wraps
2 Flowers with Doodles
5 Satin Flowers
2 Picot Lace Ribbons
3 Decorated Matte Frames
3 Lace Frame Wraps
3 Plain Matte Frames
25 Ribbon Roses
2 Decorative Marble Frames
2 Marble Frames
2 Envelopes with Heart Inserts
4 Diamond Drop Dangle Curtains
5 Long-Stemmed Roses
6 Daisies

Here are the previews.

Kit can be purchased at either, Michelle's Angels or Scrap Happiness. It will be on sale for $2.10 for the next week. That is 60% off the regular price, so hurry before the sale ends.

I have 2 more kits that I am working on currently. One is for Mother's Day and the other is just because. So keep and eye out for them and some upcoming freebies. TTFN.

Puppies

2009-02-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I have some great news. Roxy finally had her puppies. 3 little boys.
It was a long, arduous ordeal for Roxy, but they are all healthy and doing great.

Here is a picture of all 3 of the little guys together.

Here is a close up of Prince. He is the Black and Brown standard Min Pin colors, Like his dad, Rico, and the mellowist of the bunch.

This is a close up of Damien. He was the second puppy born, and has his daddy's personality. He is going to be a handful, but is a cute baby.

Max wouldn't let me take his picture, he wanted to be with mommy and she was getting upset. So I will wait a few days and take some more pictures of them again.

Here is a picture of Roxy and Rico together.

It is time for me to get down to actually getting some work done and not focusing on and playing with babies. Time to get down to business, so I will see you later, hopefully with some more freebies. TTFN.

I've Been Challenged

2009-02-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

I have been challenged by Michelle of Fun with Digi-Scrap to a photo challenge.

Here are the rules to follow:

Go to your photo folder in your computer.
Go to the 6th folder of the photos.
Go to the sixth picture.
Put the picture on your blog and description of it.
Invite six friends to join the challenge.

The sixth folder in my photos is titled 'Camping Trip 2004'

Here is my photo:

It's not really a great shot, but I guess it will do. We go camping every summer, for 7 to 9 days and just live in nature, just getting away from the stresses of life. We camp in tents, cook our food out in the open on a cook stove or over the open fire, go hiking, fishing, tubing, swimming and just have fun.

Next, I would like to challenge:

Tracy of Ambowife Designs
Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps
Chelle of Purple Dragonfly Creations
Michelle of Michelle's Angels
Crystal of Scrappy Inspirations
Denise of Scrappy Redhead

Since I am trying to do a better job of sharing pics with everyone, I though I would share some more pics out of this folder.

Not a very good pic, got a nice view of the back of Brandon's head. LOL. Mike is across the way on the other side of the bay with 'Lilah.

This is one days catch, we had a pretty good fish fry that night.

This is a picture of Mike's and My tent. Chelcey's is off to the right and the boys' tent is down the hill to the left.

Not a very good shot of me that my husband took. He was getting even with me. I was sitting staring up at the stars when he took this pic. Man am I glad I'm not that fat anymore. LOL.

Hope you enjoyed. TTFN.

Freebie Links Refreshed

2009-02-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention by several people that the links for the 'Chocolate Cherries' and 'Winter Convoy' downloads are not working properly. I have went in and deleted all passwords and refreshed the links for these downloads.

I am not sure what the issue is, one of these downloads was not set up with a password, so it shouldn't be asking for one. Go ahead and try to download again and let me know if the links work properly this time. It should.

I also want to thank everyone who sent me emails and messages to let me know what was going on. Thanks guys.

Hugs to all.

New Kit In Stores Now

2009-02-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

I have a new kit available in both stores, just in time for Valentines Day. It is called 'Blooming Romance' and is on sale for $1 at both stores for this weekend only. Then, for the next week, it will be on sale at 60% off. So hurry and go check it out at either Michelle's Angels or Scrap Happiness.

Thank you for looking and I hope you have an Absolutely Wonderful Valentines Day and a Fantastic weekend. TTFN.

Valentines Convoy Freebie

2009-02-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have a freebie for you today, using Carolyn's portion of the Valentines Convoy. This is a set of QP's for you to use for those wonderful Valentines photos. Check back in tomorrow, as I will have some more freebies for you, a set of Scallop Album Brag Book pages.

Thank you, Carolyn for letting use your portion of this wonderful kit. It is jam packed full of all sort of beautiful items, as all of Carolyn's kits are. I have really enjoyed working with this kit and her 'My Love' kit. I have lots of freebies in store for you, so check back often. On to the preview.

Download QP's here.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoy. TTFN.

Transitions

2009-02-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

First, I want to apologize for being gone for so long. I know I promised a post days ago, but have had so many things going on recently. I don't want anyone to think I forgot.

Okay, so the big news is that I now have not 1, but 2 stores to sell my scrap kits at. I was given the opportunity, and with the current economy and family situation at home, I had to jump on it. Otherwise, it was off to work for me and scrap when I could, when I had time. Now, not to worry, I am still going to be offering freebies for everyone, just not as big.

I am proud and honored to say that I am one of the new designers at a Brand New store, Michelle's Angels. Please stop by and visit us and help us celebrate our Grand Opening, from now until February 13th. The store is having a 60% off sale for the first week. We have a lot of talented designers and some absolutely gorgeous scrap kits available for less than $2. Check it out by clicking on the Grand Opening Store Ad.

I also have been accepted at another store, Scrap Happiness. That is what my secret surprise was earlier this week that I was supposed to post later about, but never got to until now. Their are some totally awesome designers there that have made me feel very welcome and at home there. Thanks ladies.

I don't have a Grand Opening Store Ad made up yet, but as soon as I do, I will post it.

As I said, there have been lots of things going on lately. I made my second trip to the ER for this week this morning, this time with Brandon. He has a severe sore throat brought on by a cold, so he hasn't been feeling too well for the last couple of days. The nurse who took care of him this morning said his throat was the worst one she has ever seen, so that should tell you something. They did a quick strep culture and it came back negative, so they did another one to let it grow for 48 hours and see if they may have missed it. I doubt it. He has had strep several times and says it doesn't feel the same as strep.

Okay, I am off to get some more work done. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go. LOL. Later guys. TTFN.

Another Award?

2009-02-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am shocked and amazed, and honored also, that someone chose me for this award. Lori of Bateau-maison Creations sent me this award. Wow, I don't know what else to say, other than thank you Lori.

Now is the hard part. There are so many blogs that I visit that are just absolutely amazing and wonderful, how can I choose only 5. Then others will think that I am playing favorites. There are several I can think of that I would pass this award onto. So, I am going to pass this on to the five people that have helped me out the most in the last few days, who really are the best blogging buddies a girl could have and who's blogs really do rock. Now, I don't want you to think that I am playing favorites and picking on the same people over and over again.

I am sending this to the following blogs and the reasons why:

Tracy of Ambowife Designs-for being there for me through trials and tribulations, for understanding my less than stellar CT duties, and being a wonderful blog friend.

Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps-for pretty much the same reasons. We have had some wonderful conversations over email and have a lot of wonderful things in store for everyone in the near future. Watch out when the 2 of us team up, fireworks go off. LOL.

Michelle of Michelle's Angels-for being a wonderful blog friend and being very understanding. She and I have so much in common, it is almost scary. Scary cool, though. There are other reasons also, but that is a surprise, and I don't want to ruin it here. LOL.

Crystal of Scrappy Inspirations and Co-Owner of Scrap Happiness-she is a wonderfully generous person, of herself, her time and her understanding. This is my way of thanking her for all she does and has done for me.

Denise of Designs by Scrappy Redhead and Co-Owner of Scrap Happiness-she is a wonderfully talented designer and one of the nicest people I have met. Chelcey and I are great admirers of her work and are so happy to be a part of Scrap Happiness' CT team.

Okay, I think I have gushed all over everybody enough for right now.

I was supposed to post a really special post earlier, but Mike let me oversleep and I didn't get any of the work done that I had intended to. I had been up working on the computer for about 26 hours straight and was starting to fall asleep at the computer. He was supposed to come wake me up at 4 pm, but I didn't wake up until 10, instead. So, I am going to go do it now and post a little later this morning. I will catch you all later. TTFN.

Time for some Chocolate ...freebie

2009-02-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am running behind, again. So I won't waste any of your time and will get right down to business today. I have had so many things going on lately. I have a surprise for you, but that will have to wait until later this afternoon, so check back.

I hope you are prepared, because we have a huge blog train coming around the bend. Here is my portion of the ADSDesigners Chocolate Cherry Collab Blog Train, titled 'Chocolate Cherries'.

Download Papers Here.
Download Elements Here.
No password this time.

Here are the rest of the stops along the way.

Mags - http://magsgraphics.blogspot.com
Wendy & Sarah - www.kikkinkreations.blogspot.com
Angie (Elemental Pixie) - http://elementalpixie.blogspot.com
Gina - http://gina-moondancecreations.blogspot.com
Judith - http://justanotherscrap.wordpress.com
Becky http://beckysscrap.blogspot.com/
A Changed Heart Designs - http://mommyaddictedtoscraps.blogspot.com/
Lei - http://fairydustprincess-magicmaker.blogspot.com/
Adele http://blindsightdesigns.blogspot.com/
Bonnie - http://maltesescrapper.com
DesignsByAmilyn - www.designsbyamilyn.blogspot.com
Candie - http://candiescreations.blogspot.com
Cindi http://harley310.blogspot.com/
Linda @ http://lindasdreamdesigns.blogspot.com/
Donna - www.tootlebugz.com
Gail - http://gails-space.blogspot.com
Aubrey's Mom - http://scrappinbyaubreysmom.blogspot.com
Jessie - http://stormiescraps.blogspot.com/
Vero - http://thescrappingtree.blogspot.com
Crystal - http://www.digitalscrapfun.blogspot.com
Diana - http://digitaldezerts.blogspot.com/
Penny - http://alliekatcreations.blogspot.com
Mary - http://barkingpenguinscraps.blogspot.com/
Anne http://mousee23.sosblog.com/index.htm
Arvita's - http://arvita-elams-flights-of-fancy.blogspot.com/
desiab @ Crafter's Boutique -- http://craftersboutique.blogspot.com
Manda- http://www.disasterindesigns.com/
Wendi @ Willow Grace Designs - http://willowgracedesigns.blogspot.com
Buzybee (Penny Lewis) - http://buzybeehive.blogspot.com
Deanna at Flower Scraps - http://flowerscrap.blogspot.com
Debbie - http://beckmoorescrapalittle.blogspot.com/
Jenn Gigowski of BMC - http://busybeingblessed.com
WillowRaven at Purple Dragonfly Creations - http://www.purpledragonflycreations.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://scrappingwithjen.blogspot.com
Catmom - http://the-cats-meow-catmom.blogspot.com/
Bits N Bobs - http://scrappingbits.blogspot.com/
Morgaine Creations© - http://morgainecreations-gone-scrappy.blogspot.com/
CATT - http://cattscrapps.blogspot.com/
Deb - http://thescrappincop.blogspot.com
Dawne of Desert Bloom Designs - http://desertbloomdesigns.blogspot.com
s - http://emceescraps.blogspot.com
Vintage Paris Princess Designs - http://vintageparisprincess.blogspot.com
Erikia {aka PinkuPixie} - http://ppbits.blogspot.com/
Creative Digital Scraps by Chiara - http://creativedigitalscraps.blogspot.com
Joni - http://bouquetofpixels.blogspot.com
Lynn - http://themathematiciansassistant.com

Remember, not all of us are in the same time zone, so check back later if someone's portion is not available yet.

Okay, that is all for now. I have got to get back and do some serious work. And just a reminder, I have a very special surprise in store for later this afternoon, check check back in with me later. I promise I won't forget, it is too important. See you later. TTFN.

New Awards, Blog Trains and Updates

2009-01-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. It's me again. Sorry for the lack of posting the last two days. I didn't have very much computer time lately. I had to take Mike into the ER Wednesday morning for a severe allergic reaction to some medication he was given by a Dentist he went to see on Monday. He had a tooth go bad in a big hurry last Thursday and they gave him Clindamyacin, which he is allergic to Penicillin. Not to worry though, he is doing okay. He just looks like he has a really bad case of measles mixed with chicken pox, all at the same time. I have just been keeping an eye on him and spending time with him through this very uncomfortable time. He should be all better by this weekend.

Speaking of which, I have another blog train coming up for you on Saturday, February 1st, for the ADSDesigner's Chocolate Cherries Blog Train, and another one on Valentines Day for the Valentines Convoy for Twisted Convoys. So I have 2 more freebies coming up for you, plus, a bunch of Brag Books and Album Pages.

I have some other really great news, but that will have to wait until this weekend. Sorry.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get much of anything else done, but I am slaving away, working on it as you read this later this morning. I won't make any promises on when I will post again, though. You probably have a pretty good idea by now how things work in the land of chaos. I will get it posted when real life allows me to. I have stopped trying to plan in advance and set schedules and time tables, it just doesn't work. Something always gets in the way. Not that I am complaining mind you, just being realistic about it. I definitely will be posting the freebie before Saturday morning, that you can count on.

In other news, it won't be long now before we hear the pitter-patter of tiny little feet. LOL. Another week and a half and Roxy will have PUPPIES. She is starting to get big and looking awkward.

Also, I am going to be making some changes to my blog background, so please bear with me. I have changed my blog background before, but from templates. This time, I am going to be creating and posting my own background, so it could get interesting. I am hoping it goes smoothly.

Now, on to the blog awards. Well, it is actually only one, but was given to me by two different designers, Elemental Pixie and Bits N Bobs.

The rules on this award are a little bit different.

1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. Let them know that they have recieved this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to this post with the person from whom you recieved your award.

That sounds easy enough, so.... I am going to pass this on to. . .

Tracy
Carolyn
Anna
Soto
Brenda
Starfire
Crystal
Kimmie
Denise
Foxy and Impy

Congratulations ladies and enjoy.

Well, time for me to take off again. Time for me to wake Mike up so's he can go to work. LOL. I have been at work all night long and still not done. Oh well, I am getting closer. Talk to you all later. Take care. TTFN.

Thank You

2009-01-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a minute and say Thank You to everyone that visited my blog this weekend, for all of the wonderful comments (I am blushing) and all your well wishes. It warms my heart to see how many visitors stopped by, the number of downloads, and the amount of comments I received. I must be doing something right.

And just to let all of those who left comments know, your well wishes are working. The bite is finally healing quite nicely. It is about like a bee sting now, still hurts a little, but itches too. LOL.

Chelcey has a new layout on her blog. She is working on a bunch of layouts for Tracy, right now. I will post some of them here with a link to the rest on her blog later this afternoon. Got to take off for right now and get some work done. TTFN.

Winter Convoy Freebie and an Update

2009-01-24T04:19:00.000-07:00

I am running behind. Sorry guys. I was going to post my portion of the Winter Convoy last night, but my son was borrowing my computer for a few minutes and I went and laid down to wait for him to get done. I know that doesn't sound like a real good excuse, but I have been putting massive amounts of time in on the computer working on several different projects and a lack of sleep. I worked on the computer from about 4 pm Sunday, until about 9 pm Tuesday evening, straight, with maybe 2 hours sleep. Then, I was on the computer again from about 10 am Wednesday until about 9 pm last night again, straight, with maybe 2 hours sleep yesterday afternoon. I was exhausted last night. Brandon was supposed to come and let me know when he was done with my computer, but I guess he decided to let me sleep instead. So, here I am 4:30 in the morning, finally posting what I should have done last night.

Some other quick news before I get down to business.

I guess at some point in time while I was working on formatting my computer and putting everything back on it, I got bit by a spider on the top of my ankle. I was so busy working, and probably tired, too, that I did not notice a spider had crawled up on my ankle and bit me. My ankle was so stiff and sore the next day, I thought maybe I had resprained my ankle or chipped a bone. I already have massive amounts of Osteoarthritis in that ankle from being fractured, twice in one year, so I didn't think much of it other than icing and Tylenol. About 2 in the morning yesterday morning I got to looking at it and realized it was swollen and red with a funny looking spot right in the middle that was starting to turn purple. It is so swollen and tight, it is hard to move my ankle.

Well, needless to say that is when I realized it was a spider bite, possibly from a Hobo Spider. So, I am keeping an eye on it, put alcohol on the bite, taking Tylenol for the fever and antibiotics to help prevent a secondary infection from the venom, since I am so prone to infection and unable to fight it off. It doesn't look like I will need to go in and have anything removed, since the neurotoxins in a Hobo's bite can break down the tissues and cause them to deteriorate, causing something close to flesh-eating disease. I had a freind of mine I used to work with get bit three times on her elbow, before she finally realized what was going on. She ended up having to go to the doctor. I won't gross you out with the gory details, but lets just say it was pretty nasty. She later found out that the spider was hiding on the back of their queen size waterbed headboard, and coming out at night while she was asleep. Eewww. I am going to be tracking the little buggers down and eradicating them, but I have to be careful, with all of the other pets in the house. I don't want to accidentally make them sick, or worse.

On to a better subject. I have great news to share. I recently found out that one of my 'daughters' is getting married to one of my son's friends this June, and another 'daughter' is pregnant and due some time in August, so I am going to be busy making baby clothes, diapers and accessories, Yeah. I am excited and looking forward to being an honorary Grandma.

In other news, it appears that 'Our Little Mommy' is going to be a mommy for real, sometime around February 18th. Roxy is just starting to show, her belly is starting to round out and get plump. I swear I can see her belly grow day by day now that she is starting to show. So, we should be having puppies here in about 2 weeks. I will take lots of pictures of the new members of the family, heehee.

I am trying to get pictures of all of my children with their significant others for Valentines Day, but you know how real life is and doesn't always work out the way we would like it to. LOL. I will post as soon as I have some. We are also in the planning stages of taking all of the children and their significants with us to the McCall Winter Carnival coming up here the first week of February. It is going to be an adventure. So far, we are talking about taking about 10 people. It will take at least 2 vehicles to get us all there. It is the most fun time of the year, outside of Christmas, of course. We go up and spend the day looking at all of the ice sculptures, the massive amounts of snow, and the winter scenery, before we drive back home. I always take lots of pictures every time we go.

I started using Soto's Winter Mine Bracket Album she has posted on her blog at Twisted Scrapper, to create layouts with all of the pictures I have from our Winter Carnival trips. Needless to say, I was on the second rotation through the bracket album, with 40 more pictures to go and decided I needed more pages to choose from for them all. So, rather than pester her to create more, I decided to put my own Bracket Album pages together. That is one of my many little projects to get done, along with everything else. And I am going to be taking more pics here shortly to add to the collection of memories.

I think this year, the memories are going to be even better. It is getting to that point that it may be the last time we are all together, in one household, as a family. There possibly could be a couple more weddings coming up in the future, and I am not sure if I am ready for it. My full-time job for the last 20 years has been to be a mother, and when the children leave the house and your job is done, what is there left for a mother to do when her job is complete? So, I am dealing with those issues, LOL. I think I have done a good job. I mean, it could have been worse. Besides, every one else's children come and hang out at our house to get what they don't get at their own home. That is why I have so many 'children' that call me mom, LOL.

Okay, enough of my blather. I have tortured you long enough this early in the morning. Time to jump on the Convoy, so buckle up and get ready. Since I tortured you so badly with all of my yapping, LOL, I am going to give you not 1, not 2, but 3 freebies. So here goes.

I am going to be a little bit of a tease, though, and do a little bit of a plug, too.

The first freebie is a Brag Book I put together with Carolyn's portion of the Winter Convoy from Digi Cyber Scraps. It is a Scallop Album and will fit on the Basic Grey Scallop Album pages, if you so choose. Here is a preview of one of the pages. There are 8 pages in all, 4 fronts and 4 backs. Sorry, I ran out of time with everything that has been going on and haven't gotten my Animation Shop program re-installed yet, so I didn't get a proper preview made. I hope you like it.

Download here.

password is winter.

Next up, I have 2 Bracket Album pages that I created for Laura of Curtisam Creations with her portion of the Winter Convoy. They will fit on the Basic Grey Bracket Album pages, if you so choose. Again, I didn't get a proper preview made of them, so I will show you both pages.

Download here.

password is winter.

And finally, last of all, what you all have been waiting for, I hope. There are 22 papers and over 47 elements included in this kit. Not as many as I would have liked, but I will make up for it with my Valentines kit. Here is a preview of my portion of this Convoy.

Download the Elements here.
Download the Papers here.

password is winter

Here are the links for the rest of the Convoy and a link to go back to the hub, just in case you happen to get lost along the way.

01 - SotoCreations
02 - Curtisam Creations
03 - MoveFearlessly Designs
04 - Bits N Bobs
05 - Damc
06 - WillowRaven at Purple Dragonfly Creations
07 - Desert Bloom Designs - <<< You are Here
08 - Moonlight Scraps
09 - CandysTreasures
10 - JIC Creations
11 - Melinda's designs
12 - Carolyn at Digi Cyber Scraps
13 - Kolor'Scapez
14 - outbackdezigns
15 - Digital Scrap Fun
16 - EA-Gra-Fx by Endora Aphrattos
17 - Elemental Pixie
18 - Supersuzi
19 - Vintage Paris Princess Designs
20 - Willow Grace Designs
21 - Twisted Angel
22 - Foxylady Creations
23 - TammyJo's Creations
24 - Moo's Scraps
25 - BlueVelvet DeZigns
26 - Jen
27 - Teri~
28 - Blind Sight Designs
29 - PinkuPixie Digital Designs
30 - Angel Flower
31 - Angi's Place
Bonus - Crystal's Creations CU Item

The Hub

As you can see, there are a lot of designers and a lot of wonderful contributions to snag along the way. Hope you have your traveling gear ready and have lots of fun picking up these wonderful gifts.

Alright, I think I am done for the time being. Think I will slip back off to bed and get some much needed rest. Take care everyone and enjoy. As always, please leave me some love in the comments section, on 4shared if you can, or send me an email and let me know what you think. And just as a reminder, if you can make a donation to help out with the amount of time and effort I put into these creations, it would be greatly appreciated. Every little bit helps. Thanks guys.

Okay, I will catch you later. TTFN.

Chelcey's Blog

2009-01-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know, we have Chelcey's new blog set up and running. Alanna's DigiSkrap Designz. I still have a lot of work to do on it, but it is there now with just the basics for now. It may take a little while before all of her info is done. We have one computer at our disposal right now to access the internet, and both of us can't use it at the same time. Not until I can get her a wireless network card. I have to get my post for the Winter Convoy ready, so it will be at least tomorrow before we can get to it. I would really like it if everyone could go check it out and let me know how it looks on different size monitors. We really had to do some doctoring to get it to fit on the screen right and I want to make sure that it looks the same for everyone. You can leave comments for me here or send them to my email address on the right hand side bar. Thank you.

MIA

2009-01-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

I have been sooo busy, like a mad hatter. LOL. I have lots to report, also. I haven't been around much lately, sorry. I have had so much going on, my head is spinning. Not good, LOL.

Okay, so lets get down to business. First off, I am back up and running, but in a limited capacity. I had to format the hard drive again, not just restore like I did last time. Hopefully, I got the trojan this time. Watch out for this little bugger, it is malicious. It is a trojan downloader that accesses the internet and downloads malicious software onto your computer. The name of it, BTW, is TrojanDownloader:Win32/Bredolab.B That is where all of my issues have stemmed from lately.

So, I have spent all day today going through and formatting and re-installing most of my programs. I still have to get my PSP program registered before I can use it, but it is installed at least. I apparently have misplaced my Microsoft Office program disk somewhere, but that is small beans right now. At least I have my internet back, I thought I was going to go nuts without it. Shows just how addicted I am to the internet to not be able to live without it for one day, LOL.

In other news, it is official, I am now a CT also for Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps and Anna of Delicious Scraps. Woohoo, I am so excited and honored to be working with these ladies. Keep your eyes peeled for some new creations I am working on for them.

Also, Tracy has a gorgeous new kit out in her stores at Stone Accent Studios and Treasures To Scrap, called 'A Kiss is Just a Kiss'. Blogger won't let me upload the previews right now, but I will post them just as soon as I can. But you can go to her blog and check it out, tell her I sent you by the way. (You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get this preview in here.)

Linda of Tirza's Treasures has some new kits out in her store at Scrapping Out Loud. You've got to go check it out.

Anna of Delicious Scraps has a new store, Delicious Scrap Shop, and a new kit called 'Sweetest Love' with a freebie add on, also. You really need to go and check it out. She has put a lot of hard work into it and done a wonderful job. I wish I could upload the previews to show you.

And I have a bunch of Braket Album Pages for Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps, but I can't show you those, because the kit has not been released, yet. . . but soon.

I have more CT news for you too. I am so excited, I am bouncing in my seat. LOL. I told you a while back that my daughter had finally given in to the scrapping bug and started creating layouts, also. Well, she has been bitten by the bug and applied for a few CT positions. And, *drum roll please*, she is now a CT for Tracy of Ambowife, also. *Yay* So, we definitely get to work as a team for Tracy.

She is jumping for joy and chomping at the bit for mom to get some of her layouts posted. LOL. I keep trying, but something always manages to get in the way. So, we have decided it would be best all the way around if she had her own blog. A little less confusing and less congestion that way. We will still be working as a team and I will still post some of her layouts here for everyone to see, and her Quick Pages she offers up as freebies, with a link to her blog for download. Then she can have control of her own blog and posting her layouts when she wants to. I think that will be simpler and not doubling my work load. Teehee. I will post a link to her blog as soon as we get it set up and ready. Wish me luck, I am going to need it.

Oh, and just as a reminder, the Winter Convoy is just around the corner. So come back on the 24th with your tennies handy and be ready to snag lots of goodies. I hope to have all of my little extras done by then, here's crossing my fingers that dear little computer doesn't have a stroke on me in the process. Here is a sneak peek of my portion of the Convoy.

(You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get it here.)

I am also working on my portion of the Valentines Convoy, and it is going to be HUGE. I may have to split it up into smaller sections to pass out at different times. AND, I am also working on another kit all my own, no outside influence on this one. I decided I wanted to create my own blog background so that I can get it to look the way I would like it. In order to do so, I need to create the papers and elements to use for it. So, since I need to create a kit, to create my blog background, and blinkie, finally, I decided I would put it together as a scrap kit. So that is 3 kits coming up in the near future from me. I am not sure when it will be available. At this point, I really need to concentrate on some other responsibilities I have been letting slide for way too long. But I will post it as soon as it is finished and uploaded.

I have even more goodies for you, too. Remember I said a while back that I was thinking about doing a few CU items? Well, I very recently learned how to record and edit scripts to make them interactive for other users. I have a couple of them in mind, just need to find the time to sit down and do it. Then, I will offer the first ones up as freebies, also. See, I told you I had a lot going on. LOL.

OKAY, I think that about covers everything. Time for me to take off and crawl into bed and see if I can get some sleep. I pulled two all-nighters in a row Sunday and Monday night. Not good. Sign me up for insomniacs-r-us. ROFLOL. Later guys. TTFN.

2 New Awards

2009-01-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me a few days to get to this. I suddenly came down with a bout of stomach flu yesterday and am just now getting to feeling better.

Woohoo, I have received 2 new awards. I am shocked and thrilled all at the same time.

The first award is from Poppy of Popcorn Alley. Thank you so much Poppy. She has a LOT of totally gorgeous kits available on her site. I know, I have almost all of them. You need to go check it out, and tell her I sent you.

Now, on to passing this award on. I know it usually is passed on to only 5 other designer's, but the choices are just too hard and I think that everyone on this list deserves it, sooo... I am going to pass it on to as many as I can think of off the top of my fragile little brain, and hope I don't leave someone out by accident.

First up are all of the Designers Creative Teams that I am on.

Tracy of Ambowife Designs
Linda of Tirza's Treasures
Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps
Anna of Delicious Scraps

Next, I would also like to pass this award on to SEVERAL other designers that I visit and admire. They are in no particular order of favoritism, just how they pop in my head.

Starfire Designs
Kolor 'Scapez
Twisted Scrapper
Wench Designs
Debbies Digi Digest
Bits and Bobs
Twin Mom Scraps
Whisprddreamz designz
Fall3n Angel Scrapz
Memories Made Easy
Whispy's D'zines
Scrappy Redhead
Laurie Made Me Scraps
Baby Cakes Scraps
Scrappin Cop
Blue Dream Designs
Annie's Digital Things
Stolen Moments
Flower Scraps
Annie's 4 Corners
Purple Dragonfly Creations
Teri's Scrappin' Playtime
Willow Grace Designs
Sweet Blossom Designs
Distinctively Auri Scraps
Witchy's Scrap Dezignz
CuddleBeez Scraps
Kimmies Kreations
Candy's Treats
Tizzys Angel
Creations by Jo
Misfits Scrapz
Clarey's Designz
Heavens Designz
Candys Treasures

All of these ladies have awesome talent, work really hard and create beautiful designs, and I feel they all deserve this award. I hope I didn't miss anyone. If I did, I apologize, and consider yourself counted among the many.

The second award comes from Candys Treasures. She was really sweet in passing this award on to me. Not sure if I deserve it just yet, though, LOL. Thank you.

I can only pass this on to 5 other designers, and again, it was a hard decision, but I am going to pass it on to those I feel are the most giving of themselves, their time and their talent, though all on the above list deserve this award.

Tracy of Ambowife Designs
Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps
Anna of Delicious Scraps
Soto of Twisted Scrapper
Kolor 'Scapez

Thank you ladies for everything you do.

Fixed Link

2009-01-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to Barb for letting me know that the Holly Jolly papers download was still asking for a password. I could have swore I took that stupid thing off, but apparently it didn't work. I think I have it corrected now, but if not, the password is jolly.

I will be back early tomorrow morning with a huge post and lots of info with the latest goings on. See you then. TTFN.

Introducing a New Designer and a Freebie

2009-01-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Woohooo, I did it. I am soooo excited. I have a new designer in the family. My daughter has finally decided to follow in my footsteps and start designing layouts of her own. She has been watching me create layouts for years, and finally has become interested enough in creating for herself. She is not taking over for me, but creating designs of her own in addition to what I create. Yea.

So, now we are a team. I am so excited.

Here is a look at her latest one, a quick page, which she has also decided to offer up as a freebie download. Layout was created with a pic of Chelcey's BFF Reyna, one of my other 'daughters'. Kit used for this layout is 'Seductive Grunge' by Lisa of Sophisticated Scraps, Chelcey's favorite designer.

Here is what the Quick Page looks like without the picture in it.

Download Quick Page here.

Since she is just starting out, she does not have a TOU yet. All of her creations are for personal use only, no commercial use allowed. Please do not claim as your own. Credit will always be given to the designer of kits used.

Okay, we are off to go do some more designing and creating. Will be back later this afternoon with more. Please leave her some love and let her know what you think. TTFN.

FINALLY.... Holly Jolly Add On Freebie

2009-01-09T01:23:00.000-07:00

I finally got it done. Paint shop Pro cooperated this time and I got the preview finished.

Kit Contains:

16 background papers
1 frame
2 Christmas ornaments
2 Diamond Bows

The elements were hand scrapped by me, no CU items used this time. The background papers were created using some free to use tubes and tiles, listed in the credits included in the zip file.

Download from 4shared here.

I hope you enjoy and happy downloading. As always, please leave some love in the comments, at 4shared or via email and let me know what you think. And just as a reminder, if you really enjoy my creation and can, please make a donation so that I can continue to offer out freebies. Thank you and God Bless.

News and Updates

2009-01-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

I figured I had better hurry up and post something, before everyone thinks that I have disappeared. Life has been hectic and chaotic for us once again, or should I say, still. I am trying hard to fight the negativity around me, but it gets difficult at times. Mike's mom had to spend the day in the ER day before yesterday and spent the night in the hospital under observation.

She has congestive heart failure and every once in a while, her heart will go out of rhythm. This time was the worst it has ever been. She has what is called Atrial Fibrillation, where the electrical impulses to the heart will get mixed up and cause her heart to beat out of sequence. Kind of feels like a mild heart attack and is brought on by stress. I am thinking that it was brought on because she recently went in and had her annual mammogram and they called her and wanted her to come back in to repeat it and do an ultrasound, all without telling her why. I think she stressed herself out about it and brought on this latest episode. I can't blame her though, under the circumstances.

Chelcey is staying with her until Saturday or Sunday to keep an eye on her and make sure she settles down and takes it easy and doesn't do anything she isn't supposed to. Chelcey is her home health nurse and has all of her qualifications and requirements under her belt. She knows what to watch for and to contact me ASAP if something comes up and needs my attention right away, so I am not too worried unless I get a call. Chelcey is the 3rd generation of nurses in our family, Mike's mom, me and now her. With her there keeping an eye on mom, I should be able to concentrate and focus on getting some other things done around the house now.

I was gone all day Tuesday and was up until about 7 am Wednesday. I slept for a couple of hours, until mom called to say she was ready to go home. I was up the rest of the day yesterday, but just didn't get much done. The kitchen was yelling at me with dishes piled high, the laundry was screaming at me and my computer was whining. It took me most of the day yesterday to wade through all of my emails and send replies, etc. The kitchen is no longer mad at me, I did 3 loads of dishes this morning and made a dent in the laundry pile in the wash room, so I feel a little better about that.

The worst part is that I have not had a chance to work on all of my projects and get them finished. I started working on the preview for the Holly Jolly Add On, then I couldn't find my Mura's Cylinders filter. Once I found it and started working on the preview, PSP died on me and shut down, so now I will have to start all over again. And I was hoping to have it finished and posted by tonight. It doesn't look like that is going to happen, though. Hopefully, I will have it done, zipped and uploaded to 4shared tomorrow morning. The other parts of Holly Jolly that I wanted to do are just going to have to go bye-bye. I have the Winter Convoy and Valentine's Convoy coming up and need to start working on them, along with everything else, so it just isn't going to work out. I also have lots of CT layouts to get done and a bunch of Brag Books and Bracket Albums to make for the Winter and Valentines Convoys. Busy, busy, busy.

In other news, I went to my Arthritis doctor's appt. on Monday and found out some good news. It seems I do not have Rheumatoid Arthritis after all, but fibromyalgia. It also explains the tiredness, lack of concentration, memory loss, pain and fatigue of the last few months. No new drugs to take either, it is cured with exercise. I wasn't excited at first, but have done 5 minutes a day on the recumbant bike we have here at home, and it actually helps. A few more days to a week and I should be getting back to my old self, I hope. It will be an improvement, anyway.

Alright, enough of my blather for right now. I just wanted to let everyone know what was going on and why I haven't been around lately. I am really going to try to get some things finished up by the morning or early in the morning and get it posted for everyone. So I am going to take off and try to get some more work done before I hang it up for the night and go to bed. Night all. TTFN.

I Need Some Advice

2009-01-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

I don't want to come across as totally blonde here, but, I need some input. I have been looking at other scrap sites and reading there requirements for their stores and, as I am sure everyone who has visited my blog knows, I don't do well with deadlines. So, I am trying to find out either how to create my own store or find one that I can sell at that does not have a lot of requirements. I am totally clueless on how to do this.

Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated. You can send me an email with info at dawnecarr@cableone.net or desertbloomdesigns@cableone.net.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

I've been a bad blogger

2008-12-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

I didn't get any computer time yesterday. Mike decided he wanted to drive in to Boise and look at new mattress'. We found one and loaded it up and brought it home. By the time, we finished taking the old one out and putting up the new one and made the bed all back up, it was after 7 last night. I sat down at the computer, but was way too tired to try to do anything. I only got 2 1/2 hours sleep the night before. So I through in the towel and trundled off to bed, with the hopes of a more valiant effort today.

My creative juices abandoned me for a while, but seem to be back now. I finished 2 layouts so far, with a third in the works. The first one is of my son and his new girlfriend, Katy, on Thanksgiving Day.

They make such a cute couple. Now, if he just wasn't so tall. LOL. I used Tracy's 'Sweet Caramel' kit from Ambowife Designs. You can find it at either, Treasures to Scrap or Stone Accents Studio.

The next one is of a picture I took 3 years ago. We had an inversion here in the Valley, and hadn't seen the sun for almost a month. Kind of like cabin fever. So, we took a drive one Saturday in a quest to find the sun again. It wasn't until we reached the summit of Anderson Ranch Dam that the sun finally peeked out and shined down on us. It brightened everyone's spirits and the children decided to go play in the snow.

I think they did more falling in the snow than anything else. Strangely, Anthony was the only one that wasn't breaking through the upper crust and sinking down to his knees in the snow like everyone else was doing. You can't tell by the little picture, but the one in the red is sunk in the snow up to her waist, and Brandon had just pulled himself out of the hole he was in and crawling across the snow to a better spot. They were almost completely soaked by the time they made it back to the truck and we headed back home. They wouldn't want me to tell you what they had to do on the ride home, in order to keep from getting hypothermia. It was quite comical though.
I used 'Jolly Olly Memories', also by Tracy of Ambowife Designs for this one.

On a different note, I have noticed that a few designers are still creating and giving away some Christmas designs, and, since I am still running behind on what I had decided to create, I am going to be finishing those up and posting within the next few days, I hope. I am working on an add-on to the Holly Jolly kit, with some more papers, some gift tags that can be printed and some more hand scrapped elements. I will hurry and try to get them done as quickly as possible.

I have got to run away from the computer for right now, though. Brandon sprayed some cologne in his room, which is right next door to my computer room, and it is filtering into here, making me sneeze my head off. I am going to have to wait for it to air out before I can come back in here without fear of another sneeze attack. Bye for now. Best wishes to all.

2008-12-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

I have been busily transferring files from my old 160GB hard drive to the new 500GB external hard drive. The old one was maxed out with no room left. I spent most of yesterday until about 2 this morning going through and cleaning up my mess and trying to organize everything. Quite a task I set for myself.

All is quiet here today. Chelcey has went to spend some time with her boyfriend today and everyone is relaxing, taking it easy. Makes it nice when it is peaceful, then I can get more things done around here.

We had to take the dryer apart again yesterday for the second time in a week. This time, the heating element went out, which was an easy fix. Just a $40 part. Better than replacing the whole machine for $300.

Which brings me to why I am really here and what I am posting about. I have been thinking about this for a while now, with much trepidation, and have finally come to a decision. Please bear with me, this is going to be a long post with a long explanation behind what is going on. I promise I will get to the point eventually, my mind has a tendency to hop all over the place like a ping-pong ball, but I will get there eventually and hopefully you will be able to understand.

I started this blog originally with the intention of showing off my scrapbook layouts, only. Then, my son put the crazy idea in my head of trying to design, telling me I could create just as well as everyone else was doing. So, I gave it a try. It has been fun, if not hectic at times, but I am sure most designers feel that way at times. It has been very rewarding also, to receive wonderful comments from total strangers for my creations. I never intended to create kits for purchase, and I am still balking at the idea.

My husband has brought it to my attention that things are starting to get pretty bad. I have not worked since March 3 of this year. In that time, I guess he has been drawing off some of his savings in order to make ends meet. Well, the savings is almost gone and I have to make a decision, one of three things has to happen. I either need to start charging for whatever I create and post on my blog, sell my brand new baby (2007 Chevy 3 door extended cab 4x4), or try to find a part-time job with an employer that will put up with my special issues.

This is where the long explanation comes in. Very few people that I associate with on the blogosphere know certain things about me, and I have kept it that way. I wanted people to know me for me, and not my issues. Only now am I ready to explain what has been going on. I will start at the beginning and work my way forward and hope that will help cut down on some of the confusion.

It all started 5 years ago when I was diagnosed with FAP (familial anondroidal polyposis). In other words, colon cancer. This kind is hereditary and passed on from mother to daughter through the generations. My natural mother died from it at the age of 45 and my natural grandmother died from it at the age of 46.

So, I went in and had surgery to remove 90-95% of ALL of my intenstines. No problem, right? Yah, that's what I thought. I spent 9 days in the hospital in utter agony. I had been gutted like a fish, after I was told it would be done mostly laproscopically. Yeah, right. Anyway, since that time, what intestines I have left have not wanted to take over the job of my missing colon, like it was supposed to. Sometimes, they don't want to work at all. Now I hope no one is squeamish, like I used to be before all of this. If so, jump past this next part. As further explanation, for the first 2 weeks, I had an ostomy in order for the intestines to heal up after the original surgery. Then, they dropped the intestine back down to where it should be and closed the ostomy back up. Sounded like an okay idea at the time, but has been nothing but trouble since. Because of that surgery, I have a 2 to 3 inch scar on my right side.

Now, I am going to hop like a ping-pong ball on to another subject, but I will get back to the original point and it will make more sense. For about 3 years after this surgery, I worked as a home health nurse and care provider, and was good at what I did. I started working at a care facility for 9 patients with dymensia, with the understanding when I hired on, absolutely no lifting. I have a huge scar from 1/4" below my sternum to 1/2" above my pubic bone. I can not lift over 20 pounds, unless I want that scar to pop. Okay, so these employers knew this. Well, needless to say, I ended up having to physically man handle a 197lb patient from a prone position on the floor back into his wheel chair, injuring my back in the process. Now, I did not know it at the time, but I had weakened that muscle wall and damaged it also. However, I lived with it for almost a year before I went in to have it checked. My surgeon sent me in for an MRI and the technician who performed it said everything looked fine. I went back to the doctor a week later, and he told me we needed to go in and do surgery. I knew that the skin over the incision had stretched and the layer of fat underneath had seperated, but according to the MRI results, it was much worse than that. I had what is called an incisional hernia, where the muscle wall totally seperates and tears the old scar tissue.

So, I went in a week later and had surgery. After I came out of recovery, he explained to me what he found when he opened the old scar back up. Apparently, the muscle had split all the way down and the intestine, that used to be part of the ostomy long time ago, had started to push through and was trapped in the split. While the surgeon was cutting around the intestine to drop it back down where it is supposed to be, he accidentally nicked the intestine and cut a hole in it, so he had to repair that. Because of that, he was not able to put the mesh in that he planned on to keep this from happening again.

So, now I get back to where I was. I had this surgery done a year ago this last September. Since then, I have had nothing but trouble. The muscle wall is trying to seperate again. Also, because of this surgery and the aftermath following, I lost my job where I was working at the time. They started out very understanding and sympathized with my predicament, but I still accrued too many absences to be excused, so I was notified that I had basically terminated myself due to Job Abandonment, when I was on medical leave of absence. The reason being, after the surgery in September, where he nicked the intestine, scar tissue grew around that sight and has developed into a partial intestinal blockage. Nothing can be done about it, either. If I have surgery to have it taken off, chances are, the scar tissue will develop back worse this time. So, I live with it. I won't go into all of the gory details, just that it is not a whole heck of a lot of fun.

Now, I know that this doesn't really sound all that bad, but couple that with Malnutrition from Malabsorption, because the intestines don't always want to work properly anyway, and you have a sure fire recipe for disaster. Because of the malnutrition, I have what is called failure to thrive syndrome. I can not get enough nutrition into my body to sustain me, so some of my organs are starting to go downhill, namely my liver. Some days are better than others, but some days it takes all I have in me to get up out of bed, I am so weak and the muscles in my body are atrophied. I have also developed osteoporosys in my neck and upper back and now found out that it has also triggered Rheumatoid Arthritis in my whole body, but mostly in my spine. This is a constant source of pain for me now and why it is so hard for me to do a lot of the things that I used to love doing.

I applied for Social Security Disablility, but was deemed that my current issues are not severe enough to limit me from working. I have worked most of my entire adult life, am a very hard and loyal worker, so there has to be a really good reason for me not to work. I am not lazy and stay at home because I choose to. I stay at home because it is safer for me to. Because I have no intestines, I lost the ability to fight off infection and contagions. All of those good microbes are gone. Didn't know that until it was too late. Haha.

Okay, so, I am sure a lot of you did not need to know a lot of this. I apologize. Really, I did not mean to dump a lot of this on you. But, it is my way of explaining why I am going to try to do what I am thinking of doing so that no one will get mad at me when I do.

My initial plan is to offer any upcoming kit designs for free for a limited time, a week or two weeks. Then it will be available for purchase only. Not sure how I am going to do that. I need to do some researching on that subject. I really don't want to have to do that, but my husband is pushing really hard. He says that my designs are good enough and that if someone wants them, they can afford at least $1 for them. I am not sure I agree.

It is either that, or I give up on designing and my blog, walk away from it all, and try to find something outside of the house to make money to help keep our household together. I don't want this to be about money. I love creating and designing for fun. To be honest, it probably saved my life a few months ago, and I don't want to lose that aspect of it.

So there it is. I have laid it all out on the line and bared my soul for everyone to read about. Please be gentle with me. This has been a very hard decision to make and I hope that everyone will understand.

For the time being, you will notice up at the top I have added a donation button. Now, I want you all to understand. I am not asking for charity. All I am asking is, if you like and enjoy what I have created so far, please make a contribution to the time and effort I have spent on creating those, so that I can continue to design and create. That is all I am asking, that and your patience and understanding with me and my special circumstances.

I have lots of ideas and plans that have not come to fruition, yet. Real life continuously seems to get in the way, but I will get there eventually. This whole situation has been weighing heavily on my mind and contributed to a lot of the depression I have been battling, a little less than valiantly, lately. So my creative juices haven't been flowing very well lately. I have a lot of catching up to do with my CT's, as well as my own designs.

Okay, I am going to end it here for now because I just can't think of anything else to say, other than thank you for your time and reading this very long post. I really appreciate those that have taken the time to leave wonderful comments, it makes me feel so much better about what I do. I will be back later on a little less serious side. TTFN.

It's the Day After Christmas....

2008-12-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

And all through the house,
Not a creature is stirring,
Not even the mice....
And God only knows how many of them there are now, I haven't had a chance to count the new additions, yet. A day late and a dollar short, as always. So Brandon's snake will get her Christmas present a day late.

I am soooo glad that Christmas is finally over with. I don't want to sound like a scrooge, but Christmas this year was very lean and I have been battling depression because of it for days now. I have been trying to make an attempt, but it has been difficult. Money has been very short this season. Mike didn't get his paycheck until the day before Christmas Eve and my child support didn't come in until Christmas Day. Makes it even more difficult that we were blanketed under 6 inches of snow on Christmas Eve and driving was hazardous, at best. But, we got through it and had a really good day. My son and his new girlfriend came over and spent the day with us, which was nice.

Santa was very wonderful to me and gifted me with my new external hard drive and a Bowdabra. I am soo excited. Only Walgreens was open yesterday, but all of their Christmas items were 50% off, so I bought some Christmas ribbon to make bows out of with my new toy. LOL.

Okay, let's see, what has been going on lately. I finished 4 more scrubs for Jessica, just in time for Christmas. Cut out 18 placemats for Christmas and got 4 of them quilted, for next year. Knit 2 dog sweaters for the babies, one blue for Rico and one pink for Roxy. Started sewing some boxers for the boys, but haven't finished yet.

During this time, I have also been running around like a chicken with my head cut off following every lead we get all over the Valley trying to find Sam and bring him safely back home, to no avail. He has been missing since Dec. 4th. Hope is running out that we will ever be able to find him and get him back, which isn't helping with the depression. I keep getting responses to my ads and get my hopes up that it will be him, only to be let down when it isn't. Not going to go into that with anymore detail, 'cause it will just upset me and set me off to crying again, and I don't want to do that right now. Going to try to be as positive as possible.

Hopefully, here in the next few days, I will be able to devote more time on the computer and get all of the things done that I have been wanting to do. I have lots of special things planned and in the works, just have not had the time to get them accomplished, but I will let everyone know when I do finally.

I have to run right now, and venture out into the great white slippery world to buy a new tank for the mice, so that I can get them moved and maybe find out how many new arrivals we have.

I will try to post a little later today. I have also signed up with another blog train, this one is the Winter Convoy. I already have some items made up for it, ones that I did not include in the Holly Jolly kit. That is why I have not posted another freebie, yet. I am holding on to them until the Winter Convoy goes live in January. I am also thinking about joining in the Valentine's Convoy, but we will see. Depends on how long it takes me to get this next kit together. I also have to get busy on getting my CU items completed and posted.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited my little blog and downloaded my portion of the Holly Jolly blog train, and all of the wonderful comments everyone left. I really appreciate it. It has really helped. Words are failing me right now, so I will just say thank you very much to everyone and I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.

Time for me to go, teenagers are getting antsy and becoming pests. They want to go and run around town, so you know what that means, mom's taxi is in service again, lol. TTFN and everyone take care. Hugs to all.

Holly Jolly Blog Train Freebies

2008-12-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hello and Welcome. You have reached stop #56 on Holly Jolly Blog Train. Watch your step as you stop off here at my little scrap spot on the World Wide Blog.

It is finally here. I have been looking forward to today and am so excited.

I have more than 1 freebie for you to snag while you are here, so I hope you have plenty of room available on your hard drive. LOL.

I had the opportunity to create some Quick Pages for other designers with their portions of the blog train, also. I was hoping to get more done, including some blog backgrounds, but I had some unfortunate occurrences with my computer.

The first one was that I did not realize until it was almost too late that my PSP program was messing up on me. I had already zipped everything up and uploaded to 4shared when I figured everything out. For some reason, one I have still not figured out (and Corel has still not gotten back to me about), my program was saving all of my png's at 300 pixels per centimeter instead of pixels per inch. So, I had to run back through quickly and fix them, re-save, re-zip them up and upload to 4shared, again. It was a small nightmare, but I got it done and everything should be fine now. At least, I hope so. If not, please let me know and I will try to correct it.

Then, when I was surfing the 'Christmas Around The World' blog train, (when I should have been busy creating the Quick Pages), I picked up a malware program, instead. It took me 2 days worth of work scanning my computer with AVG, Windows Live Onecare and Spybot. Finally got it, but I lost all that time on the computer that I could have been being more productive. That will teach me. From now on, Work before Play.

Okay, so enough of my blather. Let's get down to business. The first freebie is my portion of the Holly Jolly blog train. It is broken down into 2 parts to make downloading easier.

Kit Contains:
22 Papers
40 elements

95% of it was created by me. I have included the other designers TOU for their CU items that I used.

Download Papers Here
Download Elements Here

password is jolly, if it asks for one.

I also created 2 Quick Pages for Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps with her portion of the blog train. I am a big admirer of her designs and was very honored to have the opportunity to work with her. Click on the preview to download.

The next preview is of 2 Quick Pages I created for Michelle of Michelle's Angels with her portion of the blog train. Click on preview to download.

Due to the fact that the designers are located in all different time zones in the world, it's possible you may visit a blog before the designer has had a chance to upload. If that happens, check the blog later in the day.

Just in case, click on the Holly Jolly logo to find the different contributions. A good idea might be to bookmark this page. That way, you can pick up where you left off.

Now that you have my portions of the blog train, your ready to continue on your way down the track. Thank you for stopping by.

Check back in periodically, as I will have more Quick Pages and Blog backgrounds using other designers portions of the blog train still coming up very soon. I also have some add-ons for my kit coming up, also. I have a few other surprises up my sleeve, too.

Have fun and enjoy. Watch your step so you don't trip, okay. Wishing a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to all.

Here is the rest of the blog roll.

Stop 01 - BeaconScrap
Stop 02 - Carolyn Ritter
Stop 03 - Karrie Thomas of Kez Creates Designs
Stop 04 - Crafted by Gina
Stop 05 - DesignsByAmilyn
Stop 06 - Michelle Angeles
Stop 07 - Throwing Some Scraps Around
Stop 08 - Country Hollow Scraps
Stop 09 - ScrapinDaisy from Designs by Ruth
Stop 10 - Bits O’Scrap
Stop 11 - Wimpychompers Creations
Stop 12 - QueenBrat Designs
Stop 13 - Mumure
Stop 14 - Frosted Illusions
Stop 15 - Aussie Scraps
Stop 16 - HutchsBaby Faith in Christ Scraps
Stop 17 - MoveFearlessly Designs
Stop 18 - swordascrappin
Stop 19 - Kismet
Stop 20 - Missladyhawke
Stop 21 - The Queen and The Princess Designs
Stop 22 - Vanjo Designs
Stop 23 - Angi’s Place
Stop 24 - SotoCreations
Stop 25 - The Mathematician’s Assistant
Stop 26 - Crops2Dawn Creations
Stop 27 - S.G.Rowe Designs
Stop 28 - Amy’s Scraps
Stop 29 - jaydensmama
Stop 30 - Crystal’s Creations By Design
Stop 31 - Digital Creations by Amber
Stop 32 - Kitten Scraps
Stop 33 - Grandma Pat
Stop 34 - Grunge and Glitter Scraps
Stop 35 - JIC Creations
Stop 36 - Butterfly Kisses
Stop 37 - Babyyaks
Stop 38 - Simply Beautiful Creations
Stop 39 - Pretty Scrappy
Stop 40 - TammyJo’s Creations
Stop 41 - CMB Designs
Stop 42 - Christy Skaggs
Stop 43 - SnapScrapCreate
Stop 44 - Believe Designs
Stop 45 - Linda’s Dream Designs
Stop 46 - MIP Scraps
Stop 47 - Miss Erin’s Scraps
Stop 48 - WillowRaven at Purple Dragonfly Creations
Stop 49 - Digital Keepsakes
Stop 50 - Blind Sight Designs
Stop 51 - Dreamland Designs
Stop 52 - Hummie’s World
Stop 53 - Northern Lights Designs
Stop 54 - DesignZ by DeDe
Stop 55 - twisted angel
Stop 56 - Desert Bloom Designs You are here
Stop 57 - Rachelz_Expressionz
Stop 58 - Creations By Jessa
Stop 59 - Bits’N'Bobs
Stop 60 - Amanda’s Scrappy Creations
Stop 61 - Heartfelt Perfections
Stop 62 - Candie
Stop 63 - Just For You DigiScraps
Stop 64 - Cuddlebeez Scraps
Stop 65 - Prairie Sage
Stop 66 - Creekside Cottage Designs
Stop 67 - PinkuPixie Digital Designs
Stop 68 - Mariscrap
Stop 69 - Marbled Circle
Stop 70 - Panda Bear Designs
Stop 71 - Kolor’Scapez!
Stop 72 - Stellarfairie designs
Stop 73 - Manda @ Disaster In Designs
Stop 74 - Danielle [DMK Designs]
Stop 75 - Katlen Kreations
Stop 76 - Babydoll’s Scrapz
Stop 77 - Angel Flower
Stop 78 - Designs by Teri
Stop 79 - SandEz Creationz
Stop 80 - Sistermoon Scraps

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas....

2008-12-14T13:04:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I go... LOL. It is snowing here, finally. YEAH!!! It is finally beginning to look like Christmas here.

Has everyone been enjoying all of the wonderful blog trains? I know I have. I am only about half way through the 'Christmas Around the World' blog train and my hard drive is filling up fast. I sure hope hubby buys me my new hard drive for Christmas, cause I am going to need it.

Speaking of blog trains, you need to check back in later tonight or early tomorrow morning, as the Holly Jolly blog train will be rolling in. I am stop #56 on this blog train, so come back later and see what I have available for everyone.

I also have another award from Starfire, Leaves of Friendship.

I feel so honored. Thank you Starfire. The Rules are pretty simple, I need to pass this on to 5 other deserving individuals. The choosing is the hard part, I know of so many that I would love to send this to, and 5 is not enough, but I will give it a try.

First off, I would like to pass this on to Tracy of Ambowife Designs for being a wonderful friend and mentor.
Second, Brenda of Cuddlebeez Scraps, also a wonderful friend.
Third, Carolyn of Digi Cyber Scraps for being my inspiration in this continuing adventure.
Fourth and Fifth, Michelle of Michelle's Angels and Roxanna of Move Fearlessly Designs for the opportunity to work with them on the Holly Jolly Blog train.

Okay, got to go for now and finish up some last minute items. Be back a little later. Bye for now.

Some News I Had to Share

2008-12-06T00:06:00.000-07:00

Okay,long awaited post, I know. It has taken me 2 days to figure out how to do some things and, in the meantime, blogger would not let me upload photos. So this post has been in the works for 3 days now. Finally, all of the bugs should be worked out. Now that I know how to do what I need to do in the future it shouldn't take me so long to do it next time. LOL. Sorry if that doesn't make any sense right now, but it will very shortly.

I have been busy, busy, busy working on my little ole blog train freebie diligently for weeks now, and the end is in sight. Well, sort of. I have sooo many elements that I created, 50 to be exact, that I have decided to break it down into smaller parts and offer them as additional freebies. How does that sound?

I have been spending about 90% of my time working on this, until the wee hours of the morning. Not to mention giving my computer a stroke at least twice a day now. LOL.

Anyhoo, I have lots of news to share. Let's see, where to start. Well, I guess I'll start with the older items and work my way up to the current happenings.

I know it is old news by now, but still wanted to let those of you know that Linda of Tirza's Treasures has some beautiful kits in her store, just in time for Christmas. LOL. Here is a preview of what she has available at Ahhh Scrap and Scrappin Out Loud.

She also has a Christmas Wedding Add-on freebie available for download on her blog. Please go check it out by clicking on the preview and leave her some loving.

Next, Tracy of Ambowife Designs has some wonderfully beautiful kits available in her stores as well. They can be found at Stone Accents Studio and Treasures to Scrap. Here are her previews.

She also contributed to the November Treasure Chest Collaboration at Treasures to Scrap. Click on the preview below to be taken to her blog for all of the details on how to get this totally awesome kit.

She also has this QP available for download on her blog from her new Sweet Caramel Kit. Click on the preview below to be taken to her blog to download it.

Okay, got the CT business done. Now on to some good news, and some bad news. The good news first. I met a new friend online through a digiscrap yahoo group. Her name is Marjie and her blog is at http://starfiredesigns.blogspot.com/. She gave me a wonderful award. My very first, in fact. I feel so special and honored.

Thank you so much Marjie for this treasured award!
Please visit her blog and say hi to her.

The rules are simple, I need to pass this onto 5 Treasured Friends who have not yet received it. I would love to present this award to my 5 treasured friends:

Tracy of Ambowife Designs who has helped me out in sooo many ways.
Linda of Tirza's Treasures who has been a Godsend to me.
Brenda of Cuddlebeez scraps who really is a treasured friend.
Kimmie of Kimmies Kreations who is a big sweetheart.
and of course
Marjie who is just the best, I couldn't think of anyone better that deserves this award more than her, she has helped me through some issues lately that I totally appreciate. Thank you sooo much.

Alright, now on to the bad news. This just came to my attention last night and I have been seething and heartbroken ever since. I figure the least I can do is try to bring it to others attention as well. As I said before, Brenda of Cuddlebeez Scraps is a very treasured friend, and when one of my friends hurts, I hurt as well. The low down is that she decided to open up not 1, but 4 new stores at The Scrappin Corral, Tagger's Scraps, Digi by Design and Bouquet of Pixels to start selling her kits. Great news, right? Well, apparently someone else didn't think so and proceeded to send her NASTY emails. And when I say nasty, I mean they called her everything but a white woman. How mean, rude, just plain terrible. I feel so bad for her. I can't believe that someone would do that just because she decided to start selling some of her kits in stores. It's not like she isn't going to be offering freebies anymore.

Anyway, if you could do me a favor and visit her blog, http://cuddlebeezscraps.blogspot.com/, get the whole story she has posted there, and leave her some love, I would greatly appreciate it. She needs all she can get right now and all of the encouragement we can give her. She truly is a sweet person and doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. Thank you in advance.

Okay, now that I got that off of my chest. Onto better news. I have an update of my own, finally. Here is the sneak peek of my Holly Jolly papers that I have been promising for I don't know how long now.

Sorry, I don't have the preview for the elements done yet, as I haven't decided what is going in it just yet, but soon. Remember, these won't go live until December 15th for the Holly Jolly Blog Train, so come back then and make sure you have your traveling shoes on and ready to snag lots of wonderful kits. At last count, we had 74 participants. Oh My Goodness, scratch that. I just went and checked to verify that number, and we have suddenly expanded to 84. WOW.

I have seen some of the previews and they look great. Hope you have lots of room available on your hard drives. You will need it. LOL.

I don't know if everyone noticed right away, but I have been doing some updating along the way. I have a new Cbox chat now that you can comment in and leave me messages. I also have created a new email specifically just for my blog and posted it on the right hand side under my 'about me' info. So now you will be able to send me personal emails with your comments, concerns, constructive criticism, etc., anything you would like to talk about.

Okay, the last little bit of news I wanted to let you in on is that our household has expanded again. We now have 4 dogs. Yes, I have a new baby. His name is Rico, and he is another Miniature Pinscher. Like Roxy, but he is the standard black and brown colors instead of the Red Stag, which is what Roxy is. I got him from a lady who could no longer take care of him and spent the amount of time with him that he needs. I got him because Roxy has been so upset and depressed lately since Hogarth left. She has been almost lifeless and inactive. So I figured she needed a friend. We got Rico yesterday, and she has been so happy. Rico took to her right away. Roxy wasn't too sure until we got home, on her own turf. Then she took off to playing and laying down the rules. They take off chasing each other and wrestling all over the house now. They are just what each other needed and are so happy together. Now, instead of one dog sleeping on my lap while I work on the computer, I have 2. They both follow me everywhere I go and do everything with me. But I am loving every minute of it. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of him or both of them together, yet. Still haven't made it to the store to buy them batteries I keep forgetting about. But I will shortly, I promise. I am dying to take some pictures of them.

Well, I guess that does it for now. I need to take off and get my kit finished up so that I know what is going into it and what is going to go into other freebies between now and the big day. So, check back in the next few days, and I should have a special offering for you, 'K. Bye for now. Take care all and have a Wonderful weekend. TTFN.

Just a Quick Note

2008-11-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a quick message and let everyone know I am still here. I also want to thank everyone who downloaded my latest kit and all of the wonderful comments. Thank you. It made my day and made me feel special.

I also want to apologize for not being around a lot lately. I have been suffering with a terrible head cold for the last week and trying to get better. My immune system does not let me fight off germs, virus' or infection very well, and nothing I can do about it. I have checked with several different doctors, and none of them seem to have a suggestion for me. So, I stay home and try to avoid situations where I might come in contact with germs, bugs and virus'.

My doctor suggested that I get a flu shot to try and keep me from catching it this year, and I turned to him with a horrified look and asked him if he was nuts, or what. Intentionally introduce something into my body to make me sick, are you kidding? I don't think so! Not unless I want to die and I don't think I am ready for that, yet, so I think I will take a pass.

Anyway, I tried the homeopathic and herbal route for a while and it didn't work, so I finally broke down and bought some over the counter meds. We will see how that works. When you get to the point that it feels like your face is going to fall off from all of the sinus pressure and your head hurts constantly and can't think straight for more than a few seconds, it is time to do something about it. I am not a big baby, I have a pretty high pain tolerance. But when it gets to where you can't sleep, (I'm not kidding, 6 hours in the last 72) because you can't breathe from blocked airways, you get desperate and will do almost anything so that you can breathe again. I took some Nyquil and am hoping that will help me get some sleep tonight and wake up refreshed in the morning and can get back to work. So much to do and so little time left before the deadline.

I am working on several different projects. Can't let you in on all of them, because then it wouldn't be a surprise. I have 3 new kits coming up in the next few weeks and some surprise CU freebies. So keep your eyes open and check back often.

Time for me to trundle off to bed and try to catch some of those long-awaited zzzz's. Roxy is beside me looking at me like, 'are you ready yet'? So I am off. I will try to be back tomorrow with a sneak peek of some upcoming items. TTFN.

New Layout and a Freebie

2008-11-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am late posting today. I had internet issues this morning and it took me 2 hours to fix it.

Today is the day. It is finally here. So, pull up a chair, grab your smokes if you need them, a cup of coffee or tea, (or whatever you prefer to drink), maybe a box of Kleenex (if you don't need one, can you pass me one) and sit a spell. This is going to be a long post. There is a long explanation behind this, so please bear with me and I hope you enjoy.

The name of my new kit is called 'A Father's Legacy'. It was inspired by a few different circumstances. The first was a layout challenge on DSP for Meryl's Heritage. One of the participants had an idea for scrapping antique furniture that had been in our families for a long time and who the family member was that owned or made the furniture. At the same time, the SNL scrappers challenge was to do a Masculine Heritage kit, focusing on fastener.

I decided to create a kit dedicated to my dad and combine the two challenges. I didn't get my layout finished in time for the Heritage challenge, this layout has been in the works for over a month. I wanted it to be perfect. The kit was inspired by and created for the only father I have ever known. Just in case you haven't read my earlier posts, my real dad was killed in a car wreck after coming back from Viet Nam when I was a baby. My grandparents raised me, until they adopted me when I was 5 years old, becoming my parents. My real mother then became my sister. It can be very confusing at times.

I loved my dad very much and miss him terribly. He was the greatest influence in my life, my hero and my inspiration. He taught me everything he knew. He had the best sense of humor of anyone I have ever met. Life could never get him down, he just laughed and persevered. He was a carpenter, mechanic and general handy man all of his life. Even after he had his hand blown up by a car tire in the 50's, (crushing every bone in his hand), he exercised his hand daily with a tennis ball to get the use of his hand back. He wasn't supposed to ever be able to use that hand again, but he did. He never gave up and he never complained.

I lost him in 1997, but he is still with me in my heart. This has been very emotional for me, more so than I thought it would be. This is a big day for me because I can finally debut this kit for everyone to see. I worked very hard on it to make sure it was perfect and reflected my dad's personality. My dad wasn't in to a lot of fancy things. He did with what he had, and if he didn't have it, he would make it. He was very creative and talented, and I like to think that I got a lot of that from him.

The layout I put together hopefully reflects that creativity. He decided I needed a toybox to store my toys in, so he made one. Yes, the pictures are of me sitting in my new toybox, plastic pants and all. LOL.

There is only one element on this layout that was not created by my own hands and that is the journaling tag. Credit for that goes to Anneli Andersson of Attic Treasures. You can download the tags from her blog, Attic Treasures at happy-digiscrapper.blogspot.com.

Okay, enough of my blathering. Without further ado, I give you 'A Father's Legacy'.

This is the original preview for SNL scrappers.

And this is a preview of some of the new items I have added. Not all are shown.
All of the papers are full size and everything is 300dpi. There are 12 papers and 20 elements.

Kit Contains:
12 Background Papers
4 tags
1 bookplate
1 brad
1 brass eyelet
1 brass hinge
3 photo prongs
1 staple
1 hammer
1 old fashioned drill
1 photo frame
4 photo corners
1 word art

Download the papers here.
Download the elements pack here.

I am very nervous and am hoping that you like it. Please leave comments here or on my 4shared account and let me know what you think, like, dislike, problems, changes or constructive criticism. Thanks.

Also, I wanted to take a moment and post a blog blinkie I made for Brenda of Cuddlebeez Scraps. Thank you so much, Brenda, for giving me the opportunity and the wonderful comments on your blog. I am glad you like it. When you have a chance, cruise by her blog and check out her totally awesome kits she has available. They are a must have. Here is her blinkie. Feel free to snag it and post on your blog.

Okay, time for me to take off. Got to dry my face off and go watch the Boise State game. They are ahead, so far. Take care and have a wonderful day.

Ooooops

2008-11-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance for any inconveniences, but I am in the process of updating and fixing some things on my blog. I did not realize until a couple of days ago that my blog blinkies were not working, so I am working on updating those. Have to start all over from the beginning to get them set up right. Also, I guess stupid me did not realize, until just now, that I should be uploading my pics and layouts to photobucket and uploading to my blog from there. I started doing that, but forgot. That appears to be what is lagging my computer so much. So if you notice anything strange in the next little while, that is why.

I'm Back In Business

2008-11-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I am back. Sorry I have been MIA the last few days. I have had to spend the last few days going through and cleaning out my computer. At this point, I think all of the issues have been resolved and taken care of. I surfed around the net and other blogs most of the day yesterday, and did not have one pop-up the whole time. That is a first. IE is finally leaving me alone, thank goodness. It only took adding another virus protection software, 2 full scans of my computer (at 4 hours each), defragmenting my hard drive and a tune up that took 6 hours to get it accomplished.

During this time, I was accessing my email and other sites through my husbands computer. Unfortunately, I was not able to create any layouts or design any new elements, as my program was on my computer.

I am soooo excited to be back on and am ready to rock and roll now. I have a lot of catching up to do. And a lot of wonderful designs coming up very shortly. The first of which is 'A Father's Legacy', due to be released this coming Saturday. I was working on some new elements to be included in that kit last night and it is really shaping up nicely.

Okay, so a recap of the last few days activities from the land of chaos. My son, Anthony came over for a visit with his new girlfriend a few days ago. She seems to be really nice. Chelcey knows her from school and says she will be really good for him. They seem to be happy. He may or may not be graduating the end of this semester, still not sure yet. They may decide to make him take another semester and finish out the school year in order to graduate, which he is not really excited about. We all sat down and watched the newest 'Indiana Jones' movie, which I thought was way better than what the movie critics rated it. I highly recommend it to anyone who is an 'Indiana Jones' fan that hasn't already seen it. I thought it was just as good at the first ones.

I couldn't kick DH off of the computer Saturday, because BSU was playing a home game on the 'smurf turf'. No way we were going to miss that. It was a hard fought game, but they won 49 - 14, I think it was, and rated 9th in the nation with a winning streak of 9-0. Go Broncos. They have a chance to play in the BCS bowl now. Maybe we will see them in the Fiesta Bowl again.

Anyway, Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I spent all day scanning my computer, removing unneccessary programs, emptying my cache and temporary internet files and then doing the tune-up. That pretty much took all day. Which of course, did not allow me to do anything else on the computer while it was doing that, so it was pretty boring. I have been chomping at the bit to get back on the computer and get busy again. My desk is a mess with all of the clutter. I have about 4 stickie notes full of reminders of what I need to be working on and not able to do it. Which means I guess I better shut up and get down to business. No new layouts or pics to post, for now, and the kits are not finished, yet. I will post them when they become available.

BTW, as a side note, in my wanderings around yesterday and trying to update my blog blinkies, since I did not realize they were not working, yada yada yada, I ran back across a blog I had bookmarked a while back. It is Cuddlebeez Scraps and she has some wonderful kits available. I am using a couple of her kits to help her create a blog blinkie for her blog, at the same time as I am working on one for my own. If you haven't already been there, you need to check it out. I don't just say that lightly either, she has some wonderful creations. Here are previews of her latest kits. Click on the previews and it will take you to her blog where they can be downloaded.

Okay, time for me to say goodbye for now and get back to work. Lots to do. Take care everyone and have a great day.

As Promised, Finally

2008-11-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today has not been a very good day for me. I got a lot done, as planned, but am a wreck physically and mentally. I was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis throughout my body, but mostly in my spine, so my back is in constant pain and meds do not help with it. I am paying for the last few days bending over and cutting out fabric and sewing scrubs together. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day and I will have a better outlook on things. It doesn't help that it has been rainy and gloomy and cold where we are. Winter is starting to set in.

Okay, on to a better subject. I have 3 layouts I created using 'Victorian Grandmother' Kit by Linda of Tirza's Treasures. I have been having trouble trying to post them to my gallery at Stone Accent Studios and Treasures to Scrap accounts, so I am going to post them here for now, until the site issues are resolved and I can get in to post.

The first one is of my real mother on her wedding day. I am not real pleased with the picture, but it is the only one I have and is a newspaper clipping, unfortunately.

This one is of my great grandmother and her parents shortly after they migrated here to the United States from Germany. My great grandmother was born in 1898 and was about 18 months old in this picture.

This one is of my dad's family, (actually my grandfather). This picture was taken shortly after he came back from serving in WWII. He was the second oldest of 12 children and they are all pictured here with my great grandparents.

For this layout, I used 'Bearly Remember' by Tracy of Ambowife Designs. I wanted to change things up a bit for this creation. This is a picture taken of my mother (grandmother) and her brother and sisters around the same time as the previous picture was taken. My mom is on the back row on the left.

Those are the layouts I have been busy creating. I checked my 4shared account today and noticed that my Fall Fruit Freebie is not doing so well, which is understandable with the preview posted. I had decided not to create an additional preview because of the time constraint to get the freebie posted, but have decided to go ahead and post the additional preview for the extras and re-post the freebie.

This is the original freebie preview.

And this is a preview of the 14 extra items included in the kit.

Download here

I hope you enjoy and thank you for downloading.

Also, I have decided to post a sneak peek preview of another freebie coming up. I will not be able to post this freebie until Nov. 15th because of rules from a different site. So please check back in around the 15th of November, and it should be available for download.

I have not finished the layout I have planned for this kit, yet, but will get it posted here as soon as I do.

That is all for today. I will be back tomorrow. Take care everyone and have a wonderful day.

Great News

2008-11-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Just wanted to let you in on some great news. Tracy of Ambowife Designs has her store open at Stone Accent Studios and is having a 50% off sale on ALL of her kits for the next two weeks. Here is a preview of her latest kit, 'Bashful Romance'.

Hurry on over to Stone A ccent Studios and check it out. Here is a link to her store.
http://www.stoneaccentsstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=34&sort=20a&page=1
I haven't had a chance to create any layouts with this kit, yet, but here are some layouts I created with Tracy's 'A Charmed Life', which is also on sale right now.

This layout is of my son Anthony and his sister Chelcey after his latest high school theater performance where he played one of the leads in 'Rumors'. A really great play. It was a riot and all of the actors gave a wonderful performance. I will post some pics from the play at the end of this post.

This is my little mommy, Roxy, and my daughters and her boyfriend, Nick's kitten, Hogarth. Roxy is a miniature pinscher and thinks that she is Hogarth's mother. She has helped take care of him since he was orphaned at about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks old. He is a spoiled little monster.

You should see the two of them play. It looks like they are killing each other at times, but she is a very tolerant and patient mommy. When we ask her where Hogarth is, she will run and find him and then turn as if to say, 'Here he is'. She keeps him occupied and out of trouble, most of the time, until he gets caught on the computer cords. Then it is 'Grandma' to the rescue. He is biting my ankles right now. Poor thing thinks he is more of a dog than a cat, since he has been raised with 3 full grown dogs.

This is him sleeping with his mommy, Roxy.

And Hogarth being a ham with Chelcey's lab, Sam. He is a character. But, then again, all of our pets are characters in one way or another. We call D 'Lilah our insane clown princess, Sam is OFD which stands for Obsessive Fetch Disorder, Roxy is my luggage rat and then we have 4 insane cats, besides Hogarth.

OK, now for the grand finale. Here are some of the pics I took of Anthony's play.

Anthony is the tall one on the left standing up. LOL.

And here he is with Dad and Grandma after the play. What a clown.

This is Anthony and Skylar clowning around afterwards. These 2 were the hit of the show as far as I was concerned.

Oh, wait. I just have to show you a couple of pics I took from our hunting trip a couple of weeks ago. They turned out way better than I thought they were going to.

You won't be able to see them in this picture, but just inside the shadow below the curve of the hill in the foreground are 3 does walking up the hill in a line, right by the arrow. I tried to edit this photo to bring them into focus, but it came out really grainy. I am not sure if you will be able to see them.

This is about as good as it gets. I was just too far away, and they had just walked into the shade. The picture turned out a lot better than I thought, though. I couldn't even see them in the picture viewing it on the camera. It wasn't until we got home and I uploaded the pictures to the computer that I found out that they were definitely there.

And these are pictures of my companion on our little adventure.

She is quite the little adventurer herself, bouncing around on a 4-wheeler all day.

Okay, enough show and tell for this post. I will be back later with some more pics, layouts, a treat and a sneak peak I promised a few days ago. TTFN.

News and 2 Announcements

2008-10-31T02:11:00.000-06:00

Okay, first off, I'll start with the announcements. As you can probably tell by the new blinkie on my blog, I am participating in the Holly Jolly Christmas Blog Train. Just click on the image on top or the blinkie in the side bar for more information about this wonderful event. I am sooo looking forward to this and hope that you check back in on Dec. 15th to see what I have available for you.

Next, I am also now a CT member for Tirza's Treasures. I will be working with her kit "Victorian Grandmother" the next few days, so check back in to see what I come up with.

In other news, Roxy is all better and doing just fine. We have come to the realization that she likes to chew on and eat things that she really shouldn't. I found out that she not only ate part of the dish cloth, but also part of a 'Mr Clean Magic Eraser' and part of one of the sparkle candles from my daughters 20th birthday cake. Any one of these things could have caused what happened to her. I was so worried, I am so thankful we did not lose her. I am doing a much better job of keeping an eye on her and making sure she doesn't get ahold of something she shouldn't. It is hard, though. She is like a little toddler, everything goes into her mouth. Maybe one of these days she will learn and stop doing it. One can hope, anyway.

Also, I was going to post some more layouts and pics on my blog. I have been so busy making scrubs for my daughter and our dear friend, Jessica, plus organizing files and creating layouts, I haven't had time to get everything organized. I promise I will try to make a better effort tomorrow and get them posted. Plus, I have a sneak peek for you, also.

Well, time to run. It is early in the morning now and time for me to jump in bed and try to get some sleep. TTFN.

News and Updates

2008-10-28T14:44:00.000-06:00

Sorry guys. I haven't been on very much since yesterday. I have been busy nursing dear doggie. As I told Tracy a couple of days ago, she apparently decided that a wash rag was a good source of protein and ate the corner off of it. Her face and neck started swelling up really bad, so I gave her a 1/4 of a Benadryl tab. The swelling started to go down and she seemed to be getting better. I haven't given her anymore Benadryl since early yesterday morning and she started swelling up again last night. She is eating and drinking just fine and everything is passing through ok, she runs around and acts like her normal self, just worried about the swelling in her neck. I am putting off taking her to the vet, unless the situation gets really bad. Vets are sooo expensive, I want to try to do what I can before going that extreme.

In other news, apparently DigiFree has found me. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I am a little embarrassed because they are not quite the quality of other designers kits I have seen and not up to the standards I have set for myself. I posted them on my blog just to show the difference of my previous work from then to my current creations now. I have some other kits I am working on, but are not ready yet. They will have a Victorian/Heritage feel to them. I will post them as soon as they are finished. I am currently working on some projects as Tracy's CT for Ambowife Designs and will get those posted as soon as I can, also.

I will try to be back later this evening with more posts. I have a ton of pictures I want to get uploaded. TTFN.

I made it

2008-10-26T23:38:00.000-06:00

Finally, she breathed with a sigh of relief. I did it. I got everything transferred and uploaded. My whole blog life lays before your eyes now.

Please help, though. Does someone out there in digiscrapland have a solution for completely removing Internet Explorer? It has been driving me totally bonkers all day today. Every time I change from one screen to another, I have another pop up coming through. The problem is, I thought I removed IE. It is not on my list of programs on my computer anymore, but it still shows up in my program files and WILL NOT let me remove it. I also have Spybot and AVG and they have not been able to do anything about it, either. I am not sure which is worse, gray or bald. Just kidding. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

And now, for the Grand Finale, an announcement. A little late I know, but better late than never I always say. Yesterday, Tracy of Ambowife Designs was very gracious to accept me as one of her CT Members. If you transferred to my blog from hers, then you obviously already know this, LOL. I am so honored and thrilled. I have her newest kits downloaded and am now ready to play. They are to die for is all I can say. I was impressed looking at the previews on her blog, but they are FABULOUS. I can't say enough about them, I am speechless. Stay tuned, layouts forthcoming very soon.

The Water Elements Are After Me - Originally posted Oct 15th

2008-10-26T23:01:00.000-06:00

She yelled before running screaming out the door. Just Kidding. Though it does make a person wonder at times. If you are wondering, yes, we flooded again. This time it was the drain in the shower that backed up. Ever have times that you feel like you just can't win for lose? I am having one of those days. At least it wasn't nearly as bad as the last time. It didn't take me nearly as long to get everything up off of the floor and cleaned up. I guess that was lucky.

Anyway, on to bigger and better things. Chelcey's 20th is coming up in a few days now. She is very excited and trying to weedle what she is getting for her birthday out of me. But, of course, I won't tell her. Here is a layout SHE created for her birthday invitations. I turned her loose on my computer after giving her some pointers and this is what she came up with. I am very impressed with her style. (I really did not want to mar the look of the layout, but I also did not want to post personal information all over the net for everyone to access, either.) The kit she used was Rose Boudoir by Lisa of Sophisticated Scraps. You can find it on her blog at www.sophisticatedscraps.blogspot.com Be sure to check her blog out. It is totally AWESOME.

Another Chelcey Layout

2008-10-26T22:51:00.000-06:00

Awesome opportunity for me to dust off this page kit and finally have an excuse to scrap this photo of DD when she was 2 months old. I created this layout for Meryl's T42 & 24T Colorful Challenge. The pink of the background goes so well with the pink of her blanket. I think the picture needs to be bigger, though, and maybe a few more elements. I don't know, it seems I can never have too many elements.

I used Meryl's Lavender and Roses Page Kit exclusively on this one
http://store.digitalscrapbookplace.c...oducts_id=2582

Sam's Flyer

2008-10-26T22:12:00.000-06:00

Here is a look at the flyer I put together for Sam when the dogs got out a while back. He is our OFD dog, which stands for Obsessive Fetch Disorder. He seems to think that everyone who comes to our house is there to play fetch with him, and he doesn't know when to quit.