That Much Stronger

This summer I made a fabulous new friend quite by accident.  We were matched up for the download of the day at Divine Digital.  Only Divine was down with horrible server problems.  For weeks and weeks.  Yet somehow Chelsea and Aimee and I managed to exchange emails and create a cute school kit on time.

We enjoyed each other so much that we began a fall collab together.  In the process, each of us mentioned needing a day or two off to celebrate a birthday.  We quickly discovered that all three of our birthdays were the same week.  Within 4 days, actually.  As my 11yo would say, "how random!"

Just as we were rocking and rolling together, Chelsea received a string of bad news.  Her husband, Clayton, was diagnosed with skin cancer right below his left eye.  It is a Squamous Cell Carcinoma, if left untreated it will start to effect the nerves and then move to the eye. This comes on the heels of other medical bills for their son, Luke. Clayton has also recently lost his job, the Doudy’s have no insurance and have been told Clayton will need the Mohs surgery in the next two months.  We all know how when it rains, it pours.  My heart aches for her.  I am thrilled to be a part of the digital community where taking care of our own is what we do.

Please take a second to consider helping.

The kit is super full looking like this:

I am off to scrap and play with mine!  Grab yours soon!

catching up!

Goodness!  I have fallen behind again.  The last post I made was about our new digi collab magazine and that is where I have been for every spare second.  Well, when not working, cooking, cleaning, or starting the holiday shopping.  I need more hours in the day!

Or a wife.

Yes.  That is it.  I want a wife for Christmas.  If you see one on a good sale, shout at me.

So here it is almost the beginning of December and I have not blogged my October ScrapStreet pubs.  Better late than never!  Here are some of my pretties:

Little Sister by Dora Phillips

Supplies: Paper: Bella Blvd, Die Cuts: My Little Yellow Bicycle, Flowers: Making Memories, Sassafras Lass, Alphabet: Bella Blvd, Pins: Jo-Ann, Tulle: Bazzill Basics Paper, Font: Traveling Typewriter, Other: thread, Tools: Sewing Machine: Brother, Punch: Fiskars.

Journaling: Big sister Isabelle has such a strong personality that we worried Hannah might get run over at times.  We were so wrong!  From the first, Hannah showed that she could hold her own and do her fair share of being the driver in her relationship with Isabelle.

Cool Shoes by Dora Phillips

Supplies: Paper, Stickers: Sassafras Lass, Alphabets: BasicGrey, Buttons, Flowers: Making Memories, Fonts: Rusted Plastic, Traveling Typewriter, Other: thread. Tools: Sewing Machine: Brother, Software: Adobe.

Journaling: You are counting down the days until school starts. not because you want to go to school, but because you want to wear your brand new school shoes. check out those cool plaid converse kicks.

My Walk Wish by Dora Phillips

Supplies: Paper: BasicGrey, Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Transparency: Fancy Pants, Die Cuts, Acrylic Words: Little Yellow Bicycle, Alphabet: American Crafts, Charm: Around The Block, Pins: Heidi Grace, Ribbon: Making Memories, Font: Rough Typewriter, Markers: Copic, Other: buttons, thread. Tools: Stamps: My Favorite Things Stamps, Other: sewing machine.

Journaling: Wolfie loves learning new tricks. Except one. Heel. She boldly goes dragging her humans behind her. Perhaps it is instinctual for a Husky to want to mush and pull a sled. Perhaps it is simply a love of running. Most likely it is a puppy thing that we will someday master. But, until then, we don't walk her--she walks us. And runs us. And gallops us. And then she comes home and sleeps like the baby she is . . .until the next "walk".

Falling by Dora Phillips

Supplies: Paper, Chipboard: Crate Paper, Rub Ons: Scrapworks, Markers: Copic, Ink: Stampin’ Up!, Other: glitter. Tools: Stamps: My Favorite Things Stamps.

Journaling: (inside) for you.

 I am off to do some digi scrapping with a new charity collab I participated in.  I will be back tomorrow to show it off and share links.  Happy Sunday!

Exciting News!

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between ScrapStreet.com Magazine and GingerScraps.net.  As we roll into the new year--and our SIXTH as a magazine--we have joined forces to create a new digital and hybrid ezine called GingerScrapsStreet Magazine!

Some of you may recognize Ginger's name from her many years with us as a ScrapStreet digital designer.  Others will know her name and those of her talented Gingerbread Ladies from their amazing work in the digital scrapping world.  We could not have wished for a better partnership!

As of today, we are closing our own digital store and moving everything to GingerScraps.  You can see my LemonLove Creations available starting today.  Katey will be moving soon with a brand new designing name and a fabulous new look.  Keep an eye out for her announcement soon!
Would you like to be a part of our new venture?  We are now accepting applications for staff AND we have brand new submission calls!  Here is all of the info you need.

Do you have a passion for all things digital or hybrid? Do you love sharing new ideas and hot trends with your fellow scrappers? Are you interested in increasing your online presence reaching thousands of subscribers each month?If you are selected for our new digital team with GingerScraps, you will write a monthly article which will include selecting and requesting the work of designers, combining the work into an interesting article, and meeting your deadline. You will receive products from GingerScraps and other industry designers as a thank you for sharing your talents. It is an excellent opportunity to increase your visibility in the scrapping community while having fun.

To Apply:

Send the following to digistaff@scrapstreet.com

1. contact information
2. a short statement of why you are interested in joining us.
3. a link to your blog.
4. a link to your gallery.

Would you love to see your art featured in GingerScrapsStreet Magazine? Check out our current calls:

January Calls:
Each month we will choose one layout to grace our cover and that designer will receive a wonderful package of goodies as our thanks. All layouts submitted for our article calls are eligible. Good Luck!

Hybrid: Are you a hybrid scrapper? Submit your layouts that use any hybrid technique and tell us what you love about this style of scrapbooking!

Digital Designers: Would you like to be our featured designer for an upcoming month? A kit made by you will be the central point of our magazine and we will show off you and your work to all of our subscribers!

Resolutions: Do you have one big one or whole list of changes to make? Resolve to scrap them and share the layout with us!

Fonts: Are you an addict? Do you love to mix and match and create with typography? Show us your layouts that are in tip top type shape.

Girls Night Out: Show us anything and everything that says Girlfriend time to you. What do you do when you can ditch the menfolk and head out? Coffee? Cocktails? Creativity? We would love to see.

Confetti: Nothing says party like a handful of confetti! January starts off with a party. Toss some confetti on a layout and send it our way.

Organization: January marks the sale of organizers as everyone insists that this will be the year that they perfect the todo list. We want to see your layouts using any and all office supplies. Bonus points if you scrap in a nice todo list or calendar.

Color me WHITE: In the month that tops the snowfall across the country, many of us look outside to see white day after day. How can you make WHITE sing on your pages. Show us your creative uses of white!

Deadline is midnight November 29th ... for all calls.
Please send your work to gsscalls@scrapstreet.com.
Please send a separate email for each submission you would like to be considered for publication. Please keep the image size around 600 x 600 pixels. Thank you!

Are you ready to be a part of this fabulous new magazine?  We cannot wait to see everything you have to offer!

A freebie!

Howdy Digi Friends!
Did everyone have a fabulous International Digital Scrapbooking Day?  I did!  I certainly did not make it as many places as I would have liked, but the ones I visited had such fun sales!  I admit to overshopping a bit.  There were just so many pretties!

But my overindulgence is your gain, too!  I seemed unable to resist CU grab bags.  I loved the surprise of it all.  Inside one was a cute quartet of twitter birds.  I confess that I am not a tweeter.  I know.  I tried.  But I found my life was just not that interesting.  Even I did not want to know what I was doing most times so why would anyone else?

But the birds were too cute not to play with today.  So I did them up in a bit of felt and am offering them free for you this week as the ScrapStreet Wed Freebie.

Download Us {here}

They will be active for one week.  And, as always, we appreciate your kind comments!

Did you notice my new packaging?  Its a hint to big things coming!  Stay tuned!

Nov DAD bonus freebie

I am up for the download of the day kit at the fabulous Divine Digital.  I worked with talented designers Snips And Snails Designs (love that name!) and Cali Designs to create a winter beach themed kit.  It was a departure from my normal bright and silly style, but I loved it.  Felt so good to stretch my creativity into a new direction.

Seaside Solitude

Ahh, the Atlantic Shore during those fall/winter months.

It's a time when the ocean is stormy and grey,

and you can often find that you are the only one on a long expanse of
sand enjoying the solitude and cold ocean breeze.

 

I created a bonus blog alpha to complement the kit.  I chose to go in a different direction from the driftwood one I included in the kit.  I hope you enjoy!

 Download: Bonus Alpha

Thanks for stopping by and for being a Digital Design Friend!  Have a super weekend!

Project Team Ewan is HERE!

I am so thrilled to be a part of Team Ewan.  Last year, I put out a call for new magazine staff at ScrapStreet and had a wonderful response.  Some talented and amazing women applied, but one drew me immediately.  Her blog was so adorable and full of life.  I admit it.  I had a girl crush.  I just knew we could be friends--how could anyone not be friends with Melissa?  

By the end of the summer, I was picking her up at the airport to stay with a bunch of us other "cyberfriends" for CHA week.  I did not want to give her back!  She is two hoots and a half and that was before we gave her some special punch.  Melissa's spirit fills a room and touches everyone making each of us feel better than we did moments before.  It is her gift and her blessing.

When Melissa shared that one of her friends was struggling with bad news in her pregnancy, my heart broke.  As a mother, I can not imagine anything else worse in this world.  I have watched my own mom struggle with the loss of her adult son and cannot comprehend losing a baby within moments of meeting him.  I wished that I could sit and hold Melissa's hand to replenish the strength that she was giving to her friends.  Instead, I listened and prayed.  Sadly for those of us on Earth, Ewan headed to heaven after too short of a time in the arms of his family.  

Melissa put together an amazing tribute to Ewan and an opportunity for us to raise money to help Seattle Children's Hospital help others.  I contributed a template class and a set of the photo templates that I use over and over in my personal scrapping.  They provide a fast and easy way to drop your photos into strips and blocks before printing.  All of the work is done for you.  I use them constantly so that I can get to the fun part of playing with my supplies.  I hope you enjoy them.  

The rest of my blog today is a direct copy from Melissa's blog The Profound Brunette. She says it all more profoundly than I ever could.  I urge all of you to join us in this cause!

Project Team Ewan is HERE!

It is with GREAT excitement that I announce Project Team Ewan is ready for sale!  For more information on how to obtain a copy of your Project Team Ewan Class Package, click here.  This takes you to the page on blog.  For future reference, there is and will always be a tab at the top of my blog. 

I am so excited for this fundraiser because 100% of the money raised is going directly to Seattle Children's Hospital and research that will help further care for children who have congenital heart defects.  The reason why this fundraiser is called Project Team Ewan is because of Ewan himself.  My dear friend and former roommate Kirsten and her husband James found out early on in their pregnancy that Ewan had some serious heart issues.  They knew that God had given Ewan to the world for a reason and chose to go on this adventure of heart ache, joy, sorrow, grief, grace, growth and, ultimately, watching lives change.

Kirsten is a very gifted writer and has put into much better words than I ever could, the journey that she and James have been on.  She is very transparent in how she has processed learning of Ewan's condition, the birth and then, sadly, the death of sweet little Ewan Eliezer.

Seattle Children's Hospital provided excellent care as they always do.  The nurses and staff were smitten with Ewan and when I cam down to visit, I was very impressed by the loving care they gave towards all.  The tenderness, the compassion and the generosity.  Children's is a non-profit hospital running solely on donations from anyone who is willing to give.  It is my hope to give back to them what they have so selflessly gave to thousands, if not millions, of others in the Northwest.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and I hope you do enjoy the class package.  Click on the link/button above that will take you to the page with instructions.  Please let me know if you have questions.  Also... we have some AMAZING prizes to give away!  If you purchase the package during the month of November, you will automatically be entered to win one of these prizes:

One lucky winner will receive the FULL class from the very talented Kristina Proffitt and Crystal Wilkerson.  HUGE thanks to Kristina for offering up this prize.

Available to U.S. and International.

 

Wow!  Check out this amazing pack of GOODNESS!  The lovely Jen Gallacher has put together this awesome collection of scrapbooking heaven!  Yes... you could win ALL of it.

Available to U.S. residents only.

One super duper lucky winner will receive a $75 gift certificate to Janet Carr's fabulous digital shop!  Wowee!  Thank you Janet!

Last but not least.... Two Peas in a Bucket has so wonderfully offered up $50 in the latest and greatest product!  Yahoo!  Who wouldn't want some brand new goodies??

Thanks in advance all who will purchase this kit!  You are going to LOVE it and know that you are supporting a wonderful cause.

Hugs,

Melissa

Pocahontas and Question Mark Man

Halloween rolled around and Zack had a definite idea of his costume.  He would only be The Riddler.  He took great delight in showing me how he prances along cane tucked under his arm, fingers on the brim of his hat.  He was everthing Zack adored right now:  the color green, word puzzles, cool typography, and sneakiness. Perfection.

Do you know that The Riddler is not actually a desired costume creation for children?  You can be Batman.  You can be Robin.  Batgirl.  Catwoman.  But a bad guy from the Batman world?  Nope. 

Zack rolled his eyes at my google abilities and suggested with the calm voice he usually reserves for explaining concepts to the cats that I should try searching his real name Edward Nygma.  And then spelled it for me.  I was torn between a mother's pride and exasperation.  Is he really supposed to believe he is smarter than I am at age 8?  To his dismay, the real name did not help.

Off the the fabric store, Mom.  I can design the costume and you can make it for me.  At least he has faith in my crafting abilities.  I crossed my fingers that he would choose a simple concept--without sequins--and off we went.

It took him only about 15 minutes to find the perfect green lycra.  He described the ensemble.  A body suit.  One question mark.  And then added, "do you know what has always been wrong with The Riddler?"  What, sugar?  "No cape.  My Riddler needs a cape to swirl about."  Of course he does.

I realize that his fashion statement might start a stampede of little boys needing to don The Riddler costume for next year, so please allow me to dispense some advice moms.  Fabric glue.  Do not attempt to stitch those darn question marks.  Glue is your friend. 

and with the cape swirl:

We arrived at school for the annual costume parade.  Imagine Zack's frustration when kids would call out, "Hi Question Mark Man!".  The pitying looks he gave them made me chuckle.  And he heaped praise on those bright enough to be able to correctly identify his character.

Allie, on the other hand, chose her costume simply.  The costume catalog came and she selected the Indian Princess.  Ok, so it was not politically correct enough to list it as Native American Princess, but she was good with that.

Her choice thrilled me.  She is in teen sizes now that she is a proud Jr High gal.  Have you seen what they sell teen girls in costume land?  In alphabetical order you can find all of the costumes filed under S.  Slutty Nurse, Slutty Alice in Wonderland, and Slutty Red Riding Hood topped this year's list.  Joined by Slutty Witch, Slutty Ladybug, and Slutty Nun. 

Doesn't she look both darling and age appropriate?

Trust me.  With the long hair and the attitude she got from somewhere (why are you laughing?) she could work the trampy in some of those naughty costumes.  Even in the innocent one, she can toss a smoldering look.

Of course, it would have been too easy for everyone to KNOW that she was an unnamed princess.  Instead she heard, "what a darling Pocahontas" at every door.  Oh well.  It made Question Mark Man giggle.

The hours of watching Next Top Model are starting to pay off.  She is all about the poses now.  And has already decided on next year's costume.  She is ALL about the unit on Egypt in school.  Next up:  Cleopatra.  Toss me the eyeliner, please.

so many things!

I love the first of the month!  Such a busy time both online and off.  And with Halloween closing out the last weekend of October, I have been crazed.

I will be back with Halloween shots and stories of the kids.  And I am hard at work on one charity collection kit for a dear friend and have info to share on a charity class set I contributed to for a Children's Hospital.  Each deserves their own post to share the stories and details.  And I have fabulous news on a change for ScrapStreet and me!

The November issue of ScrapStreet Mag is live and wonderful (if I do say so myself).  What a talented team we have and such amazing designers submit and create for us.  I am making a list of what to try first!  Here is the cover and link to get in:

And, of course, the free kit is live on the blog for an instant download.  It looks like this:

If that was not enough for the day, I am also on the Download of the Day team for the first 2 weeks of November at Divine Digital.  We created a winter beachy kit called Seaside Solitude that has such a lovely, yet lonely, feel.  I will have an additional freebie on my blog later in the week.  Be sure to watch for it!  Here is the flip showing off the kit:

To download, pop in HERE each day! 
Ok, I think that is everything for this morning!  Hope your November starts off on the right foot!