Off with her head….

I’m late…I’m late for a very important date…..ok the mental image of me in a waistcoat, gold rimmed glasses with a pocket watch is too silly.

My life has been so hectic…i totally forgot about the blogtrain freebie due yesterday. But here it is without further delay.

click the image or here…. just a few things to coordinate with the other 113 designers….hope ya like it!

On a related note my downloads will only be lasting 45 days now. So if you want it, grab it now!

here are the previews for all of the other designers

The Mathematician’s Assistant

and your next stop is : Jassi’s Scrap und Fotoblog

and if you get off track, you can always start at the beginning here: The Blog Train Blog

Back 2 School Freebie

I was so caught up in my daughter's party I forgot ALL about my blog train post! Well...here it is...2 cardboard chipboard word arts, 3 construction kraft papers, 1 frame, 1 clippie...I made the word art neutral so it should match with pretty much anything...plus a bonus word art not pictured. Be sure to pick it up!

http://www.box.net/shared/ddp47ldd10

Next stop:

http://www.charliesdigiscraps.com/blog/

and if you get lost:

here is main stop on blog train blog

http://www.blogtrainblog.blogspot.com/

My Favorite Guy Blog Train Freebie

Slide Show

This month, our blog Train will give you a fantastic mega kit.

My Favorite Guy!
Check Out All Those Awesome Previews in the Slide Show!

Here is my part:

3 Patterned Textured 12X12 papers

1 Chipboard Star

1 Star Sticker cluster

1 Wrapped Wooden Frame

1 Flat Ribbon

Download Here

You Came from:
JIC Creations http://jiccreations.blogspot.com/

Next Stop
Simple Girl Designs https://simplegirldesigns.squarespace.com/

Main Blog Train Link
http://www.blogtrainblog.blogspot.com/

Poor neglected blog

I havent blogged in forever….many days I say I gotta do it today and time just gets away from me. My eldest dd is graduating this year. She turned 18 in  February and each month gets closer to her leaving the nest. May 2 she went to her senior prom.

This is her and her date (and best friend) Lamar. They looked so gorgeous. Its a bittersweet feeling to see her growing older…what happened to my baby….

She always did look gorgeous in pink!

With all of that going on and my grandma passing away, I haven’t really been in mood to design. No creative spark at all. So I think I am just going to concentrate on forum participation at the sites I sell at and scrapping some of these  gazillion pictures I have. Now if I could just stay off of FB

Been a while

Since I last blogged…lots going on in my world. Eldest daughter got her first car! 2004 Olds Alero…her car is newer than MINE! LOL. But I wanted peace of mind when she goes all the way down to Louisiana  that she will have reliable transportation! She of course is over the moon.

I entered the Design2Inspire contest at Inspiration-Lane.com. Here is my week one entry :

be sure to stop by the gallery to grab it! It’s Free which is always good right?

Here is my week 2 Entry:

You can grab it (also free) right here

I did make a layout for Elemental Scraps template challenge with it.

Zaniyah Easter 2008 you can go there and leave me love…if you like!

Days Gone By Blog Train Freebie

Organized by the wonderful FruitLoOp Sally, this blog train collab freebie kit is going be a great one. We have set it up as a blogtrain, so what that means is that you need to go to the next blog to find the next piece of the kit! :) You will find the my piece in here and I'll give you the link to next blog! And that way you go, till you have got all 15 pieces! :)
This big kit has a vintage and retro feel to it and includes:
54 background papers!!!! :D
74 different elements and 1 alpha!!!

Here is my part…

Please stop & visit Creative Victorian Designs for the next piece

New Stores, New Products and more

I am in two new stores and have released quite a few new products to celebrate that! I can now be found in Scrapbird and DigiByDesign! These are both direct links to my stores so be sure to check them out.

On to my new products, I have one new kit and four (yep FOUR) new commercial use items. The kit is Retro Vintage. It is a companion to a freebie blog train I am a part of (stay tuned more on that later today or tomorrow)..I liked working with the palette so much, it inspired a whole kit.

Its available @ Scrapbird, DigiByDesign, & Scraphead right now!

The Commercial Use tools are these:

 

Just So Journaling Mats – grayscaled journaling mats with lines on separate layer for ease of use.

5 Art Deco Stamps to dress up your designs or layouts

5 Christmas Doodles that will look great when used in your creations.

Borders Vol2 -5 border templates. Use as a trim on papers, create borders, or ribbons.

Inspired

Maybe its the season...or the request to join this year's Christmas Around The World blog train which has been renamed Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking Freebies. Once again I will participating in this and I was up until 3 am designing last night...and I LOVE what I have come up with. Hope you guys like it as well. Also I will have a coupon in the upcoming holiday DST Insider so be on the look out for that..In keeping with that issue,I am going to try a hybrid project..if it works out well I will post results here & instructions AND a freebie to try it out!

National Pursuit of Happyness Week

Some one sent me this lovely website to energize my blog...it has a 14 month calender to help when you don't know what to blog about. I have to admit that I am often blog entry challenged...I average about three - five posts a month. And this calender is supposed to help. The first entry for this week is that its National Pursuit of Happiness week. This couldn't have come at a better time. Its past time I pursued my happiness. I have been unhappy for some time in my life and its time I put me first. I know people always say that you have to put yourself first in order to be a good mom etc. But I have been so bad about following that advice.But no more.
And my first step is a doozy. I asked my husband for a divorce. I have been telling him that I am unhappy. I have tried to get him to go to counseling, to talk to our church minister...but of course he wouldnt. He doesn't see anything wrong..he gets all he wants out the marriage. He has someone to take care of him. He doesn't feel need to work, help out with kids, help out around house, help with our disabled sons therapy. He can watch cable tv and hang out with his buddies. Generally act like he is 19 years old. His reply when I told him I wanted a divorce was fine..do what you want. Please pray for me and my family. This is going to be a time of great upheaval.

Inspiration for new projects sometimes comes
when we least expect it and this was one of those Inspiring moments.

This very special SHMILY Blog Train was Inspired by a
story on the internet you may read for yourselves HERE.
(Thank you Nicole & KC)

SHMILY (See How Much I Love You) is Truly Inspiring...
Please remember to show those in your life some SHMILY
when they least expect it.

MAMACAT SCRAPS
DMK DESIGNS
KISSED BY PIX
KISSED BY CARI
DESIGNS BY HELLY
KC'S SCRAPPIN SANCTUARY
LIV LUVS SCRAPS
HEAVENS DESIGNZ
MONKEY DOODLE DESIGNS
JUST ANOTHER SCRAP BY JUDITH
MYSTIC INC DESIGN
TOTALLY RAWKIN DESIGNS
FOXY LADY CREATIONS
LADY QUEEN'S CREATIONS
DESIGNS BY CINDI
WILLOW ART PRODUCTIONS

Here is my contribution to the blog train. Be sure to pick it up here

Work in Progress & freebie

thats how I feel. My life has been so hectic...my eldest is graduating this year. She has decided on a college (go Grambling Tigers) but still has ACT to take, she made captain of the cheerleading squad and nominated to Homecoming Court...all of this means her extracurricular load is crazy...practice for this, practice for that, community appearances...whooo...busy busy busy. Here is Pixie in her uniform pic

my youngest son is seeing a new pediatric neurologist because the two previous ones moved out of the area. She is GREAT! i was really unhappy with the last one he had. He was good with my son but I just found him somewhat standoffish. My son will also be seeing a physiatrist...I had never heard of it either...its a rehabilitation doctor. Rehabilitation physicians are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move. Jorrell's official diagnosis is hemplegic cerebral palsy (resulting from stroke he suffered in utero) which means this doctor will use his expertise to oversee the physical & occupational therapy. Even with him getting it at school & outpatient once a week, we are noticing increased tone or difficulty with him doing the range of motion exercises. It makes me sad to see how he has to use his left arm turn his right arm in supine position.

But he is a real trooper and so sweet! The brace on his arm is to help with finger extension!
Those are just a few of the things that are keeping me busy. i also seem to have lost my mojo...i am working on a set of paper preview templates. A friend asked me to make her some so I obliged. This one supports 8 papers so here is a sample download here.
i am also working on my first tagger kit..I am part of the yahoo group Truly Inspired and next couple weeks, there will be a blog train based on this story SHIMILY (be sure to have your tissues ready). Stay tuned to for more info on that.

Nightmare at Scraphead Blog Train

Its been forever since i updated but I am back with freebies!! Who doesn't like a freebie? As part of the Oct daily download at Scraphead.com, the designers are doing a blog train. Be sure to grab the brag book pages from all the designers. This is my first brag book page and it can be downloaded here:

Day One




Snowraven http://silversnowyraven.blogspot. Com

Michelle Powell http://scrapheadspot.blogspot.com

Renata http://www.serenebyrw.blogspot.com

Creations by Rachael http://www.creationsbyrachael.blogspot.com

By God's design http://digibygodsdesign.biz

Jennifer Wambach http://jennartdesign.blogspot.com/

MoveFearlessly Designs http://movefearlessly.com/blog/

Cathy Joes Designs http://cathyjoeskorner.blogspot.com/

Sherry D http://ambrosiaartsva.blogspot.com/

Cindy Ritter http://cindyritterdigiscrap.blogspot.com/

Tiffani http://totallyrawkindesigns.blogspot.com

Patricia - http://www.digiheaven.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check back for the new page!

where did all gigs go????

I got this pc in February...it came with 320gb hard drive. I also purchased a 200gb external drive at same time. I also just got a Nikon 8700 system a couple months before hand. Between my designs (mostly unfinished), my gazillion pictures of my family members and my amateurish texture taking photos, I have less than 17GB. I was window shopping at one of my favorite site and saw this

Image Viewer

Original Price: $69.99

You Save: $20.00

$49.99

Free 3 Business Day Shipping

(Not available in HI, AK and PR)

In Stock

Hitachi 320GB SATA drive

only 50 bucks and FREE SHIPPING.....i heart free shipping. Unfortunately with back to school for 7 children fast approaching...one of which is a senior , I haven't got an extra 50 bucks. But I can still salivate, right????


In other news, I absolutely ADORE this new program! For designers who advertise in yahoo groups know what a pain it is to set up your lists, make sure its correct format and day for that list and then send out an ad...AND then do it all over again for your next ad. ...this program automates the entire process. You must have your own domain for this to work and the wonderful gentlemen who wrote this program for only ten bucks will install it for you if like me cron jobs are outside of your purview.
YAM Automailer

i am working on a new collabo kit with Jennifer {Tony's Mama Designs}..its gonna be SOOOOO cute.....here a few previews of some of the things I made..... this is a paper...close up so you can see the texture!

here is the cutest little cardboard car...its inked edges make it totally adorable!!!There are 4 in this set...more transportation methods perfect for those little boy layouts! i think some cardboard flames would be a good accent with this huh???



this is a glittered chipboard frame...several of these in different glitter colors and shapes...this is a circle!

I am having so much fun making stuff...this is going to be a HUGE kit....a great bargain for scrapping boys, girls, or both!

oooh guess what

I have an additional digi home! My designs can now be found at Scraphead.com. And I will be offering my first grab bags!!! There will be a commercial use bag and one for personal use. Both bags will be over 100 mb of goodies to play with.The sale runs from June 20-22. Here is a sneak preview of my personal grab bag. You have to stay tuned if you want to see more clues. I will be posting them soon. The personal bag is worth over $ 12 once separated in the store but the bag will be only $2 and the commercial bag is valued at over $3 for the commercial use bag.

Im so behind

I have been working my hiney off trying to get caught up...I have been a designing, scrapping, ct applying fool lately. I am so sad the month of April is almost up...My guest spot with Digi Diva Designs is almost over. She is a dream to work with and I would love a permanent spot on her team! Anyways I just created this layout with her Simply Adored kit.I come from a family of sisters. The first two are my grandmother who is 70 and her 79 yr old sister Martha, then its my cousin, my mom and my two aunts, the next picture is my oldest two daughters,
The third row is my other four daughters in pics with their sisters.

edge journaling are these quotes about sisters

A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. Isadora James
An older sister is a friend and defender - a listener, conspirator, a counsellor and a sharer of delights. And sorrows too. ~Pam Brown
Our roots say we're sisters, our hearts say we're friends. ~Author Unknown
A sister shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams. ~Author Unknown
Sisters are blossoms in the garden of life. ~Author Unknown

I was picked to be on Eirene's CT. I am so excited. I love her designs and hope to be debuting some new layouts soon. I got a personalized blinkie and everything!!! Woohoo go me!

A good friend of mine who has oft been known to speak bluntly even when it hurts, Afridigidiva, has come under fire for her opinions. Agree or disagree, one thing I can say about her is that she is not afraid to attach her name to her opinions. If you feel that a person has right to have music on their blog, I do not see how you can feel she does not have the right to say she doesn't like blogs with music on them on her OWN blog. Come on now folks...thats a wee bit hypocritical. I am all for folks expressing themselves they way they want to on their blogs. But don't be mad if I do not choose to visit your blog if it plays music. I will pm you my comment and keep it moving. (FWIW one of the blogs in question I LOVE his playlist)...anywhoo...I just wanted to shout out my girl ADD and tell her to brush that dirt off her shoulders.


ok Sharia and ADD yall killing me with the hotties...gotta post my own boo...I fell in love with Christian Keyes watching the play, Madea Goes to Jail. And this pictures here show off his gorgeous smile, sexy eyes,.......his droolworthy physique...





all I can say is WOWZER....

I have been busy busy busy....three ct teams (well two officially have started...still waiting on one)...feeling some of my designing mojo coming back the more I scrap...and picture taking...I am so loving my Nikon...(I saw someone had a cool I <3 My Nikon blinkies....I meant to snag it)....Dirt Lovin Kids by DigiDiva (Connie Prince) In other news...I am SO SO SO sad ADSR3 is over...I had a GREAT partner and had a ball. At some point I plan to put all my adsr layouts in one gallery...I got a real scrapping work out doing those challenges. Here is my final layout for challenge
the kit is Sweet Potato Pie by DigiDiva (Connie Prince), alpha by Gina Miller.

I wanted to leave yall with some pre-craziness Michael Jackson R&B but my ftp site is not working so just imagine you here him sing got me working...day and nite...got me working sunshine until midnight!

Happy Birthday Marcie

Please join me (here) in wishing Marcie (Alabaster Box) at DID a Happy 50th Birthday AND grab a free kit!! Thats right,in honor of her birthday we are giving away an awesome mega collaboration kit. Lots and lots of goodies...also get 50% off all products by angelfaye, Templates N More and BrokenJar Creations for 1 day only!! As an extra special gift here is a quickpage freebie!click the image to download....

I got PICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so proud to announce that I am creating for two GREAT designers and have a guest CT spot of for April....
Amanda Dykan @ PurplePaperFlowers....her stuff is just great and I can't wait to work with it.

Dreamscape Designs@ Digital Candy .....absolutely gorgeous stuff and I already completed my first layout....This is my youngest daughter in her Easter dress
Kit is La Dee Dah by Dreamscape Designs
font is 2Peas Angel

and my third ct gig is with DigiDiva Designs @ DivineDigital or GottaPixel (link to her blog)
I am her guest for the month of April...I feel so........validated....lol...seriously though it is great to be picked to work with the wonderful designs of these talented ladies!!!

3/27 DSP Prompt

Favorite Music

Wow...this is a hard one.....everything is my favorite...lol...seriously though I went to my lastfm to see what I had been playing most....here are some of my most played

1. Never Would Made It - Marvin Sapp
   
2. Honey - Erykah Badu
3. Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield
   
4. I'm Grown - Tiffany Evans
5. I Wish You Loved Me - Tynisha Keli ft Sammie
6. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
   
7. Brokenhearted - Kirk Franklin ft Rev Marvin Winans
8. Put You Up On Game - Aretha Franklin ft Fantasia
   
9. Work That - Mary J Blige
10. Heaven Sent - Keyshia Cole

Now of course some of these are due to my teens playing music on pc but I actually like all the ones listed. I also love the new Kelly Rowland featuring Travis McCoy song Daylights but I haven't checked for it on iTunes yet (they get almost as much of my dollars as digi community does!!!). As far as genres go I love all different kinds...from Tupac to Elton John, from Celine Dion to Enya...I can't pick just one. In fact I can probably pick a favorite artist from every type of music...the only thing I can say I really don't listen to is Electronica/Techno....

Tue 3/25 Blog Prompt

DSP Prompt
various family shots and journaling about the pictures

All of these pictures are from my relatives in Cincinnati. Its been almost a year since I have seen them and boy do I miss them....but pictures do help some...
These are my lil cousins....their mom was murdered two years ago and it hurts me to see how grown up they are getting and how much I miss their mom. They both for different reasons remind me of her when we were growing up together.

These are two more of my lil cousins. Their mom took a 14 year break between children. We all thought that her daughter Bree would be the only child....and up pops lil Tyrin! He is an adorable sweet baby who looks just like his mommy and big sister when they were babies.

here is my lil cousin Quan...he was first great grandson born ...after 4 girls....so he was QUITE spoiled. I can't believe he is old enough for his voice to change!!

These three are the youngest of the cousins....Shayla, Shiya and DJ. Their daddy is my cousin and is 8 years younger than me. I can hardly believe he is the father of three!!! The youngest Shayla shares the same middle name Ylonne as my youngest daughter Zaniyah. They were both named for his sister Tahnee Ylonne Jackson. RIP dearest cousin and sister of my heart. Believe me when I say that you are loved and missed greatly.