I’ve been looking around at some other digital scrapbook online stores.  I’ve known about them for awhile now but I’ve never actually bought anything anywhere except Designer Digitals…well maybe a couple things here and there…but not much.  I love DD but I thought perhaps I might broaden my horizons a bit. ;D  I did the following two layouts with supplies from other places. ;D

This one is made with materials all found on ScrapArtist.

All Supplies from ScrapArtist
Flowerish Eclectic designs by Gabi
Stamps Nancie Rowe Janitz
Stampy Edge Linda Gil Billdal
Fall Color Paperset Nancie Rowe Janitz

This next layout is inspired by a challenge over at Oscraps.  All the supplies are from there as well.

Oscraps CopyCat Challenge #21
word art Compulsive Entitlement TaylorMade
elements & paper Embrace Paislee Press & Fei Fei’s Stuff
elements Summer Dawn with love by mushy & TaylorMade
paper & elements Est. Paislee Press & TaylorMade
frames Revive TaylorMade
element Bits and Pieces Natasha NaSt designs

Then how about we add this week’s freebie?  Yay! ;D

You can download this template for free in my sidebar.  Remember these links don’t last forever!

I think it is time to join the living again…I’m tired of being among the walking dead…or the laying on the couch dead as the case may be. ;D  This flu has kicked me in the behind!!!  I’m slowly climbing out of the hole.  Last night I went through the entire night without waking up with some kind of problem.  That is a small miracle in and of itself.  I do not have all my energy back and I’m still coughing but I think the worst is over.

I’m not sure how I was able to get anything done but I managed to squeeze in some designing here and there.  I’ve put three new products in my store…

Here’s the weekly freebie…you can download it in my sidebar (for a limited time…remember these don’t stay forever!!!)

Actually this was the only thing I did while sick.  I have to thank my dh for keeping up with the house and taking care of the girls while I was sick.  Thanks honey! ;D

I like to stretch birthdays out. For some reason the girls are bent on having to celebrate birthdays on “the day” and if we deviate from that at all they have fits…like it isn’t real or doesn’t mean as much if we don’t. I’m not like that. I like to celebrate before during and after. Drag it out as much as possible. It’s way more fun that way. So…I’ve been wanting to make a specific cake and Corey’s birthday was a good excuse. Plus the other night when we had pumpkin pie I forgot to get out the Celebrate Plate. We can’t have that! ;D

This cake recipe is from this blog post. I altered it a little cause I didn’t have time to go looking for Skor bars. ;D So I used butterscotch chips. It was yummy this way. And since we are on the subject of food…I’ve been inspired by Katie’s blog lately. Maybe not what she eats necessarily but just food in general. So when I am cooking food, or cutting up food or making food I think of her and her blog. I cut up a cantelope the other day. I had to take a photo of it. The orange color was so beautiful. It smelled so good. It was perfectly ripe. ;D Thanks for the inspiration Katie!

I also have two new items for my store.

And the weekly freebie…

Someone sent me one of their creations using a template of mine. I just love seeing what you all come up with! Thanks for sharing with me!

Layout Credits:
Author ViVre
Template JMDesigns
Pictures taken in the garden of Sisters of St.Francis. Netherlands.
Paper + elements: cocotounette_prettyju

And I thought I’d also share the latest layout I did of Corey’s bday celebration. ;D

Paper All Hallows Eve JMDesigns
All other supplies from Digital Designs Essentials Whirly Twirly Spring Mega Kit, Shabby Shack Mega Kit, Little Bird Mini Kit, Catch A Star Kit Essentials, Chilly Cheeks Alpha Essentials and Book Bag Essentials

I may have found my groove as well as Ava starting to find hers with homework.  I’m starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the girls being gone and finding inspiration and time to design.  It is not how I imagined it would be.  Life never is.  I think it is funny how I’m a planner by nature and yet my life NEVER goes the way I plan or envision the plan.  What is up with THAT?  I don’t get it.

So I designed two paper packs this week.  Every week I think, ah, I’m so in love with this paper I’ll never top it…and yet the next week somehow I come up with something new that I love even better.  How is THAT possible?  {HUGE GRIN}

May I present…

And the weekly freebie…

I hope you enjoy.  Share with me what you create.  I’d really like to post challenges and contests on my blog.  I’ve done it before with not a ton of response.  I know everyone is so busy.  Anyone have any suggestions???  As always I welcome your comments…they mean so much!  Have a fan-tab-u-lous weekend!

I’ve created some new paper and a brush set and put them in my store.

And then the weekly freebie…

I hope you enjoy it.  Have a fan-tab-u-lous weekend!

It has been a long week for some reason.  The girls have been fighting like you wouldn’t believe.  That surprises me given the fact that when we do a lot of things together as a family (like the week previous) that usually makes them behave like angels.  Not so this time.  I’m at my whits end.  And I don’t like feeling like this.  Monday school starts.  It is so bittersweet.  The summer flew.  I cannot believe they are going back so soon and yet I’m just so looking forward to the fighting to be over!  Both girls will be in school all day.  That is going to be strange!!! A part of me is excited and a part of me is sad.  Another part of life is ending.  Another beginning.

Last night was meet your teacher night at school.  So this is all becoming a reality.  Laney has the same teacher as Ava did in 1st grade.  It was déjà vu all over again.  Ava’s class is right across the hall from Laney’s.  It was nice to have two returning students this year.  They were both very comfortable and had lots of friends they were reuniting with. ;D

So on to this week’s freebie.  I was able to get something done.  I needed to work to feel like a normal adult in amoungst the fighting of short people in the house!  I felt like playing with the Fibonacci Spiral again.  This is what I came up with.

And here’s the layout that I did with it.  If you use it please feel free to share!  My friend Wendy has been doing some lovely layouts with my templates lately.  You can check out her lovely blog here.  It is always great to see other people’s takes on my designs! ;D

template, paper, circle word art stamp JMDesigns
background paper Island Blues, Essential Bases {1} (both altered) Lynn Grievenson
bird cage stamp House of 3
buttons French Summer Lynn Grievenson

Here’s Wendy’s take…

This week’s freebie is another template.

And here’s the layout I did with it.

layout credits
template Jen Maddocks Designs
paper Cherry Festival, Essentials {1}, Antiquities 1 & 2 Lynn Grievenson

Have a fabulous weekend! ;D

I don’t consider myself just a scrapbooker, photographer or designer.  I consider myself an artist.  It is not just cause I went to art school or that I like to create or that I appreciate art.  Maybe it is all of these mixed together and maybe some other things mixed in there that I cannot explain.  I see so many creative things around that inspire me.  The Fibonacci Spiral happens to be one of those.

Unfamiliar with the Fibonacci Spiral?  Let me give you some visuals.

The Fibonacci Spiral is created by drawing arcs connecting the opposite corners of squares in the Fibonacci tiling.  Fibonacci was a mathematician in the 13th century.  He first discovered the Fibonacci number sequence by estimating how fast rabbits could reproduce in an ideal environment.  Now I’m not a mathematician and I don’t want to get too technical or boring but the premise behind the squares, or the sequence, is adding each number in the sequence with the number occurring before it in the sequence.  Like this…

1
1 + 1 = 2
2 + 1 = 3
3 + 2 = 5
5 + 3 = 8
8 + 5 = 13
13 + 8 = 21
21 + 13 = 34 and so on.

While I must admit I really don’t care about the math I did want to include that part in my post so you at least have some knowledge of what I’m talking about.  What I most care about is what the spiral looks like in nature, architecture and the like.  I did a basic search on Google and came up with some of the following images…

Naturally these images and this spiral concept can bring so much to the imagination!  And so I give you my take…

You can download this template for free here.

Below is the layout that I made.

Template No.4 JMDesigns
Paper So Fancy JMDesigns
Katie Pertiet Journaling Brushes-n-Stamps
Katie Pertiet Barely There Brushes-n-Stamps

Are there things in art, nature or life that inspire you?  Take a look around.  Take a new look at something you see every day.  You may be surprised!  If you use the template please share what you do.  I would love to see!

…the way you plan.  Have you ever noticed that?  Especially if you are a planner by nature.  Which I am.  I have things all mapped out in my head and all my ducks in a row and life happens and the whole thing gets thrown out the window.  I’m a firm believer that the reason God gave me children was so I could learn the lesson of go-with-the-flow.  Kids always throw a wrench in the works.  Having them has taught me to not be so disappointed when plans all fall apart.  And they always do.  Both the kids…and the plans! ;D

So my web hosting was supposed to be all done.  And it is…technically…but there are still bumps.  Why is technical stuff always so…well, technical!!!!  Without boring you with the details of the technical stuff…cause frankly I get bored with the technical stuff myself…my site was supposed to be all bump free and I was supposed to have launched a new part of my site by today….but it is going to take a few more days.

So I’ll leave you with a freebie that I designed in the spirit of the 4th of July which is right around the corner.

You can download Patriot here.

I hope you enjoy it.  Please give a shout and let me know what you think.  You may notice a new logo on the paper pack as well as a new blog header. ;D  New looks for the new thing happening.  I’m so excited.  Have a fabulous weekend!  So the goal is to have the new part of my blog up on July 1st…I don’t like putting dates out there…but that’s the goal.  So keeping my fingers crossed!!!

…too much of a good thing right?  ;D

So here’s another free template for you.

If you would like it you may download it for free here.

And here is my layout that I did with it…

I hope you enjoy!  Have a fantastic weekend! ;D