Reflections of the Heart

Freebie!

2007-08-30T20:41:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to say thanks to all my customers and offer this free desktop for September. Hope you like it ! It is on 2 sizes _1024x640 and 1280X800. The link is here. I used my Homespun Treasures kit and the perfectly simple frames set.

2007-08-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

New Beautiful Mini Kit in the store! This week you get a FREE ready made page with purchase ! You get everything for just $2.95 here. Thanks for looking!

Finally!

2007-08-24T22:22:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time, but I am going to "try" to get this going again! I hope to have some freebies soon too!

2007-06-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

OOH La La- had so much fun making this kit, you can find it here.

This month only ,you get both of the overlay packs for the price of 1~ just $2.99! You can find them here.

New kit for the week

2007-03-29T11:45:00.000-05:00

This is my latest kit Garden Shabby in the store here. You get the stickerdoodles free this week with purchase of the combo kit. Love the colors in this - adore anything shabby chic!

Wish Em was that age again- am not enjoying the teen sassiness and changes - ugg. But God is good and am praying he will enable me to get through the next few years! lol

2007-03-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

My new kit "hoppin into spring" at DSAG here. It was so much fun to create and use!
Baseball season has begun and JD made the headlines in the newspaper! We were so proud of him- it was in huge letters that he trampled the Wildcats! WOO HOO! He is now 3-0 pitching. The coach from the opposing team said he was one of the best pitchers around.

It has been too long!!!!

2007-03-15T16:29:00.000-05:00

credit- my My Guys kit at the DSAG

Sheer negligience of my blog- shaking head in shame. Has been a crazy month for sure !!!! Em has had mono, Ben the flu , and my BP has been up and had to have my eyes examined. Better than my head examined though- lol . I need to put a freebie up to reward anyone who has been checking in ! Will work on that. JD starts baseball tomorrow. John starts mandatory 12 hour days, 7 days a week- no days off for a month - ugg= that all equals no time.

Here is my latest kit and the matching alpha is free as a gift with purchase until March 22nd at the digital scrapbook artisan guild here. Have a cute spring kit coming next week and I LOVE the free gift - check it out Thursday the 22nd!

Check out the new Guild!!!!

2007-02-05T19:45:00.000-06:00

I am so excited as there are so many new things happening! I can't tell you how much I love everyone at the Guild! For starters, anyone that goes to the Guild can get the awesome Alpine Guild kit for free! Then if you go and register at the Guild, you are then entered into a sweepstakes drawing for some awesome prizes!No purchase necessary!Details here.

Currently everything is open to non members- so check it out!
I am also conducting "Out of the Box" challenges- in the forum. My first challenge is on collage and I invite you to participate!
I am also offering a free Gift with Purchase-

We are currently having a CT call for the Guild- check it out here.

I am a new designer at the brand new Guild!!!!!!

2007-01-17T17:59:00.000-06:00

I am soooooooooooo excited and I have been making new designs for a month now!!!! During the Scrapartist Apprentice contest, Debb Cozzim had written me and wanted me to join the new Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild which is opening tomorrow (fingers crossed)!!!!!!! There are fabulous designers and instructors and I am blessed to be a part of this! They will be offering classes and I want to take them all! I plan on having a slide of my things on this blog and will have a direct link to my store. It is scheduled to open January 18th- but had a few glitches with the beanbasket software. Hugs! A sneak peek-

2007-01-05T08:27:00.000-06:00

Yes- Everything on my blog looks wonky! I have been trying to figure out how to change it up and I did! LOL I am going to be making a new blog banner too , to match the backgrounds. The backgrounds are from my new Attic Roses kit. Yes I have a secret! I will tell soon! Keep checking in . Life is as hectic as usual - but it is hard as Ben is not sleeping at all !!!! He cries all night. He does not seem ill- just do not know what is up. Forgot to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! The Lord really blessed us with a fabulous Christmas. Well off to create a new banner. hugs

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

2006-12-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas ! I am so blessed to have faithful readers and I apologize for not keeping up with posting. I have some exciting news and will post later about it. I am having the family Christmas feast tomorrow and am looking forward to it. So fun having Ben to see Christmas with new eyes. I have stockings in the morning and then we have breakfast . After, I am cooking a prime rib, shrimp stuffed baked potatoes, salad, rolls, green bean casserole, tons of sauteed mushrooms and a black forest cake. Yum! Hugs! I got this recently and wanted to share it.
by Max Lucado
You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air
The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know. So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one The roadside has become a parking lot Car doors are open,and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store. The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the clouds. And what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.
As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None. From whence came the light begins to tumble a river of color spiking crystals of every hue ever seen and a million more never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet ofangels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky. North. South. East. West. Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison,and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear thecherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy. The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-foursilver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join theangels in worship. Presently the movement stops and the trumpets are silent,leaving only the triumphant triplet: Holy, holy, holy.Between each word is a pause. With each word, a profound reverence. You hear your voice join in the chorus. You don't know why you say the words, but you know you must. Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns andthere He is.
Jesus.
Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figureof Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by his declaration: I am the Alpha and the Omega. The angels bow their heads. The elders remove their crowns. And before you is a Figure so c onsuming that you know, instantly you know: Nothing else matters. Forget stock markets and school reports. Sales meetings and football games. Nothing is newsworthy.. All that mattered, matters no more.... for Christ has come. .

fa- la -la -not

2006-12-08T15:24:00.000-06:00

credits- sara carling Amelie kit, Sausan's house and book, fonts- vaguely repulsive, Ck mama O , glider girls

Tried to upload pics to my slide today and it would not let me and nothing worked. So I had to make a new one. But- that is a good thing as I had not kept up with it and now I have a complete gallery on there. So - a blessing in disguise. This layout was for a studio start challenge at Scrapbookgraphics. I did it quite a few months ago and am sad to report - I have not changed- maybe next year?
Last night my son and his girlfriend slid off the road and were stuck in a field- about 30 yards in. It was about 7 degrees and my son did not have a coat. They tried getting kids to help them and finally called my DH about 2 hours later,So John went and drug them out with his truck. Their car was too damaged to drive and they had to get it towed - but praise God they are both fine!!!!!!! I was hoping they would have learned a few things - but am not holding my breath!
I have 2 Christmas gifts bought and my decorations half up, the lights outside do not work and the middle of my inside prelit tree is out. My DD's birthday party is several weeks late too.I wish I could postpone Christmas this year. lol Hoping tomorrow the ice will melt. My dd's friend's Mom just got stuck in a ditch and I had to take her to the school. anyway need to clean up my computer. fa la la

keep forgetting to post!!!!

2006-11-30T15:42:00.000-06:00

credits-Sausan's altered quick pages pressed flowers,schnipp schnapp flowers, old money pin, , studio girls basics date stamp, Maya's art trash letters. Fonts, bookman antiqua

Where have I been? Oh my time flies! Well worked tons of overtime during Thanksgiving and then we had Ben's birthday party on Saturday. Seems a blur. I can't believe it has been a year since Ben was born. I feel like I have aged 10 years for his one. I bent over to turn on my pc and my back went out- went to the chiropractor yesterday . Pretty funny , but all I want for christmas is not a fancy smelling lotion but a big bottle of BioFreeze!!!!! LOL ( it is like Ben Gay)

Today is Emily's birthday and the poor thing will have to wait for her party. We are getting hit by a major winter storm with ice, sleet and snow - they say up to a foot! What a change as it was 65 degrees earlier in the week.

My son's leg is on the mend and will be able to play his first games in Basketball. But since he missed so much practice, he has to play the first 2 for the JVarsity. I love to see him play. He is so talented and 6 foot 4. Emily begins volleyball this week too. I am so busy now (December is crazy anyway) I can't imagine what 2 full game schedules will be like- with a baby. Oh well, I shall be like Scarlett O'Hara and worry about it tomorrow!

Again, thanks to all for your kindness and support since I was not picked to sell at SA- . I am not unhappy about it and pretty well relieved. So many thanks and hugs. I will sell my designs one day.;o)

Currently I am taking the mentor-protege program at Digiscrapdesigner . It is a self paced (yeah) program and I hope to learn a lot. Here is a layout we had to do of ourselves-groan. Anyway, I was feeling quirky- can you tell? LOL Can imagine the comments I will get about this- I probably broke every conventional rule in it!

I lost!

2006-11-18T14:26:00.000-06:00

Just want to thank everyone for the terrific response to my Apprentice kit!!!!!!! I so appreciate everyone who voted for me and bought my kit!!!! I also want to thank those that sent me such sweet comments!!!! A big hug to all!! I am fine with the decision as the timing would have been awful! I can barely keep up with the house, Ben into everything and all the activities that JD and Em are in! December usually stresses me out and starting a new business would have probably pushed me to the edge! Being so busy and not getting much sleep - do not help the creativity department. Being in the contest did get my name out there- I got a design offer and notes from ladies that want a spot on my future creative team. I placed this in God's hands from the start, and He has always been faithful to guide my paths. I can look back and remember so many times He has closed doors only to open a better one later. I also need to gain more experience designing. I also want to congratulate the talented ladies that won!!!!!!!! ( I honestly have to say that I am relieved to have some free time with no deadline,no advertising- my family needs a lot from me right now!}
I found out this week that JD tore his calf muscle :O( It was so dissapointing ,as he is excited about BB season. But he should be able to play - takes a good 4 weeks to heal and he starts therapy Monday. Em had to be at school at 7 am for a literary contest , took ben to my MIL's, drove to another town for the event, went to the bank and got some groceries and picked up Ben. He is cutting more teeth and was up all night. I then installed satellite raddio in my van- not easy. lol We had to rearrange all our furniture and baricade everything since Ben is into anything not bolted down. I hate this stage! He turned one on Friday- but we are celebrating next Sat. Our floor plan is open and a nightmare for us! Enough rambling- oh - I picked up Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong - Christmas cd- awesome.

Thanks so much for the support!!!!!!

2006-11-13T16:31:00.000-06:00

Just want to tell everyone that left comments that I so appreciate them!!!!! It means so much to me!!!!! I also wanted to tell you that I can't respond back-(Blogger keeps you anonymous) unless you e-mail me. So- Rebecca - please write me via my e-mail. Hugs to all- I will be glad when the contest is over- but I am so happy I entered-. I learned so much - such great talent. Be sure and check out Robyn England's and Fiddlettes' kits - they are 2 of the sweetest and most talented ladies I know. JD- my eldest hurt his leg at basketball and I took him for an Xray Sat. He did not have a new fracture - but they found an old one and they think that might be the reason for the pain. Anyway- they could not get us in until the 29th- but JD played bb for the doctor and we called him and he got us in Thursday! Praise God!!!! I so hope that he can still play basketball this season- he has turned his life around and wants to play now.

Freebies!

2006-11-09T09:57:00.000-06:00

This is a free add on pack for my just dreamy Scrapartist kit.There is a 12x 12 scroll frame that you can resize and 2 journaling boxes. You can download it here.
I also have a posting freebie as so many of you requested my apprentice entries.

This kit includes my 2 texture papers. and metal charm. I also have a brush for the word art, a glitter word, a fuzzy 17 inch fiber and a stitched frame. To receive this- just post a link to your layout using my just dreamy - 2 dollar kit and send me a link to dozierfamily@insightbb.com

I will then send you the link to download this- available for 1 week only! Thanks again- Lisa

2006-11-09T09:51:00.000-06:00

Yeah- my debut kit is in the Scrapartist store for only 2 dollars!!!!!!!! You can get it here.Your purchase gives me a vote- which I really appreciate! Thanks so much! Lisa

another just dreamy layout

2006-11-06T20:46:00.000-06:00

I did one more layout with my new kit. This paper made me want to use it for Christmas- so
I did. I am anxious to check out all the great apprentice kits tomorrow at scrapartist. I am sure I will want them all. Only 2 dollars- so 16 bucks for 8 kits- not bad at all! lol It will be a long week of anticipation. In the meantime- trying to catch up on CT things. Emily had a bb game tonight and JD got his haircut!!!!!! I love it - but he hates it. He looks like a different person. I had the fun job of trying to unscrew the gauge (earrings) he had in so he could go to practice. No one could get them undone- so I hunted for a pair of hemostats and got it unscrewed in time. Everyday I have to do something new for these kids. Who would have thought I would use my old nursing stuff for that. Actually they were last used for soldering my microscope slides- (to hold them).

A sneak peek

2006-11-04T20:15:00.000-06:00

I did this layout with my Just Dreamy kit that will be for sale at Scrapartist soon! It will be only 2 dollars and is just full of neat things! I only have a few things shown here. It has doodles, brushes, metals, collage elements and more! I will post the link as soon as I have it. I appreciate all of your support and kind comments. I wish I could respond to everyone- but blogger does not let you. Thanks for looking and be sure to check out all the other apprentice kits- I am sure I will want them all! All the ladies are so very talented!

I finished!!!!

2006-11-04T19:53:00.000-06:00

I did it! I uploaded my first ever kit to to the Scrapartist server this afternoon! I did not think I would ever complete it , as I had so many ideas- I could hardly narrow it down . It is a relief to have it completed and my Dh is probably more happy than I am! He has had to babysit while I worked! I thank God that he was off , or I would not have gotten it done. So he is very happy that he can return to his deer stand.

Aren 't these flowers just beautiful!!!!!! My dear family surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet! And if that was not enough , my Dh shocked me by buying me my dream computer!

I have never had a new computer before! I always have just put together my family's hand me downs and used those over the years. I usually just go out to eat for my birthday so this was a shock!!!!!!!! It is a Dell Inspiron,1.7 ghz,core duo processor, 1 gb ram, 16ogb harddrive and a 17 inch wide screen!!!!! I have not had time to play with it as I have been making my SA kit. My only problem is keeping it safe from the kids! Matt from computer works (my fave shop) came and set up my network for me and it is awesome to access my external hard drive and desktop! I am so happy I can play with it now!

What a week!!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-01T15:07:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! I have had the best week !!!!!!!! I am so excited I am in shock! My birthday is this week (big 45) and I am going to the final Scrapartist apprentice round!!!!!!! WOOHOO~ All 9 of us are creating a kit to sell in the store. It is truly a dream come true for me. I love to create art, and to be able to sell it just validates it. There will be 5 of us that will become Scrapartist designers. And if that is not enough- I am typing this on my brand new DELL laptop!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never had a new computer before- just my family's old ones they were getting rid of. So - my DH surprised me with a fully loaded, 1.7 ghz, duo core, 1 gb ram, 160 gb Hd, and a 17 inch wide screen!!!!!!!!!! It is a Dell Inspiron 9400- awesome. Then my friends at computer works in Chatham , came and installed my network , so I can share all my files and my external hard drive. Sweett!
I also got the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers- for my birthday from my family! It is one of the prettiest I have seen. I will upload pics soon.
Both my kids get all A's and B's in school- ( my son was failing last year on purpose) so I could not be happier-and JD is going to cut his hair and play basketball!!!!!!!! Thank you Lord!!!!!
Icing on the cake- I got a wonderful critique from Michele Coleman about my entries!!!!!!! ( all 9 of us did)-- Scrapartist rocks!!!!!
Just wanted to tell someone as I am about to explode with all these blessings!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Back to work on my kit!!!!!!!!

2006-10-25T19:02:00.000-05:00

I did it !!!!! yeah- I finished a complete uc and LC doodled alpha on my Wacom!! woot! You can get all of the above for free - right here. I am so tired - so off to bed I go.

Yippee !!!!!!!! I made it to round 4!!!!!!!

2006-10-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have been posting really! It is just that blogger has been eating them! grrrr. So I got mad after writing them and waited until today. Yes - I am so excited to go on to round 4 in the Scrapartist Apprentice challenge!! There were 90? Of us to start and I made it to the final 1o!!!!! Happy dance!!!!!! I am humbled to be chosen with all the terrific talent out there. To those of my friends that did not go forward- I think you are all winners and keep designing!!! I will look for your things in the shops! I give all credit to the Lord for the talent he has given me! Before I started this- I prayed and John prayed that if this was not His will for my life that He would shut the door. I have learned over the years that just because I want something and think it is perfect - it may not be what God thinks too. I can save myself a lot of misery to put Him first in my endeavors. This is the last round before 5 of us create a kit to be sold for a dollar at Scrapartist. 2 winners will be chosen to sell at their store.
My things for this round will be offered as freebies , so be sure and check out the gallery for them. The challenge is to create 2 brushes from Dover clipart and 2 doodles. I have had so many people tell me they love that I kept my fairy tales them throughout the competiton - so I am keeping it this round. I do not know whether that will help or hurt. I also have been creating giveaways at SBG - check out the Studio matters blog. If I ever figure out how to give away things on my blog - I will.
I got a wonderful surprise in the mail this week!!!! Some angel sent me an anonymous- from a friend spa package as an early birthday present!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!! I love it - but want to thank the person that gave it to me! Should I go for a massage?
Okay- back to reality and errands, diapers, laundry and other monotonous things-

I made it!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-20T09:51:00.000-05:00

WooHoo !!!!!! happy dance ! I am so excited to find out that I made it to Round 4!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!
It was a tough round and I thank God for the talent He has given me. I am humbled because all the other entries were terrific! There are 10 of us , down from 90. This round involves brushes and doodles! I love brushes! But I usually make mine from stock photos and they said it needs to be clip art. I love a challenge. They also said to use Adobe Illustrator- which I do not have- but my Mom is getting me it for my Birthday/Christmas present! I can get it for 95 dollars with an educational discount. I have been wanting it for quit awhile - so this will be fun to play with.
Thanks Mara and Jeannie for the sweet comments! I would reply to the comments - but Blogger does not let you do that like typepad did.
Emily has done an awesome job playing basketball!!!!! she is a natural , just like JD. Unfortunately the 7th grade team she is on (she is in 6th grade) has 1 small 7th grader - the rest of the 6th graders are VERY tiny. So - the little ones moving the ball on the court , get it stolen everytime. They can't get it to the taller girls. So - they have not won. Also - we have no second string- so all the girls are very worn out by the second half. Then the other teams put in their rested second string . But - I give them A+ for effort - they do not give up.
The school will not let JD pull his bangs back - so I do not know whether he will play BB. I am praying he will. He is so talented and everyone- all the team wants him. Everyday - someone asks me if he will. I have tried every tactic in the book- even thought of bribing his girlfriend to be "delilah" and cut it off. LOL
Ben has a cold and diarrhea and to no surprise he is not sleeping!!!!! I let him cry 2 nights ago and he went steady for a good 30 minutes. Daddy had left for work at 4 and Em could not hear him- so no one to rescue him from mean mom!
gotta get busy! thanks for your support!

I made it to round 3!

2006-10-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

Here is my submission for the Scrapartist challenge. We were to create stitches, a metal element, a glitter element and something uniquely yours. The real challenge of this round was to do it while cleaning and cooking for my wonderful family that I have not seen in years. They drove 22 hours to be here from VA. I created everything 100% digitally and have never done the metal -without a style. I made it from metal overlays and tweaked the styles until they were "right". But what I like and what everyone else does are 2 different things. LOL I will just be happy that I gave it 150% , and be satisified with that. I hope to be posting more as I anticipate a little more time.

first day

2006-10-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

used the awesome Basics collection from SBG and Ronna Penner's free template from the SBG newsletter, fonts- diesel and ck woodbine and photoblast action- chocolate

This is a fabulous free template from Ronna. You can get it here. I have been so busy with CT things, doing house projects and just the day to day - caring for Ben and cooking- there has not been any time left for artistic endeavors! This weeks voting is on Friday for the Scrapartist apprentice. There are so many beautiful papers I do not know how they will judge! I did not know whether to go with a painterly over textured approach - or scrap paper. But - I did not want to keep second guessing so I turned them in early. It is in God's hands- will see. My family from VA. is coming on the 14th!!!!!!!! Yippee~ I can't wait! Have not seen them in ages!

This is for the 10 things I would do over challenge at SBG -I used Doris Castle's Windows of time kit.and Maya's weathered treasures kit, fonts, PS bluegum froest, Porcelain, brush- damned in black

2006-09-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

I made it to round 2 !!!!!!!! woohoo! I am so excited ! This contest round required that you make 2 papers focusing on texture. Texture!!!! Yeah - I love texture and I had to put restraints on to not put on too much. I have folders of textures I have been collecting. The red one has a coarse paper texture and concrete and the pink has more of a linen texture with a few scratches. I kept the similar color scheme as I love it. If you missed the contest it is at scrapartist. The link to see the other submissions is here.
News on the homefront- Jd had homecoming dance last weekend and this one.

His girlfriend is a cutie- wish my son had shorter hair than her! Went all over the mall one night looking for turquoise men's stuff- not an easy thing to find!

Emily started basketball and that makes for long days. She does not get home until 545 and with John working overtime- it is hard to get anything done with Ben! I spent the afternoon trying to repair a wall with paint . I had to try to re-rag roll a part of a wall . It was tricky as there were 4 colors of paint - that I had to guess at and I had to do one of a time and 2 base coats. But - it fools the eye and I got it to blend in very nicely . You would really have to look for it to know that part of the wall was repainted.

We are also replacing some fixtures in one upstairs bathroom . I even picked out decorative molding to try and frame up a rather plain mirror. I hope it turns out.

Was blessed that our van battery did not blow up. I have been driving it for a couple of weeks leaking battery acid and my dear FIL hear about it and had a fit! He replaced it and told me it could have blown up!. EEK We were going to take it in this Friday- but he did not want to wait.Yeah!

It is going to get into the 30's tonight! Brrr. I guess fall is really here.

Thanks for listening!

My first kit ever and you can download it!!!

2006-09-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

I am so excited that I decided to just go for it and make a kit and enter in the Scrapartist
Apprentice contest. So here is my first kit and you can download it here. I was apprehensive about putting my art out there to be evaluated - but am glad I did. Hope to see some people using it! I just wish I had more time to create. I so enjoy doing it.
Seems everyday I end up having a BIG MESS to clean up- yesterday a brand new bottle of fabric softener fell off the dryer and spilled out all over the utility room and under the washer and dryer- uggh.
Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Lori!

2006-09-19T08:58:00.000-05:00

credits- sara carling amalie kit

Hope you have a great day Lori!!!!!!!!! I wish you a great dinner and retail therapy and blessings all year! HMM - maybe I should post a couple of pics? LOL

I have been too busy lately! I am going to try to balance my life - really! So tired to do much - Ben did not sleep again- but I know the reason why! I caught JD giving him DRPepper!!!!!!!! But I did not catch him until he had drunk almost half a can!!!!!!!!!! I was so upset.
Homecoming is this weekend and next. After the flowers, shirt and tie- I am broke. JD is going to work for it though. He has a new girlfriend- but as soon as I scrap them they break up- kind of like knitting a sweater- old wive's tale. So maybe I better not scrap the pics?

I have been given a new blinkie- it is on the right-studio crew!

I am very excited and a bit overwhelmed by it! Just love the studio girls- they are terrific!

credits-all Sausan designs- industrial grunge and beautiful new day- pp, flower. AL chaisma font, my brush

promise to write more frequently!!!

2006-09-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

Here are a few microscope slide necklaces I made a long time ago. I used leading and a solder gun to put them together. I borrowed my FIL's gun and it "exploded" while soldering them. I felt like a mad scientist- my daughter rushed in to see what happened - there was smoke and sparks! My son just shook his head and said- "mom's at it again." lo
Ben is finally sleeping a bit better- only up once or twice - quick nurse and back in his crib. He is even waking up in the morning in it ! yeah! Bought him a "cage"- lol- it is a superyard open bottom "playpen". I told Em to only call it his Fort! He kept getting into everything- stuff I can't baby proof- like my harddrive- that he insists on turning off! I really wanted it to put the Christmas tree in.
Here is a CT layout- all by JoDE Lawrence at Altered Scrapping.

quick post

2006-09-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

Wow - I have several blog subscribers! I am excited to know someone is out there!!!! LOL If you subscribe- all you do is click on the right column and enter your e-mail. You will not get spam or anything. You will just get my newest blog entry in an e-mail.
I found the keys after searching all day and John found them in a basket! I can' t remember anything lately. I need a heavy duty "spackle" to erase the permanent black circles under the eyes. Anyway- I have been designing a lot of things and having fun doing it. I have been praying about it and put it in the Lord's hands. I do not want to put the cart before the horse. I have tons of ideas and have been learning all I can. I need to know how to do a lot of things- ie - getting my metals to look realistic enough. I have been making overlays, brushes , patterns, alphabets, textures- you name it. I tried a channel selection and I want to learn more. I need to learn ribbons- etc. I want to learn it all - just very hard with Ben into EVERYTHING!

Had a wonderful surprise- had a message at Scrapartist that they wanted to put my artwork in their upcoming Muse newsletter! It is the teesha moore challenge that was featured on Inspire Me Thursday. It is shown below. Anyway , I said sure and they gave me a $6.99 gift certificate.
I get to shop! yippee- retail therapy! Maybe I will save it until the next sale!
Need to go- Ben is crying in his high chair. Em went to a football game and JD was grounded for curfew violation- but he drove with Dad .

2006-09-05T08:41:00.000-05:00

What a LOOOOOOOONG weekend!! Never thought I would ever get the kids back to school!
Friday I spent the day with JD having his wisdom teeth out . Saturday he felt good enough to run around with his friends - he is doing amazingly well. But he is tough as nails! He broke his arm at 5 and he went for weeks without really complaining. The doctor told me he could not have broken it and I asked nicely if she would just do an x-ray to humor me. Sure enough it was broken! I thought it was because I saw him at baseball practice and he was wincing a bit as he was pitching. He had broken it on the playground and just said it hurt a little.
The album above is a paper bag album I did for my pregnancy. The picture is terrible= I need to scan it as it is so textural. It says 9 mos to baby , and I has texture paste on the front I stenciled on . It was really fun to do - with lots of pockets and things that open up.
It was fun to make and I sewes the pages to the bag and left sides open as pockets for tags.

This has a library pocket that pulls out with my dr appt.s on it and information.

The shower pics are in a mini album - held closed with a paper clip. the tags that pull out have one for who, what, when and where. I will show more later. Ben is fussing and I need to go and look for JD's keys= I hid them and I can't remember where I put them! I have looked all over and can't find them! I have until 3 to locate them. You would have thought I lost his prize possession or something! Wish me luck!!! LOL

a new challenge

2006-08-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

credits- I did this with a drawn sketch and painted it with my brushes
This is for a Christine Adolph challenge at Scrapartist. It is to be inspired by her art.
She has so many beautiful designs. I think this would be easier in real life.
Someone I respect said that I should try designing. That would be my dream - it scares me - as I am so new to PS and I have so many things to learn. My biggest problem by far- is the time.
Ben is getting into everything lately and I have less time to do anything. I am my own worst critic and I am afraid I would agonize over making things- "perfect"! LOL I am praying about it.
Tomorrow, JD is having 5 wisdom teeth taken out. Yes- 5 - he has an extra! So please pray that all goes well. He thinks he will be fine by Saturday to hang with his friends! I remember how I felt- oh my. So - I will be pretty busy the next few days !
Have a great weekend- will post if I can .

2006-08-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

credits- Everything by M. Coleman except, deckle edges by Gina Miller, Tag by Gina Cabrera, NRJ alpha stamps, Stitches by Maya fonts- AL age old love, antique type

Finally , scrapped a "normal" page. I have been wanting to scrap this photo of Ben- in one of his cute expressions. I did not like the colors he had on - they were an Easter egg blue and yellow- so I changed them to fit these papers. His personality is really starting to show and this picture was taken 3 months ago. He is crawling and getting into everything lately. It is even harder to get anything accomplished. He needs a baths - so I am being paged!
Added a feedblitz subscription sign up in the column to the right. All it does is send you an e-mail of a new post. I like feedblitz because you do not have to hunt to read your favorite blogs. Anyway - it is there if you want to - I am just glad I am not talking to myself all the time and there are real people that stop by- LOL. goodnight!

2006-08-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

credits- maya's paper , shabby princess flowers, brushes- damned in black
font- 2 peas sonnet

This turned out to look Anne Gedde's like and not at all what I planned. Oh well, I just was looking foreword to fall.

I am so excited!!!!!!!

2006-08-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

I am shocked! I was flipping around looking at different sites and I checked in at Inspire Me Thursday and did a double take to see my first entry there as featured art!!! It was posted on August 24th! WOW- I looked at the number of entries and that made my day! I did not know they picked some art to feature. Just had to share.

my favorite

2006-08-24T19:47:00.000-05:00

credits- AL- charisma
Just could not help doing another one. I love it- I made the little hat and really had so much fun putting it all together. I keep thinking of more I want to do.

a Challenge-

2006-08-23T13:07:00.000-05:00

credits- all mine!! font- arriere garde
ScrapArtist has a challenge to create something inspired by Teesha Moore. Great site- love her artwork-and her studio is sooooooooo amazing. Wow- would be such a dream job to be able to sit in there and play all day and make money doing it! I was so excited about this journal page , as it is similar to my non - digital art.
Very neat to merge 2 things. I had fun creating the paper (non- digital) - see below for instructions- I used Tim Holz water based distessing inks. The rest was done digitally. I do not like my handwriting with the tablet- But am going to keep at it until it looks like my in real life doodling.
What a busy week- have had to pick up the kids from school- drive to Springfield , go to the dentist,go to the store twice this week. Everything is so difficult with the baby. Need to run-

altered tote & back to school

2006-08-21T17:57:00.000-05:00

Here is a tote that altered over a year ago- before baby. It was a plain canvas one that I used paints, fabric stamps and gel medium transfers to alter it. I need to take more pics of things I have stuffed in my closets.

I test drove some new colors of distressing ink on the ruler book pages. My plan is to print my digital stuff and adhere it to and embellish- ( in my spare time)- lol If you do this- wear gloves!grin The process is - dab the ink pads onto a non stick sheet,mist with water and then put the paper on it. Use a heat gun to dry without distortion. These instructions were in a CK magazine from Tim Holz.

The kids went to school for 2 hours and I went after to try and straighten out the mess they made of my son's schedule-or lack of one. They put him as a sophomore and he is a junior! He was told he lacked .5 credit and he would need to take a correspondance course. This was a a surprise and I was so upset as I had called the 2 weeks before school and no one would call me back.It is critical for him to start off on the right foot as he went to another school last year and is coming back to the school. It will be hard to "fit" back in. He said no one cares at this school for me and I can see why he felt that way. So- I stopped for gas on the way and a lady pulled in to get gas and was talking to me while we got gas and we got to talking about school. I told her what was happening and she prayed for me and told me to make sure I did not lose my witness. I really had peace after that and I consider it a divine appointment! Thank you Lord. She had prayed that I would have favor and get things squared away at school. Never had seen her before! When I got to school the line at the counselor's office had 20 kids waiting. The secretary got me in immediately and the counselor- looked at everything again and put him in as a Junior.He said- I have never seen this ever- they have never offered 2 English classes - yet there it is -- so he can get in it! Praise God!
Anyway, all is changed and the way it should be. Even if JD does not do well - I did all I can. He said he wanted to go back so he can learn .
Now I need to do some housework- blah!

retail therapy

2006-08-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

credits- Sausan Designs at PDW- The new urban art paper, altered artistry elements, flower, alpha. heart-t.cosgrove
I had tears in my eyes doing this layout. These pictures were taken of my father not too long before he died. I was 18 months old when he passed away from heart surgery to repair aortic stenosis. Now it is a routine surgery and he would have lived a normal life. He was a high school coach, little league umpire and a high school teacher. The kids loved him.
Yesterday , I needed to get out and away from everyone. I needed a break terribly. I spent the afternoon going to all my favorite stores. Really did not buy much - but had fun just being away. I had not done that since last November when Ben was born. I went to my 2 favorite scrapbook stores of course. I am glad I went - I found new inspiration seeing all the new things.It also made so glad that I scrap digitally! I forgot how much that all cost. Anyway- I found out the store can print my borderless 12x12 layouts for 6 dollars. I usually do not scrap that - but nice to know. They can also print other sizes and I might do that for special things.
I also saw Rhonna Farrers new line of papers- Bohemia- very pretty. I was surprised to not find her name on any of them. Love - Urban couture- basic grey.
So what did I buy? I got several colors of Tim Holz's distressing ink. I also bought his ruler blank book. I fell in love with his book in the Creating Keepsakes latest issue. I am going to experiment and print pages out digitally to put in there. I also got a blank spiral board book by etcetera to do the same. I then had to buy some matching Maya road ribbon to embellish them.
Found an old issue of Digital scrapbooking and bought that. I also went to Tuesday Morning (love it- it is a discount name brand place- they have them all over- check them out). Found a few things - not much and then went to TJ maxx. I did not buy anything there. It was nice to be able to look without having to entertain Ben,tell Emily that no she can't have everything and watch John pace up and down.
Well enough rambling- maybe I will play with my new inks. I also realized I have tons of altered things I have not put in my gallery- that are not digitally done. I made an adorable tote bag, a paper bag book for my pregnancy , altered gourds , etc.
later-

new things

2006-08-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

jode lawrence's - new breeze layette
Went to the state fair yesterday. It was hot and when we pulled in to park - Ben was screaming and when we left he was really crying. He settled down and enjoyed most of it - but about 8 pm he had had enough and so had I . I think it was his teeth and all the noise and commotion.Who knows. He rode his first ride with Emily and did pretty well. Really had to hunt to find a spot that was secluded to nurse him to try and calm him and give him some fluids as it was hot.So I found a great spot at the entrance to a building that was closed. All secluded with the plants and a bench to sit on. Started to nurse him and looked up and people were going overhead from the sky glider ride.LOL
We had a bunch of great junk food- I had 2 delicious ears of sweet corn dipped in butter and fresh cut fries and a corn dog. They also had alligator on a stick and fried twinkies- we passed on those! Saw part of a high dive pirate show and that was pretty cool. Had fun looking at the hobbies and crafts building as I know a lot of the ladies that entered. A friend of mine - Janice placed a grand prize for her beautiful crocheted afghan. I had the pleasure of seeing her Tuesday and helped her learn how to do intarsia.

f- for fairy

2006-08-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

credits- Iod- paper, letter/paper M. Coleman, rest paper relics
Finished my other letter - when we are done we get a whole alpha at ScrapArtist!

bits and pieces

2006-08-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

credits-Paisely art and elegant Paisley kits from Digital bits- JoDe Lawrence.font- arriere garde

credits- M. Coleman- papers, kiss,rhinestoen slide, label stamp. NRJ- letter
The first layout is for JoDe's newest kit. She must never sleep! Whoa - she is like an energizer bunny on steroids. I have lost count the number she has done this month.Her pc must be smokin! The second is an ATC for a scrapartist challenge. So much fun- need to do another letter soon.

This has been such a busy week! Definitely overwhelmed. The kids go to school next week and that will be hard to get in the groove of getting up early.It will be nice to have everyone on the same schedule but I will miss having Emily to entertain Ben.I figured out that he is cutting several more teeth and one popped through.he bit me today nursing and I may be weaning him very soon if he continues!

taggin' along

2006-08-14T10:02:00.000-05:00

credits- maya-hat,brad bird- thao cosgrovecharm- miss mint m. wise- stitched bubblebrush- veredfonts- blue baby,1942 report, nasty

Still making tags for my tag book. I am having fun with it and just creating what comes to mind.
Celebrated our 18'th wedding anniversary last night with a great dinner at Olive Garden. John and I had Seafood alfredo and tiramisu. Yumm! Then he surprised me - I had seen a peachy pink luxurious microfiber- dreamy robe at Bergner's and told him that I really wanted it - but would never pay the 68 dollar price tag for it. I would wait for it to go on sale. Well- it did yesterday and he had gotten another 20% off coupon out of the paper. So I got it for 34 dollars!
I tried it on in the store and when i took it off - my black pants were covered in peach fuzz!!!!! I tried getting it off with some packing tape and then we went to eat. After , we were going to get a few groceries- but my stomach did not like the rich dinner and I got sick- felt better after spending some time in the bathroom and was going to go to the store and my milk let down and soaked my shirt- so we went home! LOL
Ben was up every hour last night- even tried him in our bed and he demanded to nurse every hour= I let him only for a couple minutes and he would fall asleep and repeat. ARRRRGGGGGGGGGH~ He has not slept through the night ever!!!!!!!!
He did not take but a 20 minute nap twice yesterday. Jd slept at 2 weeks, Emily did not until she was 2!
need to do tons of cleaning - but am so tired after being kept up- !

credits- mayas- grammophone?,alpha-L.Slawta,brushes-vered,fonts: 1942 report,cold coffee.awaken,da da antiquerist made the brain,chicken wire brush from stock photos

more tags

2006-08-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

credits: Pansy- fiddlette, button & lace- Mo jacksonKey- traci Simsbrushes- vered, inobscuroFonts- Christmas and Georgia

With no power - I took a look at some of my non digital altered work and I was struck by the beautiful glazes- especially metallic ones. I do not know how to emulate this in PS- if someone does - please let me know. So I practiced with a few tags and really love the way the blending turned out. Really looks like some of my hand done pieces.
I am having a problem with blogger - it says it uploads my pictures but then does not- so frustrating. I had a typepad blog for over a year - but I did not think it was worth the money per month. THe only thing I really like was the ability to have photo albums. I wonder if there is a way to do that in Blogger- probably since you could make each album a blog????
Love the new series on USA- called Psych- I look forward to laughing myself silly each week- ( I know- does not take much to make me laugh)
John and I are celebrating our 18th anniversary tomorrow- well not really celebrating - but we may go out to dinner. I will be thankful for the little things- been praying for peace in Israel. I know some ladies who are living in the bomb shelters there and one has a new baby.I can't imagine.Frightening- keep seeing things on the news about a possible nuclear attack from Iran on the 22nd.Within seconds our whole world could change- it gives me comfort to know what the bible says about my future as a child of Christ.

credits:brushes- vered,kazadoodle, n.r janitz- old writing font cezanne

2006-08-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

credits- paper relics- fairy, fly, brushes- maya's wings, NRjanitz, ATC background, distressingFonts- Porcelain, bookman

Have not posted as we did not have power all day yesterday - and when we did - the power went on and off and I did not want to risk it. So - enjoyed a miserable day sweating- but My wonderful FIL brought over his generator and I was able to plug in a fan, my refrigerator , freezer and a tv. I was so thankful that I could open and close the frig to get food out. I wish I had had a gas stove so that I could have cooked. Oh well - no harm. The power came back on at 730 pm last night but went out again when I was in the shower shaving my legs! So- John came up with the flashlight and I finished. So - no computer time.
Jd called me at 11 last night and said , "MOM - YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!! UNDEROATH CAME INTO TACO BELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are famous and they are my favorite band - they are on tv. and all. But Mom- they are touring and they are having a problem with their vehicle? and can they sleep in our garage?????????
thump ------------ me falling on the floor. Not again!!!!! I asked him- I am not running a bed and breakfast for bands on tour!! What - do you carry a sign around that says - ask me if you need a place to stay - mom cooks pancakes?
Then I asked him if the band was so famous - why would they need to sleep in our garage? JD- "you just do not understand - they are my heroes - you don't care about me!" and hung up.
Better post and get off- before this crashes - bye

2006-08-06T17:46:00.000-05:00

credits- paper, word tags- Thao Cosgrove, Circle frame, alpha, brads- Sausan designs
Wanna play? I am doing a tag book. - digitally which I will print out on heavyweight matte paper and then use my Sizzix to cut them or hand cut them and put 2 together as a page. Then I will put them on a ring binder and embellish them. I started a thread at DigitalArt Quirks and if you want to join in that would be great. I also have a template for the tag if you want me to send you the png file by e- mail. I do not know how else to do it. You can see some great tags already done by Nicole here.Any theme goes- vacation, brag book, 100 things, quotes, Abc's- anything you want- no rules, just fun. You also can use any template you may have. I can't wait to see what you come up with.
Created this blinkie-
I also did several layouts- but forgot to post them- will add them a few at a time.

credits- JoDe Lawrence- Quintessential kit and bookman font. I love all the elements in this one!

2006-08-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

Every day seems an adventure lately. Last night I rolled into bed with Ben and got him to his crib at about 1130.Then Em was sleeping with me also ( Dad had to work at 3 am and did not want to disturb us and slept in her room)and kept me up until 1230 am moving around. Then DS called and said he was going to be late for his curfew as a truck broke down and they had to make a run to get coolant at Walmart. So I was awoken at 140am with JD telling me that he found a place for the band to sleep- outside at his friend's house. 230am Ben woke up and I nursed him and then he was up at 430am again. 530 am Iwake up as the air conditioner tripped the breaker and I had no fan or air. So - I get up to go downstairs and run into strange kids! 10 of them to be exact!!!!!!!!! JD let the band come over to sleep when they called him at 5 as the sun woke them up. Now mind you- JD had never met them before this! So I get dressed and come downstairs - and yell at my son and give him his punishment for the day- cleaning and dishes- scrubbing toilets (better for me than grounding) . So while my son went back to bed- these band members came down and profusely thanked me for providing them with a place to sleep and apologized for the trouble they caused! Whoa- very nice kids- well mannered, polite- all in college trying to get different degrees in various things. One wants to be a youth pastor - or "wherever God leads him".Another is into graphic design etc. So - they got their stuff and granted me a pic and were stuffing ( literally ) all the kids into a small pickup - extended cab.
SO - I called them back and cooked pancakes for them all - could not let them drive away hungry. Then my son and his 3 friends got up and JD met with his punishment.
Here are some pics of the day.

And more of the rest of them. I keep telling my son I am not running a bed and breakfast!!

- blogger is not cooperating- will post more artwork- later- have done several things!

2006-08-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

font- porcelain- ,misprinted type- vladimir script. Stock photos

Did this for an art journal and a challenge at SA. Have been very busy catching up and had to get
groceries . Was looking at JD's my space and picked up a few pics of him playing guitar and snagged them and did this layout.I used JoDe Lawrence's graffiti kit - thought it worked perfectly! I sure hope this is a stage JD is going through- he just called me and wanted to know if all the members of a band ( not his) could spend the night.This is in addition to a friend of his that stays every weekend. I told him no - at least he asked. One weekend I woke up to find some very wierd looking characters crashed out all over the house. I know how many are here by counting shoes. He got grounded for that one. I really miss scrapping baseball pictures of him pitching and such- sigh- maybe one day.

I need to try to get Ben down. Sometime's seems pretty useless. Will post some more layouts tomorrow.

2006-08-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

credits- phew-hold on!-paper- IOD- adelaides letterpaper deckle- Gina Miller Note paper- NRJanitz- La Belle Provence,Digital Bits- trim with buttons from Quintessential,photo turn- h.McCaig,Stephs paper tears, Donna Doherty- stitching, Mo Jackson- alpha, ephemera,ferns,flower. A. Spangler- scotch tape,M. Coleman- Granma's attic- heart and stitching,stick pinfonts- amanda's hand,4990810,Jane Austen

I never thought I would finish this layout for a Scrap artist challenge but finally did! Just to write up all the credits and the drop shadows took quite a bit of time.
I did this in memory of my precious Aunt Joann. She was so dear to me. I added quite a few trinkets that she was fond of- there is a picture of an antique doll - which she collected and has a wall to wall glass case full of them. She also was an avid estate sale and auction attender especially when she was younger and collected many beautiful antiques over the years. She would have loved this layout. It reads- Dear Aunt Joann,I miss you so much. I miss hearing your sweet southern accent and how I could always count on you to get mad with me over whatever upset me and then come up with the most incredible advice. I always felt so much love from you and Ben.You made losing my Dad easier- I felt I knew him through you. Love always, Lisa
Today I woke up to having no air conditioner and it has been a 100 all week. Today was 96 and it was 88 in the house! So I called the repairman and it was 250 dollars we were not expecting .
But I am nice and cool now and the heat wave is supposed to break with thunderstorms late tonight.

2006-08-01T14:43:00.000-05:00

quote of the day by Emily- "Mom, I just had to stay up until 1 am to watch a show on how to survive a shark attack!!!!! She then told me everything to do in case of an attack. LOL It is a real threat in Central Illinois! LOL- We will be ready!!!
Did a new layout for my creative team. Credits are Southern comfort and retreat from Digital bits and stitch brushes- EE scrappers. The funniest thing - someone wrote and told me how pretty my large garden looked- it used to - until my DH sprayed it all with Roundup and tilled it up to plant grass! I had 2 summers that I could not garden- one after I broke everything in my leg and last summer I was pregnant. So- It it no more- except for the fountain - and tomatoes.

Sure seems like I did somthing else - but I can't remember what- getting too old.

2006-07-30T16:58:00.000-05:00

credits- erica Hiite- cherish, M. Coleman- flourish brushes, Scrap girls-garden gate template, prcelain font

Here is a picture of JD and his girlfriend Maggie. She is a sweet girl and is going away to college next month.Thought I would make them this and they could each have one in an 8x10 frame. Did this color as JD always wears hot pink- lol.
Been so busy this weekend shampooing carpets.They were awful and with Ben crawling- wanted them clean. I also scrubbed my kitchen/dining room floor and waxed it and then cooked dinner . Then after going to bed exhausted - Ben was up all noc. He cried about 3o minutes after i put him in the crib, demanded i nurse him and then I put him in his crib. I repeated the above over several times and then I left him in my bed and he would cry every time I rolled over. So - no sleep for me. You would think he would just sleep occasionally.
In the meantime - Scrap artist is having a pool bash and I had to attend for a bit . They have great prizes -so to redeem them you have to participate . So - here are my entries.

credits- IOD paper, paper relics- girl and banner, frame- howell, NRJ- ribbon, the rest by M.Coleman. Font - Porcelain and 1942 report.

And - I had to do an avatar- I made a gif - but they do not allow it - so here is my entry.

2006-07-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

credits- Holy cow kit- Robyn England,loveletter,dymo inverse,arial fonts
Woke up and checked at Quirks and Robyn's blog- see link to right - and she is having a Birthday party on her blog , with music and a free kit and challenge. So - since I had nothing to do this Am- cough- I had to scrap my entry- - Emily is such a goofball and she dresses up all the time and Ben just loves it. She dresses him up too - today he was super diaper baby - he had a diaper helmet , and a cape and she was flying him around the room. Some days he sports a Marilyn wig and she puts balls in his shirt. She also has given all her older brothers friends a makeover also - complete with wig and make-up. Never a dull moment around here. All her friends like to come over lol.
My Mom came down today and visited - sat down for lunch and my daughter tripped and a tomatoe and mayo sandwich fell on the carpet, and at the same time I noticed that Ben had a blow out in his diaper and I and the couch had poop all over us. So - I spent the afternoon shampooing carpet and upholstery - not a fun day.
Here is a ATC- playing card challenge I did for Scrapartist.

credits- Fiddlettes card, and I also used Distressing kit from NRJ and Robyn England's free paper. I used black jack -appropriately named , shoplifter fonts. Cards from web

I also did a layout of my son and girlfriend= will post that tomorrow. Night-

2006-07-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

credits- erica hiite- cherish,maya, dragonfly,h.McCaig- imagine

Hi -thought I would check in and say hi - sure glad I have sitemeter- or I would think I was talking to myself! Glad to know that people are visiting - would love to have some comments though.- hint-- Found out my family is coming to visit us this October!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! My dearest cousin - like a sister will be here and my most favorite Uncle too! He is Ben's namesake.The only problem is they can't stay long- it will be hard letting them go home. I miss them so much!

Emily is getting her hair highlighted today for the first time- courtesy of Grandma. She always had light blonde streaks in the summer - but does not anymore- so this will be great. I have a new layette for my CT that I need to work on - but am having trouble finding the right girlie picture. Going to my friend's garage sale- Emily buys Kayla's clothes each year.

This artwork is for a quirk naming project - this is my final piece. I am fanciful dragonfly and here is my new blinkie!

2006-07-23T16:47:00.000-05:00

credits- visionary- brushes - damned in black, stock photos- web, deviant art -resurgere ,NRJ -old write,distressing kit font- PS bluegum forest
I did this for a challenge at Digital art quirks- for a naming ceremony- this was a friend's second name - she chose - spiritual for the first name and visionary is her second. Mine is fanciful dragonfly. I need to make a piece of art to illustrate my new name now. Love the art piece that Victoria did for me- it is of a dragon- with wings- (dragonfly) with a superman logo on the chest.She said it was for being a supermom- well I do not think my kids would agree- maybe with the dragon part! LOL
I did this atc for a joke- I really have not overspent- but would like to on digital things.

Fonts: blue baby,shoplifter,lucida
Kits/Papers/Elements: IOD paper,maya,hat,sausan designs - purse,money-R.England,M. Coleman brushes M Wise-Stitched doodles

I will say John does look like that when he gets the paypal bill! LOL

grace like rain........

2006-07-20T11:09:00.000-05:00

Credits: Sausan Designs at PDW- altered artistry papers and alpha. C. Smith-flower template,stock photos
fonts: eight fifteen and steel fish, NRJ- brushes
Grace like Rain is one of my favorite songs by Todd Agnew. I have been wanting to do a layout of this song for a long time and yesterday I came across this picture of the little girl and had to make this. I have this song as my ringtone too on my phone.lol
Yesterday I cooked all day long and at suppertime the tornado sirens went off for about 15 minutes! Last time I spent the day cooking this happened also- . We were safe - praise God , but I did see a small funnel come done and then go back up. Anyway - I reheated the stuffed green peppers , mashed potatoes and corn and it was great anyway. Then we had strawberry shortcake and whipped cream - yum!
gotta clean a bit today - bye

2006-07-19T09:02:00.000-05:00

credits- j. Gaylor, R.Farrer brushes- stock photos

Love Nicole Hinrichs latest artwork and was inspired to create this from a picture of Emily. She is so imaginative and her world is one of lots of color. Love learning new things in PS everyday!
Ben has not been sleeping again- was up every hour- and when I did fall asleep - I woke up with a start and noticed our door open- and Emily had come in my room and was crying. So she got in bed with me-( it was the hour that ben was in his crib) and she was sobbing. So she ended up sleeping in my room on the floor- said she just wanted me and had a bad dream. Then I had to get up to make sure JD had made his curfew and was home. I think I would have better luck sleeping in the daytime!
Got these cute jokes in my e-mail last night--
-------------------------------------------------------A doctor examined a woman, took the husband aside, and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife at all.""Me neither doc," said the husband. "But she's a great cook and really good with the kids. -------------------------------------------------------An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has been living with for the last 40years.The Wizard says, "Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that were used to put the curse onyou.The old man says without hesitation, "I now pronounce you man and wife."-------------------------------------------------------Two Reasons Why It's So Hard To Solve A RedneckMurder...1. All the DNA is the same.2. There are no dental records.-------------------------------------------------------Moe: "My wife got me to believe in religion."Joe: "Really?"Moe: "Yeah. Until I married her I didn't believe inhell."-------------------------------------------------------A man is recovering from surgery when a nurse asks himhow he is feeling. "I'm O. K. but I didn't like thefour-letter-word the doctor used in surgery" he answered."What did he say," asked the nurse."OOPS !" ------------------------------------------------------While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and Ipassed a display of bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying a bathing suit, so I sought myhusband's advice."What do you think?" I asked. "Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?""Better get a bikini," he replied. "You'd never get it all in one".Funeral service will be Friday morning.

2006-07-16T21:19:00.000-05:00

credits:MoonE designs and Jomi designs- Summer Buzzin' kit from S2G

Fonts Used: Cold Coffee and Franklin gothic
Elements/Extras: Sausan Designs- mango bay tab ,R. Penner's stitches
Went to church today and JD had a friend over all weekend and we made them get up- practically yank them from the bed- but we made it to church on time.Great service! Awesome message about God casting all our sins into the sea of forgetfulness- nice reminder about His grace. Did this layout today and I tried some experiments with making a strip template for a frame. worked well . Ben went swimming for the first time -but the water was so cold that he just screamed. The one time he really enjoyed it - I was not there to catch it on film. So I snapped what pics I could and they were not the greatest- so I lumped them together so no one would stand out bad- lol.
Caught a new show on tv and loved it! Saw the pilot episode of PSYCH on USA and laughed hysterically- about a guy who fakes being a psychic for the police.

Made this layout with JoDe Lawrence's - Retreat kit form altered scrapping- so much fun doing the doodles. good night - - Lisa

2006-07-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

I am so excited- I was selected as a Creative team member for the awesome AlteredScrapping store of JoDe Lawrence! This photo to the right was made by JoDe and I had to share her work- too cute! I will be working with some VERY talented ladies and am sure I will learn a lot along the way! JoDe's work is just my style and I hope I can create things to show it all off! What a fun journey! So - for someone that never wanted to be on a Creative team - I am on 2. All 3 designers have their own unique style and I have so enjoyed scrapping with Sylvie's and Monique's terrific designs! Now I will really be glued to the computer! LOL
I did do a layout- the picture was hard to scrap because of the colors- but I like the result.

credits: everything by Eve recinella- except for pin date tags-by H. McCaig font- CK Woodbine

We have been seeing the Merry Heart clowns at camp for 10 years and now with Ben - he gets to see them two. Emily loved them as a girl and even tried calling them up from their business card at 3 years old! thanks for the comments- and no we did not get to St. Louis! poor Em,but she gets to go to a water park tomorrow!

2006-07-13T09:18:00.000-05:00

credits: MoonE designs and Jomi Designs- Summer Buzzin kit- and MoonE designs - clematis accessory. other: brushes: R. farrer, K pertiet, M.coleman fonts: scriptina

This is a picture of my daughter years ago when she was all dressed up for Easter sunday. This precious daughter- 11 now- surprised me and when I went to bed last night- she stayed up and cleaned the house for hours!!!!!!!!! I woke up and came downstairs to make coffee and thought I was hallucinating. I had been gone for 2 days with errands and did not have time to clean up anything. She picked up all the clutter (and it was baaaaad) , mopped the kitchen, cleaned the counters, sink, did the dishes, put away all Ben's toys in 3 rooms and did a great job!!!!! She wants to go to ST. Louis tomorrow and I said I could not because of the mess. Gotta love her.
Lisa

2006-07-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

credits: altered artistry elements and paper,other: Sl designs-arrow,P. relics wings,staple- k.Christenson,Brushes- NRJ alpha, distressing kit fonts- not too shabby

Finally posted a pic of john at the hospital holding Ben. Praise report- Ben slept for a whole 4 hours!!!!!!!! yippee!!!!!!!!!!!! We were on our last leg and I sent out e-mails to ask for prayer and God answered quickly!!!!!!! The doctor could not find anything wrong except a cold and cutting teeth. Switched over to cingular and am very pleased. So happy to get rid of verizon! I am paying less per month - have double my anytime minutes and get rollover. The best part is - most of my friends and family have it.
Still want to share some vacation pics- soon .
bye- Lisa

Back from camp!

2006-07-08T19:15:00.000-05:00

credits_ Sausan designs at PDW- altered paper, elements,frame doodles and sausan designs at S2G- star,arrow doodles fonts: creaky frank,2peas gift and GG mix

Had a fabulous time at camp - took plenty of pics for scrapping. Our room was on the first floor this year- as opposed to the 3rd floor last and we had a golf cart and it made the week so much easier. There are 8 families from our church that go and we have been going now for over 10 years. There is a lake - all sorts of water activities- a zip line, blob, paddle boats, giant water slides-etc. There are 2 pools- one indoor and outdoor, mini golf, activities center, and services for all ages. The praise and worship is awesome and the speakers are also. This year was hard as Ben is teething and caught a cold - so he did not sleep and went back to nursing every 2 hours. He is such a crab.
I will write more later- Lisa

Bye~

2006-07-01T09:31:00.000-05:00

Be back in a week- Have a great 4th of July!!!!!!

Reach for a star

2006-06-29T00:20:00.000-05:00

Credits: Sausan Designs- Mango bay paper, and star doodles, aspnes and m coleman brushes
The quote reads:
“If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand.” thinkexist
I was upset when I went to Sears and the lady was toooo slow with the camera and missed so many shots. So , I came home and snapped a few good ones. Love how this turned out. Lisa

I am on a Creative Team!!

2006-06-27T21:23:00.000-05:00

Sausan Designs Mango Bay Kit,and heart doodles (recolored),summer buzzin paper clip.NRJ-texture,distressing brushes Patti Knox-template
Fonts:cold coffee,century gothic,Jane Austen

I was looking at a message board and saw a really cute ad for a creative team and liked their
designs. They were more artsy. So I thought what the heck- I will try out for it -nothing to lose- probably too late as the deadline was that day. I found out several hours later I was picked. The ladies are from Germany- Sausan designs. I got a kit this morning and had to play. This is what I came up with.
Getting ready for camp - we are going to need a moving van to make it this year. Every year we say we are going to get a frig . Well this year we did and got one that is double the little one's .
Between the frig and the pack and play(which I borrowed-it is a portable crib) and the stroller and clothes for 5 people in a little hotel like room - it will feel like a sardine can.LOL Will be interesting to say the least. At least this year we got a golf cart to get around. That way Ben and I can get back to the room quickly if need be.
good night- baby calls!

2006-06-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

Credits- sausan designs - flower pot freebie, denise docherty paper,fonts: vaguely repulsive, jane austen

Just had to play with this great freebie from Sausan designs. Too much fun. Have a great day! Lisa

Myquirk name

2006-06-25T21:29:00.000-05:00

credits- brushesby:AVH,greenspoon,Maya,H,McCaigand Lee textures Fonts:PS Bluegum forest,book antiqua

THis layout was done to represent a name that we choose for ourselves- the first name and someone else creates the second name. Such fun!
Had the family picnic and the weather was perfect. I made hamburgers, hotdogs on the grill, pasta salad and a raspberry/strawberry trifle. Yumm.
All the kids went swimming except Ben - he took a nap as he was tired after keeping his Mother up all night!
John and Emily are off to a cardinals game tomorrow night. I will be here.

Not so serious

2006-06-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

Credits: paper- Shabby Princess, Gina cabrera staple, stitches by Ronna Penner, hat by Maya
Fonts: franklin gothic, PS bluegum forest, glider girls

This layout was for a MAD challenge- about being a SAHM. I realize the Word of GOd says to "Be content in all circumstances and not complain"- paraphrase- and I am working on this. I truly thank the Lord for His many blessings- but lately I have really been struggling. Some days I feel smothered and exhausted. I realize a lot of it is due to sleep deprivation- having a baby that will not sleep and wants to nurse all night and a teenager that thinks he can stay out all night or have his girlfriend over . So between chaperoning the one and nursing Ben- I am pooped. I do not recommend having a baby and 2 teens at the same time. It affects one sanity.
Anyway- my art is an outlet for the sense of being overwhelmed I regularly feel.
Been so busy! Running on endless errands and we have a family picnic this afternoon. My dear friend Nancy had surgery and I went to see her and drop off food. She is such a dear - so giving , loving and a lady I admire and look at as a role model.
Off to get ready for the picnic. Bye

Legacy Series

2006-06-20T19:38:00.000-05:00

brushes-avh,bl emporium& kazadoodle,jen wilson paper
I wanted to do another portrait collage for my dear Grandma Mattie .She hated having her picture taken,so there are very few photo's of this amazing lady.If you look in the tree,I have a pic of her home in Harlan, KY where I have wonderful memories. There is also a picture of her two children- my father and Aunt. I have her tombstone pic there also,as the cemetery is so pretty-sounds weird but true. I think I will call it my legacy series,and want to do more. The picture was incredibly poor,and I had to do a lot of tinkering to get it usable. I think I used masks on 8 layers. 2 months ago I did not know what that was. lol
We went to 2 new restaurants this weekend. One was barbecue- and the sauce was awful- too much vinegar. We also went to the new IHOP and love their pancakes- yum. My FIL made beer can chicken and it was luscious. Ben is getting another tooth and is crabby and refuses to eat solids. Enough of the mundane-bye-

Father's day

2006-06-17T18:52:00.000-05:00

credits- Jen Wilson paper, brushes: kazadoodle, NRJ-old writing,distressing
My Dad died when I was 18 months old from heart problems. I saw a Mad challenge - using an overlay of a photo and I had a few old snaphots of him so thought it would be perfect for one.Everyone liked him, he was a teacher , a baseball coach and an umpire for the kids' world series. In one picture , he is with my Aunt Joanne- his sister. I miss her so much. She was like a Mom to me.
This is my tribute to my Father........

Another Mad challenge

2006-06-16T16:08:00.000-05:00

credits- crown, stamps by Maya, IOD_paper, Fonts- tropicana, base01, vaguely repulsive
I had too much fun doing this challenge. The best part is that there is no glue, ink , paint, etc to clean or put away! I even did it one -handed nursing Ben. should have added multitasking to my layout! Well back to reality-sigh- cooking, dishes, kids ,sigh ...........

2006-06-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

credits- maya's snorkel, spazmos bubble brush

I wanted to scrap this for awhile- Emily has always sung this song she made up and does the motions to it. Ben loves it and it is a surefire way to calm him down. It is also my first challenge for Digital art Quirks. This is so much fun. have a great one! Lisa

New art gallery!

2006-06-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

Dug out some of my altered art pre baby. I have tons of art that I created and have been storing in my closet. I found digital art quirks and made a gallery there and have been scanning and posting away. Need to stop and get ready to go eat pizza as it is my DH's Birthday. He finally caught up to me and is 44 . Here is the gallery link. I never considered myself an artist just a wannabe.hugs, Lisa

not finished yet- but look at the fun I've had!

2006-06-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

credits- mo's wings, Gaylor- brushes
Finally got a pic of Ben sitting up to do this.I used to do alot of altered art and I went to see a great new site- digital quirks and realized - duh _ I can do it digitally! Yeah-Cute as a bug!

I got it !

2006-06-11T19:03:00.000-05:00

I just got my new custom chick! I told them I had longish brown hair , glasses and usually wear hoops. They make you pick a title and I came up with Queen Geek Scrapsalot. Yes- I know - does not take much to entertain me! Anyway, I got it for less than 2 dollars at Bless this Chick. Much better than putting my real photo up there- would scare anyone away! LOl

great free software!!!!!

2006-06-10T20:46:00.000-05:00

I am so happy to have found this great free software- called EverNote. There are so many useful applications for this gem- just about for everyone. For months I have been printing and saving tons of tutorials for Photoshop in a large notebook. The problem is I do not have time to go through the book, find the tutorial and then attempt to find space to read it while in Photoshop. Voila - now when I find a tutorial I can cut and paste with pictures ,the entire tutorial that I can find instantly! There is a search command and it automatically notes where you got the info from. You can categorize everything -and customize them. It even works with my pen and tablet and I can write notes . Just a note- I found out that if you have a pdf file you wish to save - you can't drag or paste it. All you have to do is use the snapshot tool - which takes a "picture " of your selection to the clipboard and you just paste it into evernote! Cool !
So what if you are not a digiscrapper? Well try it for saving all those recipes you find on the web- now you can find them instantly. Or you can do shopping lists with pictures. Or make to -do lists, wish lists, expense lists - book lists- and so on. phew-
Today I fed 9 kids and I am pooped. Several teens drove here about an hour and a half to see my son as a surprise. I was the one surprised and cooked for them all. We had the local parade and carnival this weekend. Ben loved it and so did my nieces.
Need to go get ready for church tomorrow. TTFN

2006-06-09T15:16:00.000-05:00

Credits-mo jackson,gina miller,south paw designs-pin

I was looking all over the web for a pinking template and could not find one- so I made a brush ! I am sure this is silly to all the designers -but it is a starting point for me and I have made papers and alphas and hope to make lots of stuff in the future. I would share my brush - but do not have a clue how.

Anyway- Ben began sitting up on his own and I snapped a few pics- that I can't wait to scrap. Emily haelped me get groceries last night and then it was 1015 and Ben was crying so I went to get him to bed . I was dreading coming downstairs to put away most of the groceries and at 1130 I came down to a clean kitchen! Emily was surprising me and she put them all away and then mopped the floor!!! WOO HOO~~~~~~~~~~

Need to go and marinate some chicken- love that Stubbs marinade for chicken- yum! hugs-

2006-06-07T12:04:00.000-05:00

kit byEve Recinella-sweet surrender,rivets-mccraig,tab-shabby princess,midnight photoblast action

I used my new kit and like how this 8x10 turned out. JD looks so handsome in his prom tux. The girls think so too. I scrapped it to hang in my stairwell as 1 of 3 pictures of my kids. Ben was up all night-sigh. Daddy likes to hold him &rock him to sleep in the evening and he is too well rested by bedtime to sleep.

Saw this and loved it. bye!

2006-06-06T08:14:00.000-05:00

all doo dads by Mo Jackson

I confess - I went do dad shopping and came home with more doo dads that I can ever possibly need! In case you have not guessed , I love the "shabby " style and have lots of said real life do dads in my house. I redid my stairwell with - you guessed it- shabby stuff. I bought some ornate white 8x 10 frames and the layout shabby Ben is in one on the wall . I have 2 more 8x10 layouts to do. Such fun- my problem is that I do not have very many great photos. I could blame my 3 megapixel camera - but I think it is the photographer- lol ! So I am trying to take more with my SLR- film rebel. My dream is to have a digital rebel- but do not see that in the near future.

In my do dad picture- I did my first torn paper from scratch with a scrapartist tutorial- I like how it turned out- but next time I think I will add a tiny drop shadow to the top paper. I spent yesterday organizing and downloading some new kits. Eve Recinella is having a 40% off sale and I got some great kits.

Now I need to get busy and use them. I want to take some better pics of Emily- have some good ones of JD. But today is my knitting group and they must think I have dropped off the earth- so I want to bring Ben and show him off- wink. Emily has a basketball camp all week and she is actually going and not giving me problems. - She usually signs up and then decides she doesn't want to go.

Hello to all my DRU sisters - thanks for stopping by and I love the comments! I need to stop in and say hello more often. Seems like my computer time is spent trying to learn how to do things in Photoshop and my layouts take forever! One day I would love to design- but have to learn all the basics first!

Have a great day! Lisa

a new page...

2006-06-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

credits- K Shulz- Bliss papers, Burns- Alpha Bella,Bird and rose- Josephine kit, Miss Mint Charm, flourish brushes- coleman, r farrer frame, ribbon- t sims, ac template, rage ,cygnet font,pertiet sun print stamps
I could not resist scrapping yet another "shabby" style picture of Ben. I got out my Canon film digital and got this picture and liked how it turned out. I took ben to Sears and liked this pic just as well. I just wish it did not take me so long to do one. I would like to know how to make seamless patterns and textures.
Need to go get Ben to bed. He has popped his first 2 teeth through and got his shots on Friday. He is not very happy. Lisa

flowers....

2006-05-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of a flower arrangement I made for my front door. I really wanted one like it but was shocked the florist was selling them for about 150 dollars. So I made one and was pleased with the way it turned out.

2006-05-31T10:10:00.000-05:00

2006-05-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

Finally got around to christen my new blog. I had a typepad blog for several years - mainly for my knitting hobby,etc. It was called - a trip to the frog pond. I had many people that visited me and I felt so guilty when I did not post and that was mainly because I had nothing new accomplished on my knitting projects. I was more into my scrapbooking. I finally deleted the blog as I hated to pay the 8 dollars a month for something I did not use much. When I tried to import my blog content from typepad to blogger - I just gave up. LOL
I am a 44 year old, SAHM, ( am an RN) and I have a 16 y.o. male "creature"( I am convinced aliens have abducted him and replaced his brain), a 11 year old dd and a surprise 6 month old Ben!
Anyway, I am new to the world of digital scrappin and I must say I am addicted ! It was the only way to create with a new baby. So I spent many hours nursing Ben with my Boppy and learning to digiscrap. I started out with PSPX and liked it but I love PSCS2~ . I still use the PSPX for quick editing of my digital photos. It has a one step digital photo fix that I love. One day I really want to design - but now I am just trying to learn all I can about Photoshop. People have asked me for years if I would sell any of my paintings, crafts, etc. and never have. But with digital it all opens up a new world.
Here are 2 of my latest layouts. Have a great day! Lisa

2006-05-23T21:16:00.000-05:00

I created this blinkie for my signature for the message boards. fun- will have to add more! Hope to do a real post today!

2006-05-07T17:22:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of my beautiful son.
He is 5 months old.