Introducing Krafty Christmas, DSD sale at Scrapdish, and a freebie

It's Digital Scrapbook Day tomorrow and most everything is on sale this weekend at Scrapdish, including my latest digital creation.

*sale does not include dollar bin items.

Yes, I got the Christmas bug from looking through some of my recent scrapbooking magazines. I didn't intend for this to be so big, it just kind of happened while I was working on it ;) This collection is filled with felt and kraft papers that are stamped, painted and chalked images, and lots of crafty embellishments including buttons, ribbon, glitter pompoms, beads, stitches, popsicle sticks and more!

I even 'scrapped' a little with the kit and made several varieties of printables for those who need to get something done quickly. there is a set of Gift Couture Gift Card Boxes, a set of photo cards in both 4x6 and 5x7 sizes, and a set of printable gift tags- I know I'm always running out of those when I'm wrapping gifts late on Christmas Eve LOLKrafty Christmas Gift Couture Printables
Krafty Christmas Cards
Krafty Christmas Gift Tags Printables

And if you buy the whole Krafty Christmas Collection, you will get the HUGE Scrapdish Basics Collaborative kit along with it. This kit is massive and filled with everything you need to "finish off" any layout you are working on in the neutral colors of brown and gray. It's free with any $10 or more purchase from SD this weekend.
It includes:

112 Papers

5 Alphas

167 Elements

7 Templates

Here is what my contribution to the Scrapdish Basics looks like.And while your looking around there, check out the beautiful SD November 08 Collab too. Here is my part of that ;)

and finally, for getting through all of that advertising, here is a small taste of the Krafty Christmas Collection. Most pieces are not included in the kits sold at SD (there's only one duplicate paper). Download it HERE.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween! and a fun DSD too!

Fall Leaves and a freebie

I mentioned how gorgeous our maple tree was this fall a couple of posts ago. Well, here are the pictures finally.


Just a day after I took the above photos, a cold-front came through with high winds and knocked most of the leaves off the tree and into the yard. Of course the girls have had fun playing in them ;) Bryce hasn't been out there cavorting with them this year for some reason, so you won't see him in the photos. I got Sarah and Brenna out in the yard before we started raking them up, so there is a pretty carpet of red and orange leaves all around them.




The twins wanted to jump in a leaf pile, so they got out the rakes and made themselves one to jump in.



I have managed to scrap one of the photos I took with Chere's new fall papers, and I had to add in some of the leaves from off our tree which I was glad I had taken the time to pick and scan after taking the photos of the tree.

credits: by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns.com: Fall Foliage and Fall Solids papers, Glimmer Leaves, alpha and trim from Caleb and Stacey; Cookie Decorating 101 template by Jaclyn Bernardo for SweetShoppeDesigns; maple leaves by me; worn overlays 2 by SomethingBlueStudios at catscrap; fonts: SBC Calligrapher 2000

I hope some of you reading this can use some gorgeous maple leaves for your layouts too! Enjoy scrapping with them. You can download the leaves HERE.

I've been working on something new for the store for the Digital Scrapbook Day celebration we have planned at Scrapdish. My little idea turned into a very big project that I have spent almost a week on now. I hope to have some previews ready to show off tomorrow!

Savannah Layouts: Magnolia Plantation Statues

I loved finding statues in areas of the gardens at Magnolia Plantation, so here are a couple of layouts that feature my photos of them.

Journaling: Echoes of the Past... follow you as you walk the paths of Magnolia Plantation. The peaceful quiet, the soft moss covering the garden statues, the respect and care that each of the gardens have been given over its 300 years, all speak to the heritage and history of this spot. One of the signs we found showed us this picture of the Reverend Drayton with one of his daughters enjoying the paths and gardens of his home 150 years ago, where we now walked ourselves.
credits: Color Theory - Olive by Jess Gordon at ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party; flower by Melinda Staley from Scrapdish Basics (coming soon); font: Susie's Hand

journaling: One of the things I loved during our walk around the gardens of Magnolia Plantation was turning a corner and finding a statue tucked away at the side or end of a garden. The lady statue was at the center of the maze, and had roses laying at her feet. Some were still white, while others showed their age with a layer of moss covering, but all of them leant a grace and majesty to the garden atmosphere.
credits: Loryn by Kim Broedlet at DSO; Worn Overlays 2 by SomethingBlueStudios at catscrap; stone alpha by me; fonts: Impact and Susie's Hand

Today's Savannah LOs

still plugging away on my photos....

credits: Michael Finnegan papers, Sequin Borders, Ring Around the Sequin, flower from Dave and Raya, and I Need A Date by Chere Kaye at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; alpha from Hoottenanny by Chere Kaye and Libby Wiefenbach at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns; For the Love of Space Templates by Amy Martin at The-LilyPad; Paint brushes by Michelle Coleman; font: CK Elsie

Telfair Square was the first of the Savannah town squares that I came across in my walking tour of the historic district. I was amazed by the peaceful calm that was there in the middle of the bustling city, and found the silhouettes of the large live oak and magnolia trees a wonderful sight in the late morning light.
credits: Spring Inspiration and Spring Inspiration Add-on by Chere Kaye at Funkyplaygrouddesigns; Take Two Photomats No 3 by Tracy Ann Robinson; Old papers by SophiaSarducci at ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party; font: Shelley LT Allegro, Susie's Hand

Update on what we've been doing, and a few more Savannah LOs too

Did I mention that the last two weeks the kids have been on fall break? I don't think I did, and they were. We didn't do much, mainly stayed home. We celebrated Sarah's third birthday on the 11th with the Tamblyns and my mom. Yes, it was a bit early, but that is what worked for everyone and she was content with having a party whenever it happened ;) We had dinner, cake and presents. I haven't taken the pictures off the camera yet. She got lots of Dora stuff- I had bought up the Dora Magical Castle set on a super deal on last year's Black Friday and had been storing it in the garage since. Momma got her the new Dora Saves the Snow Princess DVD, and she also got a Dora Big Wheel- hopefully that will keep her off of the older kids' bicycles for a bit longer. I haven't even taken the pictures off of the camera yet, so you'll have to wait a bit to see those.

Last Tuesday I took the kids to the second-run theater for the morning showing of Wall*E, which somehow we had gone all summer without seeing. Once the popcorn was gone, Sarah entertained herself by crawling around on the floor looking for more- thankfully she was just picking it up to hand to me and not trying to eat it. If she hadn't been hemmed in one side by me and on the other by the older girls I think she would have been running up and down the aisles for most of the movie. It only seemd to catch her attention for about half the total time it was running, but I think for a 3 year old and a movie with very little actual dialog that wasn't too bad.

The kids seemed pretty content to occupy themselves with reading, coloring, watching movies from the library and playing games with each other. They were very glad to see the neighbors return from their trip on Wednesday, and they spent the rest of the week in the company of their kids. All in all, it was a pretty good break.

We had gorgeous weather this last week, and the leaves on the trees are really turning now. The maple tree we have in the front yard is the most amazing red and orange this year. I don't remember the colors ever being this vivid before in all of the years we've lived here. The weather has taken a turn towards cold and drizzly during the last 24 hours and the leaves are starting to drop so I don't know how many more days it will be around to enjoy. The other tree in the yard (can't remember what it is called at the moment) whose leaves turn yellow, hasn't started turning yet so the fall colors will hang around for a little while longer at least. I've got pictures on the camera of the maple tree too. (note to self: must get those offloaded soon!)

The bi-annual MOPS garage sale is this coming weekend, so I am trying to collect things and clothes the kids have outgrown and get them tagged to take over there on Thursday. Not many toys sold at the last sale, but with the holidays quickly approaching I'm hoping that they will disappear this time around since there are so many that need to go.

and now I'll just show you my latest Savannah LOs, as it is getting late and I'm fading rather quickly- getting up early to get the kids off to school is catching up with me.

Journaling: The first thing we did once we arrived at Magnolia Plantation was to ride the Nature Boat tour. We rode in a flat bottom boat through an old flooded rice field to see some of the native birds and alligators. The Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Moorhens and Anhingas were so close sometimes you could almost reach out and touch them. The Snowy Egrets were scared of the boat and would fly off when we got close, showing off their yellow feet. The small alligators were abundant cooling off on the alligator boards around us, but Willy the 15 foot long gator didn’t make an appearance. The Anhingas do not have oil glands, so they have to dry off their wings in the air after they dive for fish.
credits: Well Worn Collection by Dianne Rigdon at Scrapartist (coming soon); grasses by Christina Renee (Egglets and Farmhouse Fun) and Amy Hutchinson (Berry Me In The Sand); Template 64 by Yin Designs; fonts: Arial, FG Amelia

journaling: After dinner with Mike at The River House, Mark and I walked along the river & enjoyed the cool breeze and night atmosphere of the riverfront district. We took a ferry boat ride across the river to the convention center and down to The Marriot, where we got off and walked back along the river. The muddy river provided a beautiful glassy surface for reflecting the many lights of the boats moving up and down the river, and the hotels and businesses that thrive along River Street. One of the locals gave me a rose made from sweetgrass as we walked by. It was a very romantic way to begin our weekend getaway in this beautiful city.
credits: Gloaming by Dianne Rigdon at Scrapartist; Satin Swirls by Lie Fhung at Ztampf.com; Gold action by Atomic Cupcake; Date It by Amber Clegg at Scrapartist; fonts: Rage Italic and CK Journaling Condensed

credits: At One With Nature, Pretty Acrylics Fancy, and Trashy Frames by Bren Taylor Boone; acrylic paint overlay by Nancie Rowe Janitz; Sanded Away action by Atomic cupcake; fonts: Rage Italic

more Charleston Layouts

So, I'm bound and determined to get all of my Savannah trip photos scrapped- I have several vacation albums and none of them are complete. All of the ones I did this week are from the day we spent in Charleston.
journaling: After arriving in Charleston and finding a hotel room for the night, we drove out to Sullivan’s Island and had a look around Fort Moultrie. It was closed by the time we got there, so we could only walk around the outside path and read the signs, but that was enough. The fort has undergone many renovations since construction began in 1776 to protect the entrance to Charleston Harbor from a British invasion in the anticipated war. Its first incarnation was a thick walled structure built of palmetto logs and sand. It was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker and the British fleet attacked on June 28, 1776. After a nine hour battle, the British retreated and the colonists had won their first victory in the revolutionary war. The fort was named in honor of its commanding officer, Colonel William Moultrie. The South Carolina state flag commemorates this battle- the palmetto tree and moon represent the defeat of the British navy here during the first conflict of the Revolutionary war with the palmetto walled fort successfully defending the town.

Fort Moultrie was neglected, destroyed and built-up over the years as war loomed on the horizon. Four incarnations of the Fort have stood on this spot, each with more powerful weapons and defenses than were there before as weapons technology has advanced. Since the advent of nuclear weapons and guided missiles, the critical role of Fort Moultrie in the protection of Charleston Harbor has diminished and now the National Park Service has restored the Fort to represent the major periods of its history.
credits: Sweet Liberty by Dianne Rigdon; Moon from Dream Whispers by Jofia Devoe; palm trees from Sea Doodleys by Weeds & Wildflowers; font: Times New Roman

journaling: We learned lots of interesting things about Charleston during our carriage tour around the city. *“Earthquake washers” hold together many of the oldest houses because they couldn’t afford to rebuild after the revolutionary war. *The English colonists considered brick a poor-man’s building material, but there was no local stone so they put plaster over the brick and scored it to make it look like the buildings were built with stone. *Most houses are long and one room wide because of the practice of taxing homes on the width of the home facing the street in England. *One of Charleston's nicknames is the "holy city" because of it's high proportion of churches to it's population. Of course it is also known as the "city of decadence" for all of the other business types that abound in the city as well, and the churches often owned the properties of them because they paid their rents on time. *Bay street used to run along the edge of the bay, but the city has been practicing land reclamation for many years and the city has grown by several blocks into the bay over the years. *Broad Street was the diving line between the rich and not-so-rich neighborhoods of old Charleston with the most affluent living south of Broad, so in attempt to claim rank people would say that they lived ‘somewhat north of Broad’ which would be shortened to ‘snob.’
credits: Super Sassy Chic, Provence, Notables Alpha and Notables Tags by Dianne Rigdon; LO template 66 by Yin Designs (modified); staple by me; fonts: CK Constitution, CK Neat Print

and the first two layouts from all of the pictures I took at Magnolia Plantation.

credits: Amy K kit and metal dates by Holly McCaig; Cocktail Recipe 1 by Amy Hutchinson at After5Designs.com; Hot News No 5 by Lauren Reid at LittleDreamerDesigns; font: CK Journaling Condensed

credits: Sweet Abandon (some pieces recolored) by Dianne Rigdon; green sprig from Amy K by Holly McCaig; ribbon and leaf branch by Flergs; large leaf from Realistic Extras by Kim Broedlet; twine and staple by Melinda Staley from Scrapdish Basics Collab (coming soon); Colored Chrome action by Atomic Cupcake; font: Tiranti Solid LET

scrapbook pages- Savannah, Monsters and Thanksgiving

A few layouts from our Savannah trip- these first two are actually pictures from our night and day in Charleston. We ate at Bubba Gumps our first evening there and it was delicious and the atmosphere was very unique!

journaling: After a long day spent at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah and then driving to Charleston in our rented PT Cruiser, finding a hotel and sightseeing on Sullivan's Island and Fort Moultrie we were hungry and ready to eat! We found Bubba Gump’s and were seated right away. After starting with an order of Hush pups, Melinda ordered the "I'm Stuffed!" Shrimp - shrimp stuffed with crab, baked in garlic butter and topped with Monterey Jack cheese. Mark ordered the Cajun Shrimp -Shrimp Sauted in a hot and spicy Cajun Butter Sauce and served with jasmine rice and garlic bread for dipping. We had been eyeing the chocolate cookie sundae for dessert, but were much too full after eating our main dishes. The Forrest Gump memorabilia, pictures are props were fun to look at, we enjoyed chatting with our waitress, and we would go back again!
credits: background and restaraunt ephemera by me; photo frame by Nancy Comelab; tape by Black Squirrel Designs; Stationeries paper by Linda GilBildal at scrapartist.com; starfish from Me Hearties by Clever Crow Designs and Berry Me In the Sand by Amy Hutchinson; rubon action by Atomic Cupcake; font: CK June Bug Louise

I loved the decor of the Palmetto Carriage Tours barn- an actual red barn right off Market street where all of the tours start.

journaling: There was a rooster wandering around the carriage barn- he was looking for handouts from waiting guests, but he would let you pet him briefly too. I also liked the rooster sculptures perched in the rafters around the barn. A cute sign in the outer courtyard where the mules are tethered during their breaks. The carriage company uses mule teams to pull their carriages- ours were named Lucy and Sully. We spent Sunday morning touring downtown historic Charleston. We spent Sunday morning touring downtown historic Charleston. We opted to take a carriage tour to save my aching feet a bit (I had a rather large blister on my left foot from all of the walking in Savannah and the cobblestone and tabby sidewalks weren't helping) and we got to hear local history and stories that we wouldn't otherwise learn about.
credits: Caleb and Stacey from the Young Love Collection by Chere Kaye at funkyplaygrounddesigns; Brazen Borders by Tracy Blankenship at funkyplaygrounddesigns; string (recolored) by Catherine Designs from Happy Hour collab at After5Designs; font: CK Becky

Now it's back to Savannah with pictures of the Owens-Thomas house we toured on Monday.

journaling: After admiring all of the houses in the historic district from the outside, I chose this one as the one I wanted to tour on Monday. No photographs were allowed inside the house, and I doubt I need to say that it was beautiful and a great way to peek into the history of Savannah.
credits: Marilla Collection by Michelle Godin and Wrought Iron element from Measure of a Man by Birgit Kerr at scrapbookgraphics.com;
font: ILS Script

credits: Marilla Collection by Michelle Godin at scrapbookgraphics.com; font: ILS Script

Photos from the special exhibit at the St. Louis Science Museum this summer on movie monsters and animatronics.

journaling: After lunch we got tickets to the special exhibit called "Monsters" which explored the
world of movie monsters and animatronics. There were lots of scary monsters there, but Sarah didn't seem bothered by them since they were still and didn't make noise. With everything from creepy, scary monsters to fuzzy and cute animals there was something in this exhibit to entertain everyone. There was a movie that showed us how they sculpt, form, and animate the creatures, as well as lots of signs and photos with the models themselves. We saw models from many movies including George of the Jungle 2, Peter Pan, Nim’s Island, Inspector Gadget 2, Pitch Black, Oceans of Fire, Racing Stripes, and Wolfman, among others. -St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis, MO
credits: Closet Monsters by Victoria Greenlees and Holly McCaig at Chirpi Creative Digital Scrapbooking; Template 68 by Yin Designs; fonts: 2Peas Dear Diary

and some cute photos of Sarah feeding the Nortons' dogs last Thanksgiving. It is amazing how bad I am at taking photos during Thanksgiving- these are the only ones I took last year and they are of one child feeding the dogs dog food by hand LOL I guess I need to do a better job this year- anyone who will be there is fore-warned-- the camera will be out and snapping this year!!

journaling: Sarah thought that the dogs at the Nortons were the best thing about Thanksgiving dinner. She followed and chased them around and around the house the whole time we were there. She tried sampling their dog food, and got upset when we told her it wasn’t for her to eat. Everything was OK though once she understood that it was the dogs’ food and it was alright for her to feed it to the dogs. She spent about half an hour feeding them one piece of food at a time- even the dogs must have thought that was pretty neat since they went along with it for so long.
credits: French Countryside by ChristinaRenee and Shabby Princess; Templates with Attitude 17 and Toolbox 15- Pet Pal Cuties by Tracy Blankenship at funkyplaygrounddesigns.com; colored chrome action by Atomic Cupcake; fonts: Boys R Gross and CK Constitution

More Halloween fun

Sophia Sarducci has a fun new item up at the CRD block party this week- vintage halloween masks. You can do lots of fun things with them, besides the obvious use as a scrapbook page embellishment which they are great for as well. Here's what I did with them:
I made a Halloween party invitation and put a miniature size mask on the front. (no we are not really having a Halloween party, the kids were quite disappointed when I told them it was all just pretend). The invites sure do look cute though!
The papers and cat face garland I used are from Funky Halloween kit by Sophia Sarducci at sophiasarducci.com.

I printed the 5 different masks out and made some simple 'Happy Halloween' signs in the same size and then strung them together with black and orange ribbon to make a party banner.

and you can print them out just as they are and use them as real masks! Sarah loved the owl mask and was running around the house flapping her arms and saying "hoo hooooo" and "I'm an owl" for a couple of hours. She is so cute!

more Savannah scrapbook pages

Fountain’s free flow
Spraying the surround
Creating minuscule of glow
Where light reflects, on waters around!

Twilight touches the earth
Chirping birds music provide
Arm in arm…to the berth
Music of harmony unearthed! !
-excerpted from “Fountain” by Malini Kadi

journaling: Most squares in Savannah did not boast water features, but there were a charming few that did along with some private gardens.
credits: Savannah Moss, Vintage Alpha, Vintage Labels (journaling strips made from these) and Metal Dates by Holly McCaig; Worn Overlays and Worn Overlays 2 by Something Blue Studios at catscrap.com; flower and leaves from Antique Dreams by Camila Designs at After5Designs.com; font: Natural Script

journaling: This picture stole my heart from the first moment I saw it - a reminder that all of the beautiful houses I was walking by in Savannah were where families lived, played and loved together.
credits: by Vinnie Pearce: white paper from Thank you kit (blended into photo), challenge 1 template; by Meredith Fenwick at scrapbookgraphics: patterned papers from Good Day Everyday Inspiration Collection, flourish from Everyday Inspiration Crop Treat, Sunset elements from the Day Dreams Collection; Ultimate Stitches Not So Basic by Dani Mogstad; date stamps by Amber Clegg; font: TXT Romanesque

journaling: Rainbow Row on Bay St., Charleston, S. Carolina- all of the painting and drawings you see are interpretations of it as it used to look. There are many trees along the sidewalk blocking the view of the houses and it no longer runs along the edge of the bay as the city has been following land reclamation for many years. It is still a pretty view with the colorful houses lining the street. The slate roof tile we bought actually came from the roof of one of the rainbow row houses and was torn off during a hurricane.
credits: Weekend Getaway Collection, Impressed Gems 'n Stems, Impressed Character Reference, and Wallflower Alpha by Dianne Rigdon at scrapbookgraphics.com; Worn Overlays and Worn Overlays 2 by Something Blue Studios at catscrap.com; font: Majestic

Eek! It's GothEeka!

It's the latest and greatest Halloween kit from Sophia Sarducci, and you can find it at the ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party this month!

This is my neighbor Kat when we stopped at their house for trick-or-treating last year. They had spiderwebs and big creepy spiders strung all over the doorway, but I don't think it stopped anyone from ringing the bell and asking for candy ;)

journaling: Stopping at the Holcombe’s house on Halloween night is always a treat because we get to see what costumes they are wearing and how they carved their pumpkins- even if their doorway is covered in big creepy spiders. EEK! October 31, 2007
credits: Gotheeka by Sophia Sarducci at ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party; fonts: Vampyr and Typewriter

and our pumpkin in all of it's two-faced glory last year.

journaling: We had one pumpkin and the kids couldn't agree on the design we would use, so we carved both of them on opposite sides.
credits: Gotheeka by Sophia Sarducci at ChristinaReneeDesigns Block Party; staple from Uncle Vito's Garage by Sophia Sarducci;
fonts: Vampyr

and if you'd like a little sampling of the GothEeka kit, check out the Authentic Artistry blog for a 12x12 QP, and then the Sophia blog for some brag book QPs too!