Summer Garden by Leigh Penrod

Hi Everyone,

I hope y'all are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I think of my family during this time, as some of them have served in our military. My dad, my mom and my sister (all from my immediate family) have served our country. They all served in the Navy. Thank you to them for their service to each of us.

I have a kit to show/share with you tonight. It's called Summer Garden and it's by a pretty cool designer named Leigh Penrod. I love the soft colors of this kit. Ok, Ok, I'm so excited to show this to you so I will stop talking now and show you the preview.

 

Isn't it beautiful? I just love it. You can go to her store at Heartfelt Perfections to purchase this beautiful kit.

Here are a few layouts I made with this beautiful and adorable kit. 

This is a layout of my mom's baby picture. I call it Beautiful Angel because my mom was a beautiful person inside and out and she is in Heaven now.

This Beautiful Baby is my youngest grandchild, Harley. 

Well, that's it for now. I hope each of you tells those you love what they mean to you each and every day because we aren't promised tomorrow. 

Blessings

CT Call for Karen Diamond Designs

Come check this out. Karen is an awesome Designer and she has a lot of wonderful women on her CT. Don't delay this is a GREAT team to join, I LOVE it, and I am sure you will too!!

Sale at Karen Diamond Designs' store at Scraps-N-Pieces

Check out a super deal at Karen Diamond Designs' store at Scraps-n-Pieces. This is a rare occasion to have a sale like this... 


Head on over to her store at Scraps-N-Pieces.

Spring Cleaning Sale at SNP

Check out this awesome sale at Scraps-N-Pieces. They are having a store wide sale this weekend, April 12-14 for 30% off. Now would be a great time to stock up on all those scrap book kits you've been wanting for a long time.

A Fish Designs' New kit, Sunshiny Day

Did you miss A Fish Designs' week 1 entry into the Designer Darling Contest, Sunshiny Day?  If you did you could still pick it up at her store at SNP. Are you tired of the cold winter days?  Are you ready for some sun?  This kit will take those winter blues away and bring some sunshine to your layouts. A Sunshiny Day will be 50% off until March 22 for $1.50!  Preview is linked to the store.

If you make a layout with this kit before March 22, you'll be entered into a drawing to get a $5.00 coupon to my store.  Layout must be posted to her gallery at SNP.

Presidents Day Sale at SNP

In the U.S., Presidents' Day is celebrated to honor the birth of two of our greatest presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  What a better way to celebrate than preserving our own history through scrapbooking.  Scraps N' Pieces is having a one day Presidents' Day sale - the whole store is 30% off.

Want another way to celebrate?  How about a speed scrap?  Join Memories by Digital Design on Monday, February 18th at 7pm CST!

Here's your participation prize!!

Enjoy!!

Announcing A Speed Scrap on 2/18/13

Title: Announcing Speed Scrap 2/18 9pm EST

Karen Diamond Designs is hosting a Speed Scrap in her Facebook Page Chatroom on Monday night at 9pm EST. This Speed Scrap we will be applying a few different techniques using Brushes in our layouts. If you are up for a challenge, won't you join me?

With the technique, 7 steps in 60 minutes and 24 hours to learn the technique and post your layout you will have one beautiful layout! I hear she is doing product giveaways and there will be a participation prize for completing the Speed Scrap $5.00 to her store at Scraps-N-Pieces.com

Hide, Find, Design 28 At Crafty Scraps Forum

Well hello again....It is the 15th of the month again already.  That means time for a new HFD Challenge at the Crafty Scraps Forum.  This Month's Theme is Tree Trimming. It's a great way to start those holiday layouts. Start at Michelle's Blog . You will Buzz around to her Creative Teams Blogs.  At each Blog you will collect pieces that will be required for the Challenge.  The Last Blog will direct you to the Forum where you get the Rules for the Challenge.  Follow the Rules, make sure you have collected all of the required pieces and post your Entry in that Thread by hitting Reply.  Every participant will receive the gorgeous Mega Kit created by Michelle and her Creative Team as a Freebie Gift. You do not want to miss out on this Kit. It is perfect for the Christmas season, will even be great for the pictures you may have already or will be taking very soon of the Christmas Season.

Here are the previews for this awesome kit that you will receive for playing along.

Gorgeous Isn't it? Just wait and see all the beautiful layouts you can make using this mega kit. Don't forget to collect all 14 pieces, make and upload a layout following the Challenge Rules and collect the Mega Kit. 


You should've come from Heidi's Blog. You can get my pieces by clicking on the download below.

                                                          


 Now head back to the Crafty Scraps Forum to get your instructions for the HFD and above anything else, have fun scrapping. I can't wait to see what you've made.

New Hide, Find and Design 27 at Crafty Scraps Forum

Hi everyone.  It is the 15th of the month again already.  That means time for a new HFD Challenge at the Crafty Scraps Forum.  This Month's Theme is a general Scrapbooking theme once again.  Start at Michelle's Blog . You will Buzz around to her Creative Teams Blogs.  At each Blog you will collect pieces that will be required for the Challenge.  The Last Blog will direct you to the Forum where you get the Rules for the Challenge.  Follow the Rules, make sure you have collected all of the required pieces and post your Entry in that Thread by hitting Reply.  Every participant will receive the gorgeous Mega Kit created by Michelle and her Creative Team as a Freebie Gift..  You do not want to miss out on this Kit. It is perfect for the Fall Season, might even be useful for the Spooks and Gobblin pictures you may have or will be taking very soon.

Here are the previews of this gorgeous Kit you will receive free for participating.

 

Gorgeous Isn't it? Just wait and see all the beautiful layouts you can make using this mega kit. Don't forget to collect all 12 pieces, make and upload a layout following the Challenge Rules and collect the Mega Kit. 


You should've come from Linda's Blog. You can get my piece HERE . Now head back to the Crafty Scraps Forum to get your instructions for the HFD and above anything else, have fun scrapping. I can't wait to see what you've made.

New Hide, Find, Design at Crafty Scraps

 






Hi everyone.  It is the 15th of the month again already.  That means time for a new HFD Challenge at the Crafty Scraps Forum.  This Month's Theme is Scrapbooking.  Start at Michelle's Blog.  Follow the directions buzzing from one CT Blog to another until you have collected all 12 pieces.  The last stop will direct you to Michelle's Forum where you will get the Challenge Rules.  Post a layout that meets the Rules and collect this gorgeous Mega Kit for Free.  Everyone loves collecting Freebies.  Don't miss out on this one. Here are the Previews of the Mega Kit you will receive for participating.

Gorgeous Isn't it? Just wait and see all the beautiful layouts you can make using this mega kit. Don't forget to collect all 12 pieces, make and upload a layout following the Challenge Rules and collect the Mega Kit.  Get buzzing, get scrapping, and have fun.  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this month.


You should've come from Kathie's Blog ~ . You can get my piece HERE. Now head back to the Crafty Scraps Forum to get your instructions for the HFD and above anything else, have fun scrapping.


Please remember to leave love along the way in the search because everyone has worked very hard on putting this HFD together.

New Hide Find Design at Crafty Scraps Forum

Hi everyone.  It is the 15th of the month again already.  That means time for a new HFD Challenge at the Crafty Scraps Forum.  This Month's Theme is Back To School.  Start at Michelle's Blog.  Follow the directions buzzing from one CT Blog to another until you have collected all 14 pieces.  The last stop will direct you to Michelle's Forum where you will get the Challenge Rules.  Post a layout that meets the Rules and collect this gorgeous Mega Kit for Free.  Everyone loves collecting Freebies.  Don't miss out on this one. Here are the Previews of the Mega Kit you will receive for participating.

Gorgeous aren't they? Collect all 13 pieces, upload a layout following the Challenge Rules and collect the Mega Kit.  Get buzzing, get scrapping, and have fun.  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this month.

You can get my piece HERE:  Now, head on over to Kathie's Blog to collect her piece(s).

Butterfly's In Bloom by Kathy Winters Designs

Hello,

Here is a kit called Butterfly's In Bloom by Kathy Winters Designs. It is a gorgeous kit consisting of very beautiful papers and elements. The pinks, greens and blues in this kit go so well together. The elements consist of flowers, butterflies, buttons, strings and so on. The papers are so versatile that they can virtually go with anything.

Here is the preview to this gorgeous kit. Kathy really outdid herself on this one.

 See what I mean about this kit being gorgeous? I just fell in love with all the different colors. You can find Butterfly's In Bloom in Kathy's store at GingerScraps. Here is a link for this kit. Click here to be taken to Kathy Winters Designs Store.

Here are a few layouts I made using this kit. I hope you enjoy them.

For this layout, I also used a template by Connie Prince called The Big Picture. Thank you Connie for allowing me to use your templates for my CT work.

Well, this is all I have for this post. I hope you enjoyed looking at my layouts and Kathy Winters Designs work. 

Remember, tell those you love what they mean to you because tomorrow is never promised. Blessings ~

A Long Time

Oh boy its been a long time. I really have to get my head back in the scheme of things. I have so totally slacked on everything, including my scraping. I have managed to keep up with the teams I create for, but that's about it as far as the scraping world.

After my dad passed about a month and a half ago, I felt like the life was sucked out of me. Sure, I got up and get up each and every day and take care of my lil ones, play with them, feed them, bathe them and all of the day to day things involved with them. Every part of their lives I am on top of and love being with them, taking care of them and most importantly showering them with love. They are not aware of the ongoing and continuing pain I am feeling inside of me. They are only aware that they have a momma with them that loves them more than anything in the world and that I do my best to make sure they are happy each and every day of their life.

I contacted the awesome designers that I CT for when my dad passed away and told them what happened. Each of them told me to take my time and all the time I needed to work through this. I took them up on their offers and took a few days to a week or so off. I have to tell you that during that time, I didn't and couldn't do anything scrapping wise. Then one day it hit me. The longer I sat here doing nothing, the worse I felt, so I jumped back into my scrapping. I started back doing my CT duties and at times it was a hard thing to do. There were and still are times when I get the gumption back going to work on a layout (LO) then come to my computer and open everything up to start then just sit here looking at the monitor and closing everything out again.

I knew it was bad when mom passed just a little over 2 years ago. When dad passed I didn't know which end was up. I honestly felt like a little girl again who lost both her parents and didn't know what I was going to do anymore. The knowing that I can never pick up a phone again and call them just to say hi and I love just crushed me to the core. It is a finality that sucks the life out of you. No more calling them to tell them something funny that happened. No more calling them to tell them that it so flippin hot outside. No more calling them and telling them we are having 70 degree weather outside when they have several inches of snow on the ground. No more calling them to tell them something funny that one of the kids did. Nothing. It totally devastated me. It's hard to work through the grief and the pain.

I can remember "chatting" online with someone who was having a bad day and trying to cheer them up and making them laugh, all the while having tears running down my face because I miss my parents so much. I can remember the feeling of wanting to move back to the Pacific Northwest to be closer to my family there. I can remember the feeling of being so totally alone and no one to really explain how I was feeling. I mean yes, I have people I can and do talk to, but in THAT moment, you feel so totally alone. I guess what I am and was feeling was completely and utterly overwhelmed with my emotions and things I needed to do.

I guess what I am saying is that I am sorry for neglecting my blog and the things that I enjoy putting here. I am taking the steps to not feel so overwhelmed again and am going to be posting the work I've done with the awesome designers' kits I've used. I have to remember to take care of myself as well as treating myself well. This is what I am doing now.

So, to end this post, please be good to yourself, treat yourself well and remember to tell those you love how you feel about them and what they mean to you because tomorrow isn't always promised.

God Bless
Lori

Speed Scrap at Scraps-N-Pieces

Hi there,

Here is some information about a Speed Scrap that will take place on May 10th over at Scraps-N-Pieces. Hope to see you there.

On May 10th at 4pm EST (3pm CST, 2pm MST, 1pm PST) I want to invite you to another fun-filled excited Speed Scrap that Karen Diamond Designs will be hosting at Scraps-N-Pieces.com Forum and Chat Room. Participation Prize will be:

Pure Innocense and a freebie.

Hello again.

I hope everyone is doing well. As for me, I am inching along day by day. I still struggle at times, with my parents passing (posted a few posts below) but I fell I have to keep busy so my grief doesn't totally consume me.

Any way, I am going to show you yet another AWESOME kit by Katybug Scraps. It's called Pure Innocence. I feel so blessed to be on Katybug Scraps' Creative Team. She makes so many beautiful treasures to scrap your blessed photos. This kit is jammed packed with awesome papers, elements and alpha's. The kit is on sale right now for 30% off. However, if you purchase the Pure Innocence bundle which includes the full size kit, a pack of quick pages and titles, it is on sale for 45% off. Here is a preview of the kit. You can head on over to Katybug Scraps' store to purchase this awesome kit HERE:

Here is a layout that I made using this adorable kit. I used a template by AK Designs and tweaked it just a bit.

See what I mean about making so many different things with this beautiful kit?

Now, it's time for me to share with you, a freebie I make. It is a cluster frame. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. 

You can download this cluster frame HERE:

Well, that's all I have right at the moment for you. I hope you enjoy your freebie. Please remember to tell those you love what they mean to you today and every day.

Have a blessed day.

Mom's Little Superhero Freebie

Well, as promised, here is my freebie part to this beautiful collaboration kit between Mommy Made This and Scraps-N-Pieces. Here again is the preview to this awesome kit. The first preview is Mommy Made This' part.

This next preview is from Scraps-N-Pieces.

 

Here's the exciting part. From this kit, Mommy Made This' Creative Team has made some freebies for you. If you click on THIS LINK, you can head to Mommy Made This' blog to pick up the other CT members freebies. Also, head over to Scraps-N-Pieces blog by clicking THIS LINK to see what their CT's have in store for you for freebies. If you don't see something from their CT's try back shortly as many are on different time zones.

Here is a preview of my freebie. I have made you a Quick Page. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

You can download this Quick Page here:

I hope you have enjoyed this kit and don't forget to head on over to Mommy Made This' store HERE to purchase this kit for 50% off this week. That makes this kit just $2.50 for everything you've seen in her part (the girl part) of the collaboration. 

You can also head over to Scraps-N-Pieces store HERE to purchase their part of this kit for 50% off as well. That makes this kit just $2.50 as well for everything you've seen in their preview (The boy part) as well.

Have a wonderfully blessed day and remember to tell those you love what they mean to you each and every day.

New Kit Collab from Mommy Made This & ScrapsNPieces

Hello,

I know this is so late in posting and for that I am sorry. I am here to tell you about a beautiful Collaboration kit done between Mommy Made This and Scraps-N-Pieces. It's called Mom's Superhero. I can't tell you how much I love this kit. It's full of wonderful papers, beautiful elements, card stocks and so many more items. You will go ga-ga over the little superhero kids. They are absolutely adorable. There are little boy superhero's and little girl superhero's. Here is the preview.

This is the preview for Mommy Made This' portion of this collab.

This portion of the kit is on sale for 50% off for this week, at Scraps-N-Pieces store located here:

 

This is the preview for Scraps-N-Pieces portion of the collab.

This portion of the kit is on sale for 50% off for this week, at Scraps-N-Pieces store located  here:

Here is the layout I made using this awesome kit and if you check back tomorrow, I will have a freebie here waiting for you. What's better than a freebie ~ Check back tomorrow and I will also have a link to where you can get the other CT members freebies made with this kit as well.

Have a wonderfully blessed day and remember to tell those you love what they mean to you.

It's been awhile ~ A Heart Broken

Hello:

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged and for that I am truly sorry to the designers I CT for. May is coming up and it's the 2 year anniversary of my mom's passing. I had just gotten myself to the point where I can some what deal with that, then on March 31, 2012, my dad passed away as well. I am utterly heart broken, to say the least. This past few weeks has been VERY hard to deal with and I actually stopped scrapping to try to get through this trying time. After a few days, I was going stir crazy just sitting and had to do something to keep my mind going, so I started scrapping a little more. It helped some, but not completely. Even as an adult, who has seen family and friends pass away, I find myself asking, "Why does death of those you love, have to be so hard, but why does the death of a parent hurt like none other?"

My parents were together their entire married life, well except for the occasional trip my mom took for her clubs and groups she was in. At the time my mom passed my parents had been married for 54 years. They had a passion for life and as my uncle told me, "Sorry to hear about your dad, Chuck to me. He will be missed by all, even when you thought he was a mean dad, especially when you girls were picking on me! I can't tell you about all the good times we had, I'm sure you have heard about them many times. He and your mother were two of a kind, always looking at the bright side of life. They are together again, so all is well." They were strict parents but oh so wonderful ones too. They taught my sisters and I, right from wrong. They were there to guide us and help us if we wanted it. They doted on all of their grandchildren and great grandchildren. They are together again, finally and happily dancing in Heaven. They aren't in any pain anymore and I understand that in my head. In my heart, I am hurting because I miss them both so much.

After my mom passed, my dad really lived by his marriage vows, "in sickness and in health". He took care of her each and every day with pure love in his heart." During the times that I was at "home" visiting, all I saw was his loving, caring and compassion towards my mom. He doted on her, called her beautiful, held her hand and just totally poured out all his love towards her. This became even more clear and evident just before my mom passed. In my opinion, he made it his life's mission to tell her how much he loved her. It was just so very romantic. During the time my mom became more ill, I remember that she had fallen and my dad had tried to help her up. He ended up fracturing a vertebrae in his back and ended up having surgery to repair this. After this, one of my sisters started helping my parents as their caregiver so they could both stay in their home and together. I may not have agreed with the way she handled some things, but am so grateful to her for taking care of them both.

The bottom line is, I love my parents so very much and I was blessed and honored to be their daughter. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of them and most days, I do take some "down" time to talk to them both. What really helps though is my belief in butterfly's. I believe that after your loved one passes butterfly's butterfly's come to you to show you that they are o.k. and have made it home to heaven. I also believe that they come to those who are having a hard time with their death. Well, I have seen so many butterfly's this year, unlike any other. Here is a story of what happened a few days after my dad passed. I was outside with my kids while they were playing. A single butterfly landed near them. My kids, who are 4 and 5, went up to the butterfly and was looking at it. Instead of the butterfly flying off, it "played" with them. The kids then came back over towards me and the butterfly followed them and just landed between them. It just stayed there as they were trying to pick it up. I saw this and went over to them and was actually able to pick up this butterfly. It even allowed me to put it in my kids' hand and they got to hold it for a few seconds. It was such a peaceful moment for me. I knew it was my dad coming back to watch over us and to make sure we were o.k. Since that day, we've had many many butterfly's all around us. I was even able to hold another one about a week ago. The most calming and peaceful feeling came over me. I then started seeing 2 butterfly's chasing each other and knew in that moment, that my mom and dad were now here with me.

As I close this blog post, I'd like to ask you to do something. Please, Please, Please tell your loved ones what they mean to you every day because you never know when they won't physically be there anymore. With every conversation I had with my parents and before I hung up, I would tell them each and every time that I loved them. It does make a difference to everyone.

My parents on their wedding day ~ June 1, 1956

My parents on their 50th Wedding Anniversary May 2006

My parents shortly before my mom passed.

 I LOVE YOU DAD AND MOM and rest in eternal happiness together.

God Bless and much love to all.

Froggie Bath and a Freebie

Good Morning.

I am sorry I am late posting this. It has been a very upsetting week for me and this morning when I woke up to get our little girl off to school, my vertigo kicked in and I had to go right back to bed. I hope everyone is having a good week.

Today I would love to share with you a new kit by KatyBug Scraps. It's called Froggie Bath. This is an adorable kit full of gorgeous papers and elements. There are so many different ways to make layouts with this one. I just love the colors of it as well. Here, don't take my word for it, just look for yourself. You can pick up this gorgeous kit at KatyBug Scraps Store,  Just click the link and it will take you there. Also Katy is having a awesome sale at her store Today (Thurs 3-5) and Tomorrow (Friday 3-6) Don't miss this sale as you can save 64% on the Froggie Bath Bundle. It is selling for just $4.00 during her sale. You get the kit, Froggie Bath Quick Pages and Froggie Bath Titles. Oh and also, This kit has 42 Papers, 87 Elements, and 1 Alpha. Plus as a special Bonus I have also included 40 Bonus Basics recolored to give you additional choices in your layouts. These bonus basics are included in a separate folder for easier viewing of the main kit. This is an awesome deal for this price.

Here are some layouts I made using this kit ~

See what I mean about the colors? So bright and cheery. I am going to attempt the html code for this kit and it should give you a slide show of other Creative Team Members' layouts as well. Wish me luck.

And last but not least, here is a freebie I made with this kit. It is a cluster frame for you. I hope you enjoy. Once you gather your freebie from me, please head over to KatyBug Scraps' blog here: KatyBug Scraps and you can pick up more freebies from Katy's other CT Members using this kit as well.

UPDATE (4-7-12) I am so very sorry if you tried to download the freebie. I guess I forgot to add the link. You can download my freebie HERE



Please remember to tell those you love how you feel about them. Have a blessed day.

Springing Into Luck

Hi there,

It's me again. I am going to show you another beautiful kit by Mommy Made This. This one is actually a collab kit made with Queen Wild Scraps. For anyone who is new to my site or the digi scrapping world, a colab kit is one where at least 2 designers join together to make one big kit. This kit is gorgeous. It is full of blues, greens and purples. With the kit being this big, you will undoubtedly have many many many layouts that you can make. Here is a preview of the kit. It will rock your world.

You can find Mommy Made This' part to the collab kit, here:

 Here is the preview of the other part of the collab that Queen Wild Scraps made as well.

You can find Queen Wild Scraps' part to this beautiful collab here:

and here is a preview of the layout I made with this beautiful kit.

Well my dears, this is the end of the line for me today. I am sleepy and am heading to night night land. Have a blessed as safe weekend and please don't forget to tell your loved ones what they mean to you.