OMG I am so behind on posting!

The holidays have definitely hit, because I am behind and the holidays always seem to create that dilemma for me. Why is it that I seem to never be able to keep up with stuff during the holidays? My mind goes into some sort of hibernation it seems and I simply forget to do things that i need to do which causes a delay in the doing of them. LOL
That is exactly what happened this week with my layout share. Matter of fact I got myself all worked up because I thought I was further behind then I actually was. I freaked out because I was sure I had missed a whole week of CT duties without even noticing until today. So I went running to my CT forum and luckily for me I had already completed all the layouts for the kits released on Friday and was only behind on posting those layouts. Which don't get me wrong is still not good but at least I wasn't struggling trying to put together a layout without a lot of time to consider it and "Create" it. Whew!!! Thank goodness for small miracles.
So how is your holiday shopping coming. I am proud to announce that i am done shopping!!! Yeah!! I finished the last of it yesterday and I am so glad. I found some great buys for the kids and even got a couple special gifts for over half off after standing in a four hour line to get them that is. I think it was worth it though. I even have the stocking stuffers done! Can you believe that? I think I find stocking stuffers to be one of the hardest things to do because I don't like to put a lot of candy in them. I like to put "things" there instead and I am running out of "things" that I haven't put in them before. What do you put in your stockings?
Now that my near heart attack has been avoided I am happy to post my newest and latest layout from Sas Designs newest kit released on Friday at Sas Designs "Oh Holy Night".

I am really happy with how this kit turned out and I love the very traditional Christmas colors. I did add the snowflakes in from Sahlin Studio's kit "Writing in the Snow". I have a thing for snow flakes even though I do not like the snow. LOL
Well, I suppose I better get myself caught up and get this posted at the other galleries. I may soon catch up one of these days!! Wish me luck!!

By the Sea layout

I fell in love this weekend. Yes I did madly and passionately in love..L.O.V.E. love!! I bet your wondering what this is all about. Yes, I am married and no I did not fall in love with a person. I fell madly in love with a digital scrapbooking kit. Now don't tell me that you have never fallen immediately in love with a specific kit. If you haven't you have not been looking hard enough. LOL Or you have not visited the store of Etc. by Danyale recently. I am telling you her new bundle called Sugar Sand Boardwalk is spectacular!!! I am not on her team I have no benefit for telling you this other then the fact that I love love love her designs. I have recently run across her and purchased some of her kits. Matter of fact she was one of the designers who hosted the Digi Dare so I got a $10.00 GC to her store. Until then I had never heard of her. Now she has got to be my favorite!!! Her style is so me and she is grungy without being over the top grungy if ya know what I mean. You can find her store HERE if you want to check out her designs. Or if you want to see some of them in action stay tuned because I have started to play with the items I got recently. I just finished this layout using her kit I told you about above. Did I tell you how much I love this kit?? OMG I adore it. I only wish I had the money to grab the whole bundle.

Here is what the kit looks like that I got.

Here are some of the other kits I got with my $10.00 GC.

and here is the photo of the entire bundle of the Sugar Sand Board Walk Kit that I want so badly.

Do you see what I mean about her being grungy without being too grungy? So I am working on some layouts now and I just finished this one. My DH and I stayed at the famous Del Coronado Hotel on Coronado Island a few years back and I absolutely fell madly in love with this hotel. It was so beautiful!! If you have not ever stayed here and you get the chance please I promise you will not be sorry.

So now that I have shared with you my new favorite kit of the week how about you share with me the great deals you found this Black Friday for digital kits. Show me your favorite finds. 

I guess I got lost somewhere...

Very odd I could have sworn I posted last week but now that I am here to post this week I find that I did not. It seems I thought I had but failed to do so. I guess I will chalk it up to a "Moment" and let it go and instead show you 2 new layouts I created one from last week and one from this week.

Last weeks layout was a lot of fun and I am not normally very good with "Holiday" layouts. Its not that I don't like the holidays I just am not good at creating layouts that showcase them it seems. So when last weeks new kit was a Christmas Kit I was a little worried about what I would create. So I sat down and found some photo's of Wyatt making Christmas Cookies and decided to use them in this layout.

I really like the photo of my son taking a big bite out of that yummy delicious cookie. I tried something a little different to challenge myself and used some of the papers in the kit to make those banners. I really loved that Santa Claus and absolutely had to include him somehow. LOL You can grab Sas Designs kit Christmas Time in her store at Bits2Kits.

This weeks layout was so my style with all the fall foliage and gorgeous colors that I had no problem jumping right into the design of my next layout. I love when you see a kit and immediately "see" what you will do with it. That is exactly how it was with this kit by Sas Designs called "Grateful For".

I used all the fall foliage and wonderful autumn colors to showcase these photos I changed to B&W of my son and his friends Cole and Ty riding in the wagon of their tractor up in Pine Flat. These pictures where actually taken during 4th of July but changing them to Black and White made them work well with the kit. I did use a few additional elements in the creation of my layout that are not included in the kit. In specific the brushes over the paper and around the back of the design and the green crochet ribbon sticking out at the bottom. I am a brush freak it seems. LOL

Now I also created QP's of both pages just for your personal use. Consider it a Sorry I had a brain fart moment gift! LOL

You can grab the Christmas Cookie QP HERE.

 and The Harvest Fall QP HERE.

I hope you enjoy them both!

Toot Tootin my whistle!!

I am so excited because I entered a layout at Digidares as you all already know from my last post and I went back today to check it and I won!! Whew Hooo!! I am so excited!
Take a look for yourself! You can click on the image to be directed to the webpage.

I really enjoyed this challenge and will have to check out the next one now too. I was especially excited because it was the first time I have submitted there. I have always been a fan and always read the blog but never found the enticement to give it a whirl. This dare though involved an autumn layout and I could not pass that up. Thanks so much for looking!

DigiDare? Have you played?

So I have known about this Digi Dare website for quite a while but never really ever attempted to play or participate. I really do not know why I simply do not have a good explanation because the page is one of my saved pages for my Networked blogs and I look at it almost everyday or every other day just to see what people have created.
This week though I was intrigued because the Digi Dare was about Fall! Yeah!! I Love Fall/Autumn. I love the color's of Autumn not the cold of Autumn. I deal with the cold to get wonderful colorful and fun pictures I can use in bright and color filled Autumn layouts like the one I decided to create for the DigiDare. I love the orange's, brown's, yellow's, gold's, and green's of Autumn! You know I could not resist this dare!!!!!!!

So this Dare was to do all of the following things:
1. Use as many papers, patterns as you please….I just want to see at least one plaid OR hounds tooth paper in there.
2. Some paint.
3. Foliage… leaves, branches, berries, etc.
4. At least one ribbon.
and they wanted to know what I love about Fall. So I searched the web for a great free photo of some gorgeous foliage in some wonderful trees and I showcased it in my layout you can see below.

I wanted something somewhat simple that still included all the elements the Dare was requiring because I wanted my photo's to be the showcase. So I have leaves (Check), I have a crochet Ribbon (Check), I have sprayed and splattered paint (Check), and I have a hounds tooth print paper (Check). I have to admit to not being a huge fan of hounds tooth so I didn't want to buy a kit or paper pack just for something I would not use again so I made my own hounds tooth paper and then sliced it to use in the layout in a not overly noticeable way, but it does add a bit of texture.  LOL
I found a gorgeous photo of some wonderful orange, gold and green tree's as well and used a photo mask and then used my layer settings to blend it into the background paper. This allowed me to put my text over the top and still have it be visible. I know you cannot read it great here but believe me in the full size version you can. So for your reading pleasure the poem I chose to use is below created by Marilyn Lott.
The kit I used is by Etc by Danyale at Digichick, and I just love the kit and have used it a lot actually since I have gotten it.
Well, that's it. I would love to see your Autumn or Fall layouts as well. Off to submit my Dare into the DigiDare website. Wish me luck, I'll need it!!!

Oh in case you want to know the Digi Dare website is located HERE, just in case you want to submit your own Digi Dare.

Yikes! I almost forgot to post the poem for you.

Here it is:
Autumns Glow

There is something about autumn
That brings out such earthiness
Gold leaves adorn bushes and trees
Like an artist with a brilliant brush

Once the leaves dry on the trees
Then the wind begins to blow
It’s a special time of year for me
Because I love autumn so

The cold dry air it seems
Prepare the leaves to fall
Mother Nature’s special time
Yes, it’s the best of all

What a dazzling way to end
The year as winter nears
The way leaves let loose
And drop like nature’s tears

Oh yes, I love those golden days
Dreamy with autumn’s glow
It makes me smile because I do
Love the season of autumn so!

Marilyn Lott

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!!!

Wow can you believe it is DSD again already?!?!? I was shocked when I heard the news! But, I always love DSD because you get so many great deals on all the great Digi Designers products. It seems everyone is having a sale or giving away a freebie and I think everyone should take advantage of it!
I have so many layout's to show you today and I have 2 freebie's for you myself! Since i have so much to say and i have to be at the HRIF cinic in less then 45 minutes to see patients I suppose I should get right too it so here we go.

My first layout is created using Sas's newest kit and "FREEBIE", its called "You Make Me Smile" and it makes me think of this new photo booth craze that is going on. I could totally see everyone using it for there Instagram photos as well.

I took these photos at my company picnic of Wyatt sliding down a HUGE slide! He had so much fun. Now you can only get this Freebie by following Sarah's instructions HERE at her blog.

Next I have for you 2 layouts I created with Sas's new November PU Grab bag called "Down in the Garden". I love that these grab bags have so many things in them. I like having lots of choices and this kit definitely fits the bill.

I am not sure which layout I like the best because I love the bright colors of the first and I really like the simplicity of the second. You can grab the Nov Grab bag HERE.

Finally....Remember how I said I really was excited to show you a couple layouts that i was so excited about? Well the layouts were done using another Grab Bag created by Sas for her B2K store only. I really love the colors and the elements and I have to say Sas was working her buttons off for DSD.

So I truly love the way both these layouts came out. I wanted to try something different for me and that is how the 1st layout came about, but you all know how I love simplistic layouts that really focus on the photo's so I created the 2nd layout with the photo's popping right off the page. The papers in this kit are to die for and I was so excited and felt so privileged to get to use it!! This kit is ONLY available at Bits2Kits so you have to grab it HERE if you want to create some gorgeous layouts like I did with it. 

So that's all of my new layouts for you and I bet at this point you are pretty happy to know i am done. LOL Well, almost done that is because i have 2 freebie's for you that you can grab and create some spectacular layouts just like mine!!!

See below and click on the photo to grab one or both QP's:

It's Friday in the blog world!

I just love Friday's! Normally I off on Friday's but today I do have clinic at work. That's okay it means I get to spend my day with some wonderful co-workers and some even more wonderful infants that need a little extra medical help. I love what our clinic does for high risk children in the Kern County area. I am very proud to do the work I do at the hospital. Most of my time is spent in the High Risk Infant Follow-Up Clinic but I also get to spend time in the NICU which is also a joy. When you see so many children with so many life altering disabilities though it really makes you thankful that you are one of the lucky ones whose children do not have to grow up with these types of barriers in their lives.
This last month my family and I spent some time having family portraits done. We have never done this before. Really NEVER have we ever gone to a photography studio and had a family photo taken. I think I take so many pictures myself why would I need to have someone else take them. LOL I am very glad I did though because now I have wonderful gifts I can give to others for Christmas and some great photo's to work with in my layouts since I purchased the CD's.
I was on a roll this week and I have a new layout for you with Sas Designs new kit. So without further ado time for the layout.

The layout was created with Sas's new kit "Happy Heart". Now I took some of the items and recolored them to make them really fit my photo's I took of my son at the pumpkin patch. I also used Melissa Bennett's Halloween brushes again which I have fallen in love with as well. You can grab Sas's kit "Happy Heart" HERE. Below is what the full kit looks like.

 

Now I have to give you a fair warning. Sas's next kit has quickly become my favorite and I am just dying to show you the layouts I have created using it. It comes out November 2nd and Wowza I am so in love with it!! I wish I could sneak you a little peek but I have to keep my excitement in check for a little while longer. Let's just say it works so well with the season and you know how I love Autumn! I really wish I could show you know, because keeping these layouts under wraps is going to be so very hard. Not to mention I have 2 new freebies for you as well using the kit. Yes, i said it 2 new freebies for you.
So before I spill my guts all over this blog I will bid you farewell and until next week I hope your days are bright and sunny!

A couple new Halloween layouts to share and a freebie!!

My DH and I took my son Wyatt to the Banducci Pumpkin Patch today. If you have been following me long you know this is one of my favorite places to go and photograph my son, because it has so many wonderful colors and I always seem to get pretty good photo's. There is something about Autumn colors that gets me all excited about taking pictures. So, of course when we arrived home I went right to work color correcting and altering the photo's I took.

Here is an example:

I have really been having fun with the 4 Hens Filters I bought a while back. I am also very thankful for the photo editing classes i took at Jessica Sprague.com. I suppose I should tell you that in this picture my son said this was his "Divine" photo. So he is apparently attempting to look Divine. Do you think he hit the mark? LOL

Well, once I finished playing with my filters and editing software I of course had to create a layout with one of the photo's I took while on this excursion.

So I used one of my photo's that i used the Almost Black and White filter on after correcting the photo in photoshop with my editing software. The kit I used is by Kristin Aagard and is called "Trick or Treat". Hope you all like it because I made one for you all to use as well and you can grab it below.

Here: Happy Halloween

I also finished another layout that is definitely out of the box for me. I did not use any of my own images but found an image at one of those free copyright places you all know about. I was having a very dark day and decided a dark layout was the perfect response. So i cam up with the following layout entitled: "Who will hear me screaming"

I used a lot of brushes and some darker papers and such. I actually really like the way this turned out even though it is not my usual style. It helped me to get out of the dark mood. Only now I kind of want to create another similar one with some awesome skull brushes I got at SBG. They are so much fun.

Well that's it for me for now have a great night and I hope you enjoy your QP.

Can you believe it is Halloween time already?

I simply cannot get over how fast this year flew by! I mean Christmas is just around the corner and my favorite holiday Thanksgiving is even closer! I can almost smell the stuffing! Although I am not a big holiday layout maker especially for Christmas for some reason. I actually like to create Halloween and Thanksgiving layouts. So I was really hoping that Sarah (Sas Designs) would create a really cute Halloween kit to play with.
Well my luck held out and she did create a really cute Halloween kit. Matter of fact it is so cute it is titled "Spookily Cute" and it is available HERE.
So i sat down as soon as I got the announcement and created this fun page!

Yes, I am still into this bright orange, I mean I think I am addicted to it. It is so much fun and it really makes me think of Halloween and Autumn and all that fun stuff.
My son wants to be some Star Wars guy this year Darth Maul so we are heading out this weekend to find his costume. Yes, we are a little behind getting it all done but it has been slightly hectic here at our house the last week or so and well it just has not gotten done timely.
I am looking forward to Sarah's next kit though because I am hoping she will create something that I will be able to use with all the awesome family photo's we had taken this year. FUNNY I just realized that I had my son in a shirt with a lot of this orange in it. Ha had not even thought about it until now. Hmmmm now I have more ideas.
I have also started working on some Christmas Presents that I hope to have done in time for gift giving this year. They are very fun and actually pretty simple and my new family portraits come into play here as well.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day and a Happy Halloween if I don't get to chat at ya soon!!

Wow! I cannot believe Autumn is here......

You know I will readily admit that my favorite season's are spring and summer. Mainly because I seriously dislike being cold and I am seldom cold during those season's. If you asked me though which season was my favorite to photograph I would absolutely without a doubt tell you it is Autumn. The colors of Autumn are so beautiful, the deep oranges, fun yellows, and burnt red mixed in with the browns and the little bit of greens still hanging around! What isn't to like? Autumn here does no last long. It seems we go from 115 to a couple weeks of 70's to Winter! Now if you asked me what season I dislike the MOST it would easily be Winter. That is in any form of the question as well.

Well, Sas Designs recently put out a brand new kit called "Autumn Warmth" and it has all those vibrant warm colors of Autumn that I just love! I have to admit there is something about throwing some leaves and berries across my layouts that really makes me enjoy creating them. I mean look at all the gorgeous elements and papers in this kit: HERE

So I sat down and created what I think is a very Autumny layout, it actual is making me kind of anxious for Autumn to"really" arrive.

That is my son picking some peaches at Avila Valley Barn on one of our many trips there. Have a told you all how much I love that place? They are Harvesting pumpkins now but we didn't get to stay long enough last time to indulge and really thought it was a little too soon to carve a pumpkin.
Everything you see EXCEPT the word art is included in the kit. The word art is by Carena's Designs. I think those blackberries are my favorite element!!! They look so good I want to pick them up and eat them!!
What is your favorite season and why???

A Great new layout to go with a fun and versatile kit

So you all know that I love kits that I feel are versatile. I want to be able to use and reuse the kits I buy and even though they are digital I am still spend thrift. Thats one of the reasons I love Sas Designs kits. No matter what i seem to be able to use her kits in ways that they may not have necessarily been designed for.
Then every now and again she puts out a kit that is simply designed to be versatile. Now does that place me on cloud nine or what?
This months PU Grab bag from Sas designs is exactly that kind of kit. Check out the great layout I was able to create with the kit.

I have definitely been on a green kick lately. I am loving greens!!! I also used a ton of brushes I have in my arsenal of collections and I really think they added to the fun of the layout.

I do have a couple of extra credits to give though:
Journey-Gold Member Kit by Danyale @ Digichick (Couple of elements)
Journal Blenders Vol 4 by Karen Diamond Designs
I used a couple of elements (The square canvas element in the center left and the tape element on the upper left of the layout. Both by Danyale.
I used a Journal Blender by Karen Diamond to create the text you see in black as well.  Love them by the way!
Everything else you see is included in the kit along with those awesome borders you see as well.
I have to admit this was one of those layouts that I started off on a totally different plane and ended up with what you see here. My intention was to scraplift a layout I saw in an add I got from After 5 Designs but it didn't work out for me because I am simply not creative enough or wasn't in the right mood. Ya know how that goes right?

Well, that's it for me this week. Hope you enjoy and find something amazing to create yourself with this wonderful kit. I woudl love to see what you create!

Sus Designs: Sneak Peek

Sus Designs: Sneak Peek: NEW RULES! You can enter by sharing the sneak peek. You can… 1. share it on your blog 2. share it on Facebook 3. share it via twitt...

Oh the things I would sew...If I could only sew....

How many of you can sew? I have noticed lately that a lot of people seem to be taking out the old sewing machines and creating their own items. Or at least this is what I see on Pinterest now a days. I don't know what it is about Pinterest that you take a stroll through all the wonderful things and find yourself wishing you could do things you have never wanted to be able to do before.
Sewing is one of those things for me. I don't even own a sewing machine, but after taking a look at some of the spectacular and free items I found on Pinterest to sew I found myself doing exactly that. Wishing I had 1. the time and 2. the supplies to actually sew something all on my own.
What is even more amazing is that the same week I had been drooling over hand sewn items on Pinterest Sas Designs decided to release her new kit which believe it or not is all about sewing.
I immediately informed Sarah that as much I would love to create a beautiful layout all about my wonderful sewing accomplishments I unfortunately lacked a certain amount of skill in that area. So I jokingly told her I could possibly create a layout base don the things I would like to sew if I knew how to do so. The more I got to thinking about this and all those wonderful teasers I saw on Pinterest the more I realized this actually might work. LOL
So what you see below is my layout using Sas's beautiful new kit "Sew Much Fun" available HERE at Bits2Kits.

I really would make all these things if I possible could. I just love them all!! I was just in awe looking at how "Simple" the patterns appear. I am sure that if I actually deemed to complete a project I would find they are much harder then they portray themselves to be. Those Sproket Pillows are so wonderful!!! The wine carriers and I really love that storage box!!! The sling bags and well that hand clutch is just to die for.
Well, yes I could go on for days. LOL In the meantime I will be content to drool and one day maybe..............

Great Tutorial for Crediting and Linking in digital galleries.

I ran across this tutorial on Sahlin Designs Blog for crediting and linking your layouts in online galleries. I think it will be really handy when it comes time to link my layouts in the future. Figured why not share it with my friends as well. Hope it helps someone else out there as well and thanks Sahlin for a great tut.

Welcome to another "Blessed" day!

I am telling you Sas just keeps cranking out the spectacular kits. Her newest kit is no exception, made with gorgeous papers and wonderful elements the kit is extremely versatile for creating many differing types of layouts. Blessed is available HERE at Bits2Kits.

Take a look at the fun and fancy layout I created of my son Wyatt.

 

I really like the colors and the papers have an old fashioned feel to them in my opinion. I found that they worked very well for boys and they also remind me that autumn is on its way.

As usual I also created a Quick Page for you to grab if you would like to have your very own layout just like mine. Just click on the ad below to be taken to the download link.

Another new Layout and another freebie!

I have had quite the week this week. It hasn't exactly been good but I am getting through it. First I was in a minor car accident which didn't do a lot of damage but really put me in a bad frame of mind. Some guy on a motorcycle attempted to pass in the emergency lane during a back up on the freeway. When he swung back into the lane from the emergency lane he misjudged and ran right into the side of my car. I was so angry at his stupidity I wanted to smack him.

Then to make the week even better my sons Endocrinologist informed us that they are pretty sure he has GHD which is Growth Hormone Deficiency. My son is 10 almost 11 and he is WAY smaller then all the other kids in his school and all his friends as well. The 2nd and 3rd graders are bigger then him. So we took him to the Endo and this GHD is what he says he is pretty sure he has. What this means is a lot. GHD not only affects your growth it affects your heart, lungs, bones, immune system, muscles, just about every part of your body. The hormone is produced in our pituatory gland which is referred to as the "Master" gland. Why?  Well, because this gland is responsible for a lot of things inside your body. Without the Growth Hormone we don't grow adequately but even worse we are prone to heart attacks, osteoporosis, and many other very un-fun things.

What do you do for it? Well, that too is very un-fun. The only thing that can be done for it is to replace the hormone by injecting it into the body daily for the rest of your life. Our Endocrinologist said that we NEED to do it until he stops growing but it is recommended that it be done for the rest of the life span because it affects so many other areas aside from the growth. We are still in the testing phase and we went today for more labs and a Bone Age scan as well. Dr. Ching our Endo though does say that he feels that he needs to start the medication/hormones right away. He is waiting for the labs to come back to decide dosage etc etc.... I guess the labs are suppose to tell us exactly how much hormone is being supplied by the pituatory gland if any and how large of a dose he needs to receive to start out.

Thank goodness I got this layout done before all this happened so you still get a freebie and I still get to look like a good CT member for Sas LOL. I created it using Sas's new September Personal Use Grab bag available HERE at Bits2Kits. It has a lot of pastel colors and was a very fun kit to work with.

 

I created this fun layout and then added my beautiful Cocker Spaniel Misty Blue to the layout. She is a spoiled rotten dog that loves her life. Except when she is in trouble like she is now for getting into the garbage can while we were out today getting tests done. 

Everything except the paper with the writing on it and the dog print tag is from Sas's newest Grab Bag. The paw print is from her "Our Family" Bundle. The paper with the writing on it I created using brushes. 

The writing around the page is simply lyrics from the song "You are My Sunshine". I thought it was fitting with all the bright yellow on the page. Its funny how much I like bright vibrant colors in my layouts since I certainly would never put them in my home on my walls etc. I have greys and tans here in my home. 

So you also get the Quick Page of this layout if you would like it.

You can grab it HERE as well. 

I do hope you all have a very sun shiney day!!!

Huggles!

Punched out look on your digital layouts

I found another wonderful tutorial in my inbox today and thought it would be great to share with you all real fast before I head out to work. It teaches you how to get a punched out look on your digital papers. You can find the tutorial HERE.

A Few new layouts to share with you all

So I have been so busy at work and pretty much coming home and just being lazy. I did accomplish getting a few layouts done though believe it or not.

The first layout is a photo I took o a gorgeous hawk while we were at Montano De Oro State Park again. We happened pat this majestic bird perched upon her nest enjoying the view of the ocean while protecting her eggs (Babies?) from predators. I used Sas Designs Newest Bundle "Our Family" available HERE at Bits2Kits. I also used one of the templates included in the bundle to get my layout off to a splendid start.

I used the Mom portion of the bundle and I think the colors worked very well with the colors of the foliage the hawk is ensconced in. The papers in the this portion of the kit are probably some of my favorites of the kit as well. I normally am not a pastel type of person either so that says a lot coming from me. LOL

My next layout I created using the Dad portion of the kit and the colors are more my style but I decided to go with a more monotone look so it would be even more masculine.

I love the chicken wire and the stars in this one. I decided to "toss" the photo's around so it looked less organized and a little messier as well. I figured that would also add to the masculinity of the layout. I hope it accomplished what I was attempting to do.

Both portions of this bundle are available HERE at Bits2Kits. I hope you will take a little time and look at all Sas's fabulous kits. I am truly enjoying being on her CT. It keeps me scrapping but still gives me the freedom to scrap when I want to and have the creative juices to do so.

Thanks for looking everyone! Have a splendid day! Off to watch the Nascar race now!

HUGGLES!

Outdoor Fun!!!

My family just loves Summer and Spring and what better time of the year to play outdoors and have lots of "Outdoor Fun". Whether we are camping, miniature golfing, playing at the beach, or just hanging out we always have a ton of fun together.
Sas Designs newest kit is perfect for your outdoor and camping layouts. Just look at the layout I created with the kit.

I love the color palette and I really love that tree!!! Its so cute and it looks wonderful in the BG behind the spectacular stamp frame! Now the title work is not part of the kit and its is available at SSD by Mandabean. Everything else in the layout though (aside from my photo of my son) is included in the kit!

Now for your weekly quick page gift! You can grab this layout made into a QP just for your personal use HERE. I really hope you enjoy and make sure to run over the Sas Designs store and pick up this great kit!

It's Friday again!!!!

Yes it is and Sas has yet another wonderful kit out!! Where does she get all these ideas and how does she put out a brand new kit every week?? It's amazing I tell ya! My imagination does not work in those ways. LOL

Well, this week Sas has a brand new kit perfect for all those Garden photos, tea party photos. recitals. out door garden partys, etc etc etc.........

Garden Party is full of very feminine papers and elements that work so well with all those types of photos. Since I have no feminine photo's that are good enough for a layout I again used a photo of my son and while the layout is a little girlie this time I think it still works.

I just love the colors and the papers in this kit. They are fun and relaxing all at the same time.

Now don't abandon me yet, because I have again created a very special Quick Page for you to make your very own layout as well.

So run don't walk to Sas's store to grab your Garden Party kit and then click on the link below to grab the awesome QP I created for you. HERE.

Sharing a great tutorial by Sahlin Studios

I don't know about you but I have always loved the look of clear acrylic elements on a layout, but unfortunately I very seldom ever attempt to use them myself. Why you may ask? Well because I quite simply cannot ever seem to shadow the elements in a way that creates a pleasant outcome to the element. What I mean is that the shadowing always makes the element to dark and well it takes away from the clear crispness of the acrylic and replaces it with an ugly dark shadow.
How fortunate was I too find in my inbox today in Sahlin Studio's newsletter but a wonderful tutorial for solving this annoying problem?!? Let me tell you I was so excited I almost chocked on my hamburger, I swear! How bad is that when I get so excited about shadowing that I almost kill myself? Well, frankly my dear this is a big deal to me! I can now use clear acrylic elements with ease and I am sure you will soon find a stupendous layout featuring something clear and acrylic. LOL
I was so excited about it I immediately decided I had to share it with you!!!! So below you will find the link to this awesome tutorial compliments of Sahlin Studio's and her creative solution!

CLEAR ACRYLIC SHADOWING TUTORIAL

Enjoy please, you know I am going too after all!!!

It's Friday!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!

It's Friday and that means one important thing! Sas Designs newest kit release and this weeks kit "Everyday I Love" is adorable. At first I thought how am I going to use this pastel kit since I have boys. Then I got to working with it and realized how easy it was to make it work for my sons beach photo. I decided to use the kit to really display all the papers in the kit which are simply adorable. I layered the papers across the background page and then fitted them to some Muggles Pockets from Dawn Inskip at SBG. I then filled the pockets with differing elements from the "Everyday I Love" kit from Sas designs. Let me tell you I used a lot of the elements to fill all those pockets. LOL Below is my layout completed with a ton of layers and alot of the elements in the kit.

Isn't it great and doesn't it work well with my sons beach photo. I think the colors are perfect for a wonderful beachy layout. I also made a QP to share with you all just incase you want to have your very own!!!

You can grab your free QP HERE and you can grab the awesome kit by Sas Designs HERE. I really hope you enjoy the freebie and I know you will love the kit its made from. See you all next Friday!!!

Summer Time means fun right???

I have been on pins and needles waiting to show you my latest layouts using Sas Designs newest kit: Summer Days. This kit was perfect for me because we just came back from the beach and all the items in the kit and so very beachy!!! I just love how my finished product came out, really I do!

You can grab it HERE. Right now!!!

This is what I was able to do with this spectacular kit!!!!
The layouts are both the same except in the first ones I just used my original photos with doing anything fancy with them. In he bottom page I tried using a saturation filter on them and now I don't know which one I like the best!!! Help me please!! Which one is your favorite?

How fun is that kit huh???

I love that BG paper with all the colorful squiggly lines its so bright and cheerful!!

Now I had to change my upload server because 4Shared simply would not let me upload my file and I have no idea why. I do have a freebie QP for you though that I made from this exact layout, so I hope you like it.

You should have fun adding your own photo's to the layout I created above using Sas Designs wonderful kit!! You can now grab this and other freebies HERE at Deposit Files or HERE at Dropbox.

Let me know what you think about it or if you have problems or anything its my first time using them so I don't know what the service will be like but I worked for a week trying to get 4Shared to take my file and it simply would not. Hopefully this one works better it certainly uploaded much faster.

if you have suggestions for sites you like to download files from I am open as long as it is not one that uses Captcha. ( I hate them and my eyes are just to bad to read those things.)

I hope you all have a great day!!!

Hugs

A creative slump....

So sometimes I find that being on a CT really jump starts your creativity. When I know I have to create something I find myself looking around for inspiration where I might not look for it otherwise. I look at other peoples work and I see layouts in common advertising and and even quotes. I have been taking some classes at Jessica Sprague and she gave us a free template to use that featured some hexagonal images that i just loved. I decided to give it a go myself using some hexagonal shapes. Its my first go at it but I like my start. I am going to keep trying this and see what i can do with it later as well.

I used Sas designs newest kit Cute Fruit to create the layout full of hexagons about our recent trip to the Avila Valley Barn.

I think I can do better. It came out a little busy to me so I need to work on this and figure out what the best shape it for the hexagons and how to place them so they d not overpower the layout. It is a start though that it is. You can grab Sas designs kit here: http://bits2kits.com/shop/cute-fruit-p-4983.html?zenid=65532ada732e6a64fc413fc8eda5c82a at here store.

Next I used Sas's kit to create a layout about myself or maybe I should say a layout to remind myself who I am. I think we all forget who we are at times. I found this great quote and saw a similar design on Pinterest the other day. I added my own flair and my own quote and I had limited photos to choose from because I am never in my pictures. LOL

Yep that is me at 3 years old. LOL I used a lot of brushes on this layout that i had hidden away on my hard drive. The lace you see behind the photo is actually a brush. Yes I swear it is, I colored it and gave it a slight shadow to make it pop. I also used a template by Angie Briggs at ScrapGirls to create the torn look to the photo's. It worked great as you can see!!!

I cannot wait until the next new release at Sas Designs because I have already seen her new kit coming out on the 29th. Lets just say it will work great with all my most recent photos and I cannot wait to create some layouts with it. Unfortunately I have to take a break and head out to the movies with my DH and DS to see Madagascar 3 in 3D. So I will see you all on the flip side!!!
Adios!!

2 new layouts!!

I have to admit i just love the newest kit by Sas designs because I simply love to read and I absolutely adore my Nook on top of it! So when I saw this kit I knew I had to create a layout of my Nook.

Well then of course I had to use it to create a layout that was not about reading just to show what it is capable of becoming.

I also created a QP out of the bottom layout. So if you want it you can grab it HERE.

Thanks for looking

Princess Jayden

Completed another layout this week of my gorgeous Niece Jayden playing dress up. She loves to dress up like a Disney Princess and she always looks so adorable doing it.

2 more layouts to share with ya

I just created a couple more layouts today to share with you. Hope you enjoy them.

First one is of my wonderful Cocker Spaniel Misty Blue. I loved this Blue paper from Sugar Plum Paperie at SSD. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? I created the layout just to use that paper. LOL

The next layout I created with a freebie from Libby Pritchett also at SSD. I love the greens and browns that make the mini kit so Masculine. Like my pocket I created from a paper and a journal card? I recolored the card, added a brad, and a ribbon along with the title of "Top Ten". Then I did some actual journaling on it and tucked it under the pocket which is just a square of the polka dot BG paper you see in the very back of the layout and then I used some stitches to make it look like it is sewn into a pocket. I am pretty proud of it. LOL The photo's are random photo's of my son Wyatt.

Play that Funky Music!

I am having such a great time with my newest kit from SAS designs. The music theme is fun and I really think it lends to the ability to really go out on a limb and get funky with it. I have been wanting to try a new technique I saw one time online and decided this was the perfect kit to do that with. I <3 how the look of the silhouette turned out with my photo and the random word generator i used.

I really think it gave the layout a rock star funky feel and I love the purple with all the bright colors in the dots of the BG paper. I woudl have been happier if it would have a slight bit more detail to the image but I will work on that as I get better at this technique. I am sure i will eventually find a way ya know.
You can grab Sarah's kit at either one of these links, HERE or HERE. You will not be disappointed.