Tuesday, November 30, 2010

You Are One Cute Little Boy

It's Tuesday and we have a new Sketch Along Tuesday Challenge over at Frosted Designs!  Our November 30th sketch was designed by me and I hope that you all will join in on the challenge, as we have a great prize up for grabs!



I had fun designing this sketch and left a lot of open space, hoping to spark your creativity!
I came across some old pictures of my son and his dad and had the Fine and Dandy Collection by My Mind's Eye.  The colors in the pictures went so well with the paper collection.
  I was able to use up some flowers in my stash and added the cute little owl button from 
The Purple Pumpkin  along with the little brown bird and owl from My Little Bit Of Whimsy.  Aren't they cute!!!
I cut out my son from one picture which was a little bit to cluttered for me and thought it fit perfectly here on my layout.
Now I bet you are wondering what prize we have for our Sketch Along Tuesday Challenges over at Frosted Designs . . .

Well here it is!  This wonderful December kit by Artful Delight!  I know it is wonderful, because I am on the design team and already have it in my little hands.  I just finished up a layout using it and if you check back tomorrow you can see my layout!  Here is a little sneek peak of your layout using this great kit:


I hope I've lit a spark in you with my sketch and the temptation of winning Artful Delight's December kit.
Let's get busy and create a layout using Frosted Designs November 30th sketch!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

Friday, November 26, 2010

Winter Layout - SOUS Reveal

Hope everyone had a great turkey day!  I know I did!!! I had my family over for some good times and had lots of good food to eat!  Today you will find me pulling out  boxes of Christmas decorations and beginning the decorating marathon!  I love Christmas and can't wait until all of my decorations are up!  For all of you out there doing a little bit of Black Friday Shopping - good luck and good bargins!
I have a new layout to share, as it is reveal day over at Stuck On U Sketches
We have another exclusive sketch for SOUS created by the ever so talented Vanessa (Ness) over at 
 I bought these gorgeous Bo Bunny papers last year specifically for the picture on my layout. I had forgotten that I had them, and came upon them a few weeks ago when I was going through some of my stash.
I thought the colors in the papers went so well with this gorgeous picture my daughter Sara took of the back of our property.
I splurged a little on the embellishments for this layout.  Lidia over at Breaking Barriers started up an Etsy shop and when I saw her flower spray, birds and stick pin, I knew they were perfect for my picture and Bo Bunny papers. You can check out her shop here.
I had these beautiful glitter alphabets by Making Memories that I bought on clearance last year.
I found this Jack Frost picture online and look at Lidia's beautiful stick pin!
Lidia's flower spray, stick pin and polymer clay bird.
I added some clear snow flakes by Imaginisce, which were part of a prize package I won a few months back on their blog.

The postman brought me a box on Wednesday from Leeanne over at Artful Delight filled with her December kit.
OMG I love it!  Echo Park, My Little Yellow Bicycle, American Crafts Thickers and embellishments and so much more.  You can check out the full contents of the kit here.  This is one kit you do not want to pass up!  I can't wait to dig in and create!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

Thursday, November 25, 2010

You Will Always Be My Little Boy - Sketches In Thyme Reveal

I would like to take this time to wish all of my friends out there in blog land a Happy Thanksgiving!  Wishing you a day filled with family, friends, fun and food!
Being as it is Thursday, we have a new sketch challenge over at Sketches In Thyme.  This week is an open sketch challenge and the design team had the opportunity to pick any sketch of their choice!
I love being on my four design teams, but there are times when I would love to join in on other challenges, and for the most part time does not permit that for me.  When I heard Sketches In Thyme was going to have an open sketch week, I was thrilled.  I love the marvelous Liz Chidester and her wonderful sketches over at
The Scrappiest.blogspot.    When I saw her current sketch I knew this was the sketch for me!
I used a picture of my son a few years ago feeling a little under the weather.  He had just had his four wisdom teeth pulled, was feeling miserable and was in bed with his blanket snug around him.   The picture made me think back when he was little and his constant companion was his blankie! I found another picture of him when he was little sitting in my lap with his blankie!
I used some of the new collection from Echo Park, Little Boy, along with more of Mind's Eye Alphabet soup.
Now I don't know what your plans are for tomorrow, but mine are to stay home.  The day after Thanksgiving is my first official Christmas decorating day!  I've never hit the stores before on Black Friday and will be content just staying home!
Please be sure to stop by tomorrow as I have one more layout to share with you.  Here, I'll give you a little sneak peek:
I can't wait till I can share it with you!  I love how this layout turned out!  Wait till you see the gorgeous picture my daughter took!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Piles of Fun

I had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my last kit from Aphra over at The Paper Poppy Kit Club.  I splurged (of course before I was laid off),  and bought both of her November kits, knowing that they would be the last ones.  All I can say is what great kits they are and it was worth the wait.  I will miss Aphra's kits.
As soon as my kit arrived on Monday I got busy and did a layout using her November sketch.
and here is the sketch:
I found pictures of my kids back from 1992 playing in a leaf pile.  I had to chuckle at my son in the pictures, with his Ninja Turtle mask on top of his head.  Back in those days he was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle kinda little guy!  And my sweet little daughter Sara, all of 1 1/2 years old, sitting there along side of her goofy big brother.
 Look at these cute little pins from My Little Bit Of Whimsy that were included in the November kit:
I did a little bit of stitching using the twine from Jillibean Soup:
 Now I've told you all that I've been busy creating!  I have another layout to share tomorrow, so I hope you will stop by!
Thanks-
. . . Debbie

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Live With Gratitude Layout, and . . . the winner of my blog anniversary candy!

These past several days, I've been doing a lot of soul searching.  I find myself questioning why me?  Why is life such a struggle?  Why did I lose my job and what now?  I know I am not alone in my thoughts.  I just feel that for every step I take forward, life throws me back a step or two.  I've made it through difficult times before and I know with patience I will make it through this difficult time in my life.  As I sit and think, two very important things pop in my mind, my children, Jeffrey and Sara.  They are the reason I do not give up.  They are the reason I go on.  With that in mind, I did a layout of myself and my two precious children, who are the world to me.

We  live in a very materialistic world.  Yes it's nice to have all of the newest of this and that, but what really matters is family and love.  I am very grateful for the two greatest gifts God gave me, my children.  I remember when I gave birth to my first child, my son, I was overwhelmed with a new emotion of love for a child.  Love is an emotion that we experience in life, whether it be of a parent or a husband, or a sibling.  But when you bring a child into this world, the love you feel for them is unmatched to that of anyone else.
Don't you just love the warm rich colors of this layout?  I used  more of the November Juicy kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop's Juicy kit, and the beautiful paper by SEI, and based my layout on their November sketch by Liz Chidester.
Here are some more details of my layout:
I added some brown pearls and gold bling.
I put a lot of love into this layout and love the cut work of the flowers!
And now for the winner of my blog anniversary give away . . .
Denise said...
Congrats on your one year anniversary!! You've done an amazing job sharing your creativity with others!! I know we all appreciate you! Hope you feel better soon..HUGS!!

Denise please email me with your mailing information so I can get your package in the mail!  I want to thank everyone who left me so many wonderful comments!  It means such much to me!  Here's to another year!!!
I'd love for you to come back tomorrow as I have another layout to share.  In fact this week is a record for me as I have layouts each day to share through Friday.
Nothing like a little scrap therapy when you're feeling a little down!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie
 


Monday, November 22, 2010

Wish Upon A Shooting Star

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  I know I did, cause all I did was scrap, scrap and scrap!  Figured I didn't have to get all of my regualr weekend chores done on the weekend, since I've got nothing but time on my hands since I got laid off,  so I did what I love to do and worked on a few layouts, which I'll share with you tomorrow and later on this week.
I did however want to share with you one more DT project I completed for Artful Delight, using the November kit.
I've said it before, I'm not much of a card maker, but I couldn't resist using up the scraps I had left from Artful Delight's  November kit.  If you are interested in purchasing the kit, Leeanne as one left in her store, for only $27.99.   I just love the Fancy Pants Lilac House collection!
Now don't forget that tomorrow I will be drawing for the winner of my give away for my one year blog anniversary.  Here's what the winner will receive:
If you haven't left a comment already, go here to leave one for the chance to win!
Thanks always for stopping by and leaving your wonderful comments!
. . . Debbie

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The House Where I Grew Up

Good morning and happy Saturday to everyone!  I want to apologize for being MIA lately.  I got laid off from my job last Wednesday and have kinda been in a slump.  It's been a rough road for me since my marriage ended.  I went from being a SAHM for 19 years, to re-entering the work force.  Kinda hard with such a hugh gap in between employment.  This most recent job will be the third job I have lost in the past four years due to our fragile economy.  I've filed for unemployment and actually have a few jobs leads to apply for.  Let's hope that something promising comes my way!
I wanted to share with you another layout I created  using the gorgeous November kit from Artful Delight. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the background sheet is actually paper with  a transparency overlay on.
I came across this picture of the house where I grew up.  Oh how I loved that big bay window in our kitchen.  It brings back so many fond memories of how my mom would decorate it for Christmas.  Everything on this layout is from the November kit at Artful Delight.
I just love the little Tim Holtz ticket!  It has a special meaning to me, since my maiden name was Bliss.
And aren't those Prima flowers gorgeous?
Now that I have all of this free time on my hands, I guess there is no excuse for not getting anything done!  I have a few DT layouts in the works for this month and am anxiously waiting for the arrival of my December kit from Artful Delight!  I do have more project for Artful Delight that I can't share until Monday, but here is a little sneak peek!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Two For Tuesday!

It's not that often that I have two DT reveals to share and I'm excited that I have two to show you today!
We have a new sketch challenge over at Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays Challenge, and I have another layout showing casing the November kit from Artful Delight!
I just love how this layout turned out!  The papers from Teresa Collin's Giving Thanks collection were perfect to highlight this photo of my dad's mother, my Nana.  I used the new sketch over at Frosted Designs Sketch Along Tuesdays Challenge, created by our own Diana!
I rotated and flipped the sketch to fit the design for my layout.
Since the Spring I have been purchasing kits from Sweet Peach Crop Shop and I used their November Juicy kit, filled with Teresa Collin's Giving Thanks papers for my layout.  I just so happened to have some of Teresa Collins Welcome Home Chipboard which worked perfectly with the Giving Thanks papers.  The flowers and bling are part of the kit.  I added a few $1 finds from Michaels.
I also have a layout to share that I created from the November kit at Artful Delight.  The kit contains the entire Lilac House collection by Fancy Pants. I've managed to get four layouts out of this kit along with a card, and still have some paper left to do another layout or possibly a card.  One of the sheets in the kit is bright glitter cuts, and when I first saw it I thought it would be perfect to use on a layout of my home.
I used the  11-11 sketch over at Sketchy Thursday for this layout.  I love their sketches, and it's been awhile since I've been able to play along with one of their challenges.

I had a lot of fun this past weekend working on various projects!  When the mood hits me I take full advantage of it and create!  I managed to get three layouts and a card done this weekend!  Here is a little sneak peak of one of my other layouts:

On a further note, I ended up back at the doctors today.  I really thought I was feeling better, but starting feeling my energy drop on Sunday.  I am now on my third round of antibiotics.  Fortunately I am not as sick as I was a month ago, but am truly discouraged that I can't get  the congestion to clear up in my head and chest, along with the fluid in my ears!

Hope all of you are feeling well and are busy being creative!  I need to catch up on visiting your blogs!
Thanks for stopping by!
. . .  Debbie