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I see this link the other day on Facebook and thought it had a lot of fun and creative ideas that could be used for either hardcopy or digital scrapbooking. I decided to post it here so I’d have it when I want to look at it ~ and maybe some of you will be interested, too! https://diyprojects.com/scrapbook-ideas/
This is the picture I saw that made me want to look ~ such a cute and simple card to make with all my scrapbook paper scraps!
It has been a LONG TIME since I’ve posted; the last year or so has been a very busy and, in some ways, a difficult and challenging time for me. But I’m back and hope there’s still someone out there following my blog!
I will be adding a new “Thanksgiving” themed kit to my stores soon and will for sure have a freebie posted here to say THANKS to you for sticking around. Take care…
I did it – I finally launched my Facebook page (see link above)! It is definitely a work in progress and needs a bit more fixing up, but I’d love to have any of you who are interested stop on over and “like” my page. I’ll be participating in a Facebook “hop” later this month along with several of my fellow Studio designers, and you’ll need to “like” the page to enable the download link for the exclusive freebie. Thanks for your support! : )
P.S. The header on my Facebook page is a sneak peek of a kit I’ve updated and will be loading in my store soon. Watch for an announcement later for the details…
Thank you for your patience while I took a little break from this blog. Both of my daughters ended up buying new-to-them houses and moving in the past few months. For one of them, it was her first home, and while she got a great deal because she bought it on a “short sale,” it took a LOT of our time helping her do a LOT of work in it. Everything turned out really nice, and while there are still some things to finish up and some attention needed in her yard, for the most part the major remodeling is done, and it looks fantastic! It’s great to see both of them settled and enjoying their new homes.
I’m trying to get back to real life, including designing, so I hope you’ll stick with me while I get caught up and start working on some new stuff!
NOTE: If interested, please read below for information about Dropbox.
From February 1-14, I will share the spotlight as one of the Featured Designers at theStudio with an incredibly talented, creative, and thoughtful designer: Karen from Snickerdoodle Designs. After much discussion, we picked an idea, theme, and color palette ~ and then the fun began! I totally love how this turned out and am excited to share it with you! There will be a freebie mini kit you can use to create a layout, and then one lucky person will be randomly selected to win the full kit. Here’s a little sneak peak of just a few of the adorable elements!
Here’s the best part: you get 2 GB of free online storage when you sign up. You can pay for more if you want – OR once you’re signed up and have downloaded Dropbox to your computer, you can send your own link to friends or family members. If they sign up and download Dropbox to their computer, BOTH of you get an additional 500 MB of free storage space, up to like 16 GB, I think.
If you want to try this out, here’s my link: http://db.tt/d11iEN6O
You don’t have to sign-up through my link, but if you do, we’ll both get extra storage space added to our individual accounts. I won’t have access to any of your files; we just both get the bonus. If you have any questions or need help, please let me know! : )
I always get a bit nostalgic when one year ends and a new one begins. This past year had its share of hard times, including the loss of loved ones dear to my heart along with some personal and family health issues and challenges. But there were far more good things than bad, and it’s easy to look back fondly on the lessons I’ve learned, the new friendships I’ve made and the old ones that were strengthened, the goals I’ve accomplished, and the opportunities and blessings that have enriched my life. I’m especially grateful today for the many “virtual” friends I’ve made throughout the world and thank you for being part of my life.
I’ve never been good about making New Year’s “resolutions” ~ this year is no different. I do much better when I set goals throughout the year when the timing is right. But no matter when the goal is set, I still find the hardest part for me is simply to START! That’s why this quote is going to be front and center as one of my focus areas this year. No matter how big or small the task or challenge is, no matter if it is for work, home, church, etc., I just need to make the commitment to get off my butt and start ~ then focus on the finish! Feel free to click on this word art and save it if you need the same reminder I do! Happy New Year! : )
My cute neighbor, Amber, has a blog called “Dessert Now, Dinner Later!” with lots of great recipes and cooking ideas. I’ve been meaning to include a post about her blog for a while now; seeing this cookie recipe today made me finally take the time to do it! I can’t wait to make these and may even include this on my recipe card for the December challenge.
As some of you know, I had surgery on both my feet last Friday. I have truly been humbled by the many thoughtful and sincere e-mail messages I have received, and I’m forever grateful for the incredible “virtual” friends I have made and the difference you make in my life! Thanks so much for your unconditional kindness and genuine concern!
I wanted to share this adorable “get well” card I received from Margie; she made it using this month’s recipe card starter kit! Thanks, my friend!
If you’d like a copy, you can download it here.
How did you get to be so old so fast?? I love you so much, Adam, and I’m grateful and blessed that you are part of our family ~ the final piece we needed to make us whole! Thanks for being such a good brother to Megan and Amber (and now Matt), a loving son to me and dad, a loyal and dependable friend to the young and old, and an outstanding example to everyone you meet. Finally, thanks for all the joy, laughter, and fun you bring into our lives ~ I wouldn’t change a thing about you! Always dare to be different ~ stay true to your own unique YOU!
I finally finished combining the orders placed in my store to account for everyone who spent $5 or more between July 1-15, put all the names in a hat (well, a bowl), and drew a name. Congratulations, Margie D ~ you are the lucky winner of my entire store (excluding collabs). Send me an e-mail message and I’ll give you more information. And thanks to everyone who continues to follow my blog, download my freebies, and buy from me when you can ~ I truly appreciate your support and loyalty!
If you’re ever in need of a fantastic blog background, check out the Scrappin’ Blogs website. They work with a wide variety of scrapbook designers’ kits to create some really fun and unique backgrounds. My blog is now sporting the one they made with my “Grill Master” kit – I like it a lot! Remember them when you’re ready to change the look of your blog…
Is my blog opening r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w for anyone else?
UPDATE: By accident (or divine intervention!), I found a web site that tested my blog. I didn’t understand what everything meant, but it did highlight one thing in red that I deleted, and I’m back in business. In case you’re interested, here’s the site I tried: http://www.webpagetest.org/
Want a chance to win my entire store? Simply spend $5.00 or more between July 1-15, and you’ll be entered into a random drawing where one lucky person will win everything in my store (excluding collabs). If you’ve already bought something but spent less than that, just send me copies of all invoices that combined exceed $5.00. To make it even better, my store will be on sale for 40% off during this same time period, so you can get almost double the product for the same amount of money. Good luck!
Thanks, Kim, for creating my ad!
27 years ago, I embarked on a wonderful journey called motherhood! Thank goodness Megan was my firstborn – she made being a mom so fun and rewarding that it was an easy decision to have more children. I found a great poem about first-born children that perfectly says how we felt much better than I could – it says:
Oh, how we planned and waited for the moment of your birth.
Of all our little miracles, you were the very first.
The first to hold, to raise, to love, and fill our days with fun,
From your first tooth to your first steps, we counted memories one by one.
The years passed by so quickly, and soon we realized,
Dear first born, you were growing up, right before our eyes.
We have cherished every moment and we wanted you to know,
You have brought real joy into our lives, and we love you so!
Thanks for being a great example, sister, daughter, and friend! I hope this year is your very best yet! And the next time you go to Disneyland, I’m going with you! I love you, Megan!
The greatest joy and most treasured blessings in my life come from being mom to my 3 incredible children. Today is Amber’s birthday, and I just wanted to publicly say how much I love her before we head over there to see her in person to celebrate! Amber, you are an amazing woman, wife, teacher, employee, neighbor, sister, daughter, and friend. I’m so grateful Heavenly Father trusted me to give you life, and even more grateful for the life you have led and the beautiful person you’ve become ~ both inside and out. Thanks for suffering through my inadequacies and remaining one of my best friends. I love you!
For all the young moms out there: slow down and take the time to enjoy every messy, noisy, tiring second ~ because all too soon your kids will be grown and those moments will become distant memories.
Amber: 5 months old // last week after running 1/2 marathon (13 miles!)
Back in this post, I issued a challenge to use my “Fiesta” blog train kit (now available in my store) to create a layout AND post it in my gallery. My main motivation was this: if you’re like me, you collect lots of freebies and then they sit unused on your computer. I wanted to see what you could do with my kit.
Two of you created and posted layouts with “Fiesta” (and one also used my template from another blog train!) – they both turned out great. Hope you don’t mind that I’m including them here to share your talents! So, mama4bears and jennyj – I’m giving BOTH of you a kit from my store! Just send me a private message at theStudio letting me know which kit you’d like, and I’ll send you a coupon code. Thanks for playing along…
I’ll continue to keep an eye on my gallery and surprise someone else in the near future. Happy scrapping!
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One of our family’s favorite TV shows is “The Amazing Race.” I was excited to find out about a digital scrapbooking version of that – have you heard about this yet? Have any of you “competed” in previous years? Here’s some information from the host website:
At Natural Designs in Scrapbooking (NDISB), we’ve come up with a cool internet digital scrapping game that will mirror the excitement of the TV reality show “The Amazing Race.” Teams of two will traverse the digital scrapbooking world, site by site, completing challenges and collecting prizes along the way. Everyone who completes the week’s challenges in the allotted time frame will move on to the next week, where they can collect even MORE prizes! And at the end of the race, everyone who has travelled around the digital scrapbooking world and completed each and every challenge will be entered into a drawing for the GRAND prize! Welcome to the Amazing Digi Scrapping Race – Season 6!
Sounds like fun! Now if I can just find the time to do it – and get my daughter to be my partner! Click on the preview for more information. UPDATE: unfortunately we didn’t end up with time to do this. Hope some of you did and had a blast!
I’m really frustrated and angry to see not only my kits, but several others from blog trains and various stores being pirated and posted on other sites. This isn’t the first time this has happened to me; it makes me wonder if designing is worth it. I keep my prices reasonable for store kits and offer quite a few freebies. What a disappointment to have someone come along and steal my stuff to offer to others and claim as their own.
The sad part: this ongoing piracy/stealing will make designers – well, at least this one – rethink how much they/I want to do, especially as it relates to freebies that people can steal for nothing. It doesn’t matter if I sell my work or offer it as freebie – it is MY work. The same is true for other designers – their designs belong to them.
Here’s part of what my TOU (terms of use) document says: “You may recolor or resize items in my kit for your projects, but you may NOT claim any of them as your own creations (altered or unaltered) or redistribute any of the individual items to others. Do NOT upload any of my files to any websites or provide my direct download links on your blog or elsewhere. Direct people to my blog address for all downloads.” Is that not clear enough? What more do I need to say?
Do me a favor: if you are taking my work and posting it elsewhere and/or claiming it as yours, stop! It’s called stealing. And don’t come back to my blog or store ~ you’re not welcome here! For the majority of you: sorry you had to listen to my rant. Thanks for your support and integrity; you make the time and money I spend to design and put kits together worth it.
