Sunday, May 31, 2009

Cover Love

One of my favorite scrapbooking magazines is "Creating Keepsakes!" I devour each issue. I just loved the cover of Creating Keepsakes magazine May 2009. Isn't it cute?!!!
I decided to make a 12x12 template based on that great layout!!!
Here's my template


Then I had to make my own layout! Of course it turned out nothing like I planned. I still plan on using the color scheme from the magazine in a future layout but today this is what came together. That's what's great about templates - they come out so different every time.

If you would like to download this template click HERE

I would love to hear some feedback about this template. Thanks for looking and downloading.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Apologies and Freebie PSD Link

So sorry! I bet you thought I fell of the face of the earth but... my internet has been down. I want to apologize to those who asked me to post the template in PSD format. Some scrappers were unable to use my template in the tiff format so I am posting the psd link here.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who left comments and links to their pages. They were so fun to read!!!

Friday, May 22, 2009

First Ever Freebie

I just adore the Daily Digi blog! It is one that I read every day! Today Janet finished up her "Top Ten Reasons to love Templates" Her number eight reason gave me the greatest a-ha!!! I decided to create a template based on a page that I loved of hers. Here it is-


Then, I decided I might as well share that template with other scrappers out there who are interested. So here is the freebie in tiff format. If you need another format, let me know. I love the tiff. format because it saves space on my hard drive and shows a preview but still maintains all the layers.

Here is the page I created with it!!! Click to see image larger!

Thanks for looking and if you download leave me some love. If you use this template, I would love to see your page so leave me a link in the comments, too!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Already Scrapped



Kindergarten Graduation

This morning at 8:45 am my youngest daughter, Breanna graduated from Kindergarten. They give all the kids awards and hers was "Little Miss Princess." She started out going to a morning class but her teacher thought she needed a little extra help so she ended the year going all day. Being in school longer helped her become a great student. She got a "high honors" certificate in her morning class and an "honors" award in the afternoon. Her morning teacher was Rachel Keddington and her afternoon teacher was Lorna Reynolds. They are both wonderful teachers!!! The kids got a cookie and a glass of root beer after the ceremony! The goodies were probably their favorite part. My little girl is growing up!
Breanna with her cousins, Sami and Calli.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Happy 23rd Birthday

Last Saturday was Garrett's birthday. I can't believe I have a son who is 23 years old! How does the time fly so fast? Here is the layout I scrapped for that special day. Click on the images to see them larger.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Note to God

I just saw this on Oprah and was so touched. Take a look

Garrett's Graduation

I just scrapped a two page spread from Garrett's Graduation. Right Click on the images to see them larger in a new screen

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Mother's Day Pics

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a few pictures from this Sunday. We headed up to Dad and Marie's house in the evening and had a great visit. Kevin and Lizzie's family were there, too. The cousins had a fun time together!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Do you know how important you are?


I found this on the Daily Digi blog a while back and was so touched by it, I think I'll post it here.

This is long, but worth reading and saving for a rainy day - you know, those days when you doubt if all the work you put into being a great mom is ever going to be noticed. The days where you think, “Oh, I used to be brilliant and cute and I used to look really good in jeans!” Save it for that day. Or if you’re having that day today, get your hankie out before you read on…

This is to all moms - and moms to be

“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible”

I’M INVISIBLE

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’ Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription:
‘To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.’ And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.’

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You’re gonna love it there.”
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Guess who's graduating today


Wow, we can't believe we have another engineer living in our house!
Our oldest son, Garrett, called today "the biggest day of (his) life" and Mom said "So far!"

We're going to lunch to celebrate, but we will post more pics later!