Holy Wordle, Batman!

Ok, totally addicting!!! I've spent over an hour typing in words, playing with the fonts, colorschemes, etc. I've even figured out how I might use them in some of my designs (which their TOU says is ok). This one is from plugging in the url from my blog here.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the more times a word is used (or more that you type it in, if you're just entering a bunch of words), the larger that one is, in comparison to other words used less often. I guess I use the word "just" a little too often, LOL. If you start and can't stop, I guess you'll just have to blame me. Sorry! Here's the website, enter at your own risk... http://www.wordle.net/

Early holidays!

My sweet DH is remodeling my parent's kitchen. He's been working on it for a few weekends, and took off all of this week to finish it up for Thanksgiving. So we left Friday and drove here and will be here for a week. So much fun! We usually just stay for 2-3 days. And today my brother, his wife and his baby all came. We haven't seen them since the summer, as they live on the other side of the country. What a great time!

I put my Thanksgiving kit up last post. Thanksgiving is still a few days away, but here's my Christmas kit. I usually really like whatever kit I've just finished, but this is far and away my favorite kit I've made. Must be the glitter, LOL. I'm a sparkly kind of girl!

It's available in individual paper and element packs, or as a full kit (to save money). Oh, and the element pack has the alpha included, which matches the advent calendar. Pick it up in my FaithSisters shop, or if you click on the pics, they'll take you to DigitalFreebies.

I've been slacking on this blog more than usual the last couple months. But it's with good reason. Want to see?


That little kidney bean is our baby #6. Hooray! We're very excited!!! It's still to early to tell if it's a boy or girl, but early enough to sap my energy and make me nauseated... hence the slacking.

I have managed to put a few kits together, I just haven't gotten them posted on here. So let me show you my most recent, my new A Thankful Heart kit. It's the club kit, along with a coordinating one by Jennifer Schmitt, at DigitalFreebies (get them both for just $5). I love these colors, so rich and warm and inviting!

Here are just the papers, though they're not for sale alone, yet.
I also did a coordinating add-on, quickpage album and alpha, all on sale 30% off this week. And you can find Jennifer's coordinating add-on and album here.

Free bone marrow registry

This isn't the normal scrap-related post, but I think it's important enough to post about in the hopes it will touch someone's life....

Now, through Sept. 22nd, Nascar is paying the $52 registration fee to sign up to be a bone marrow donor. You can register at a track near you, or online. I just did it online. The site is secure and the questions are basically what you'd be asked when donating blood, so you do need to be in relatively good health. Then they send you a registration kit to take swabs from inside your cheek, that you'll send back in. It's such a worthy cause, I thought I'd pass it on.

The site: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Events/NASCAR/index.html

I just registered online and hope you will, too.

Yay! Exciting news! I'm part of a new shop...

... well, new to me. FaithSisters.com is a lovely site with a focus on scrapping your testimony of Jesus Christ. The kits, LOs and topics are not all Christ-oriented, but it's a beautiful, friendly site and I'm enjoying it immensely.

I've put a few new things in both FaithSisters and DigitalFreebies, and a fun new kit that's out in FaithSisters and will be in DigitalFreebies on Tuesday. Wanna see? Of course you do!

A little boy who refused to grow up, a little girl willing to tell him fairytales and tuck him in at night, and the power of fairy dust and happy thoughts. My children and I are having such fun listening to the classic story as we jet around from lessons to practices and back again. Here's what's come of it...The Papers ... I normally put 12 papers in a kit, but I had so much fun with this I just kept going. And you know what, I even took some out and will probably make an add-on of them.

The coordinating alpha (included in the kit)
This is a fun little element pack with slightly crinkled paper arrows and journaling-on-path
Fun, little snippets of handmade paper to journal on, use for blocking or layering and just to add a little extra to your layouts!

I crack myself up!

This layout has made me chuckle all day, everytime I look at it or think about it. The photo is from months ago when I happened to catch my kids hanging poor Bob the Builder from the upstairs landing, pulling him up and down like a yo-yo. Today, I was scrapping with the new mini-kit I just made for the Teacher's Pet design challenge at FunkyPlaygroundDesigns. I always start with the photo(s), and create the LO around it. This time I created the LO, and went digging through photos to find one that worked. When I did I laughed out loud because it was so perfect... and just added the thought bubble to the birdie. The kids all laughed and loved it, too. So I figure it's a keeper!

If you want to pick up the kit (and all the other amazing submissions), make sure to sign up for the newsletter to get the password that will unzip them all. Here's mine...

Small town parade

Ok, the only problem with a digital camera, especially one I love as much as mine, is that I take WAY TOO MANY photos!!! This morning we went to our local pioneer parade and I took 121 pictures. Seriously, do I need that many? But how do I choose which ones to get rid of. I think I'll start by taking out all the politicians. Seriously, 1/2 the parade was people who were campaigning for one thing or another. But I didn't really take many pics of them. Of course there was the mayor and a couple of pageant winners. There were alpaca (yes, alpaca), and cute kids walking their goats, the local grocery store (well, the store didn't actually come, just a giant shopping cart) and lots of fire trucks. We had oodles of vintage cars, scouts, motorcycles and the library even had a presence. Everyone was throwing candy (even the alpaca people) that the kids collected in buckets they were given at the beginning of the parade. We got more candy than on Halloween! But best of all, was Sage with the cheerleaders. What a cutie! And she did a great job! I was impressed by all the girls, especially given that they only had a couple hours of practice. So I don't think I can get rid of many photos... except for maybe a couple of blurry ones. That's ok, I also got some great photos and ideas for new scrapkits. So we'll just call it research and chalk the harddrive space up to a business expense, LOL. Here are a few photos (with local info blurred out)...

Nothing too exciting, just a small town waiting for the parade to start.I told you there were alpaca...Sage cheering...Sage squinting in the sun, but still looking cute...
My little ones w/ flags...
I know I keep busy with designing, but I don't scrap as much as I really want to when I don't have deadlines pushing me. I happened to see a great call for Designs by Sine and since I love templates and hers are fabulous, I thought it was the perfect fit for me. Hopefully she thinks I'm a fit for her, LOL. It's been a long time since I've been on anyone's CT (other than my own). Regardless, I love her templates and the 2 LOs I've created with them (click images for credits).This is a 2 page LO celebrating my baby brother graduating from Medical school!!!And lastly, one of my favorite LOs I've ever done. It just makes me grin and shows the joy and light that Adam brings to our family. Boy does he love his daddy!

I'm having a CT call!

Yep, I decided it was time to expand a bit. My CT now are fabulous, FABULOUS gals, but there's not very many of them. So without further ado, here's the ad with all the gory details, LOL...

And since that shows up kind of small, I suppose it would be a good idea to retype it, even after all the fun of creating the ad :)

My terms are pretty easy...
* At least 2 LOs/month
* You can mix and match my kits
* Post at DST, Digital Freebies,
and another site of your choice
* Promote my designs when you have
the opportunity
* Be friendly and fun!

That’s it! If you’re interested, send
an email to dielledesigns@comcast.net.
Include a link to your best gallery, what
other CTs you’re on, and your favorite
kit of mine and why.

Deadline July 23rd

(Font used in call ad is DJB Sissy.)

Yellowstone!!!

Oh my goodness, I LOVED it!!! We went for a family reunion. I was so inspired by the gorgeous scenery, amazing animals and groovy geothermic activity. I seriously took over a thousand photos, which now I need to weed through, scrap and such. I mean really, how many pictures of bison do I need? On the drive there, early in the pre-dawn I was driving while everyone else slept. I got brainstorming and didn't want to wake anyone up, so I grabbed a pen and pad of paper and jotted down designing ideas while I drove. Ok, not the safest, I suppose. But it was 4:30 am and there was NO ONE else on the road in eastern Oregon. On the way back, my DH was driving and was so sweet to stop and let me take photos of things for scrapping and designing. He even suggested a number of things for kits! I've done a couple of LOs, have a few more in process and imagine that Yellowstone will keep me busy scrapping and designing for awhile.
Here's what I have finished so far (click the images for credits)...

Oh and on top of that, I released a kit right before I left that I never popped on here. So let me post that, too! It's the one I used for the first LO above. Comes in individual paper, element and alpha packs or as a full kit (save $!). Clicking images will take you to the items at Digital Freebies.

Thanks for checking it all out!!

I'm leaving DID!

Man, it was a hard decision. One I've been mulling over for a few months, now. I really love DesignsInDigital. When I first started posting my LOs online, it was one of my very first galleries (that and ScrapHabit, before it went exclusive to Alma). It was ClikChicDesigns back then. I ended up being site CT and it was one of my first shops when I started designing. I actually started at both DID and DigiScrapDivas (no longer a store) at the same time. It's a small, fun group of gals and I've always enjoyed my time there. But it's time for me to move on, with my designing. For right now I'll be just at DigitalFreebies. I may pick up another store in the future if I find somewhere too good to pass up. We'll see. But for now, it's time to party with a sale!!! My entire DID shop is now 55% off, through the end of June. There are quite a few things that are retiring, so pick them up now! Thanks for all the support and fun I've had at DID!!!

I could use these colors forever!

Ok, that's probably an exaggeration, but by the time I'm done with a kit I'm usually pretty tired of the colorscheme. This is one I'm still loving and using. I scrapped with it again today, and then made a QP out of my LO. It's my gift for you, my few ;) readers. Click the photo for credits and details, and HERE is a link for the download. I'd love a comment, if you choose to download. Thanks!

A freebie for you!

Free stuff 2 days in a row, does it get better? It's a little thing, but I think it turned out fun. Here's a May desktop for you. It comes in both regular screen and widescreen. Here's a picture of it widescreen w/ a photo dropped in. Everything (except the font used for the #s, which is DJB Liz by Darcy Baldwin) is from my Inquisitive Add-on kit. Click the preview to grab the desktop at 4shared.

The reason I've been sort of missing...

My fabulous new Inquisitive sets. I am so thrilled with how these turned out. I'm not the speediest designer in the world, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist. So most of my time on the computer has been working on my newest bundle... The May Club kit at Digital Freebies, called Inquisitive, the girly add-on to it (also a full kit), a freebie bragbook (link will be in the DF newsletter), and a QP album. Whew, I'm done, and it should be going up in the store any minute... so here are previews. I love that these are a great set to scrap both boys and girls together! You don't have to choose between putting frilly stuff on boy pages or scrapping your girls all in blue, if you're wanting to scrap them both or make coordinating pages. Oh, and be sure to check out Melanie Ann's darling girly add-on (yes, we coordinated that!). Put them all together you have one amazing mega kit! So without further ado...

Kit:
Inquisitive Papers:

Inquisitive Alpha

The add-on...


Get this freebie now at Digital Freebies...

The QP Album, made from both Inquisitive and Inquisitive Add-on...
Now I can go back and finish up a few things that have been put on hold and are calling my name from my "in process" folder on the computer.

Get Wordy!

I made a new set of Wordy frames, this time with a more boyish feel. This set is different too, because I made the inner portion of the frames separate from the outer portion. What this means is that you can mix and match and the files to download are smaller! Hooray! Also, I have a girlish set in the works that will be able to mix and match with this set, for oodles and oodles of options. Included are 7 outer frames and 8 inner ones, including the words: Boy, Boys, Bugs, Grin, Mud, Dirt, Play & Ride. AND, if you check out the DST Insider, there's a coupon code for 40% off my store at Designs In Digital through the end of April, so you can get these for a steal!

... sort of. I've been working on the most fun kit! I can't get over how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's going to be the May Club kit at Digital Freebies. I'm coordinating with Melanie of Melanie Ann Designs. She came up with the most fab, bright, happy boy colors and it has really sparked my imagination. I've got a bunch of hand drawn elements, great papers and I can't believe I have to wait for MAY to release it... which unfortunately means you have to wait until May, too. :( You'll love it though, totally worth the wait, I promise!

Ok, on to a few recent LOs (Yes, all for the ADSR!) ...

#8 was pretty easy. Our favorite trip w/ three black and white photos. I think those were the only requirements. They said you could also scrap a dream vacation, so that's what I chose to do.

#10 is my favorite LO from the race (and I actually quite like most of them). My favorite I've done in a long time. We had to use 50 elements from at least 10 designers. And scrap about our goals in life and how to get there. Normally I would have stopped at about 25 elements. In fact, right about then, I was thinking, "How on earth am I going to double how many things I have on here and not have it look ridiculous?" But I'm so pleased I pushed on and it turned out as beautifully as it did.
#9 was kind of a nebulous challenge. Altered art. That's it, no directions beside that. It was sure interesting to see some of the different ways people interpreted that! I used an action by Jenn (one of my fab CT members) for the photo, then blended it w/ some sheet music. Blended a bunch of things for the background and layered some things on. Not my normal style of LO, but I like how it turned out.

#11 required wings. That was the only requirement... wings. I think lots of people did those mystical type with wings on a baby or child and lots of sparkle. But that's not really me. So I went with the butterflies. Hey, it worked.
Ok, I might be the very last person to actually do the bonus LO. I think most people jumped on it a month ago. Oh well, if you haven't noticed already, procrastinating is one of the things I do best. But I work well under pressure!
Well, that's it. ADSR is done. Seems odd, since I've spent so much time on it for 6 weeks now. Oh, I didn't have to do #12. I just supplied the photo and journaling and Marieta scrapped it (she doesn't like journaling and I LOVE it, so this was the best option for us. Our odds are slim of winning the grand prize, but it was a fun time, the prizes along the way were wonderful and I'm truly happy with almost all of the LOs I created for the race. There are a couple (I'm not telling which ones) that I turned into QPs for me to use later with different photos and journaling, since they're not subjects I particularly cared for. But it was all a great adventure and I can't wait for the next one.

Recent LOs and great new QP album

I forgot to post a couple of my recent ADSR LOs. So here goes...

ADSR#5 was a challenge to have a conversation with an inanimate object. I really struggled with what to do it about, but settled on the pacifier... well, I should admit that Marieta (my partner) gave me the idea. I ended up having to redo the LO a little, too, because I spaced on the part where it said it had to be 4 questions and answers. But the NDISB gals are fab and PMd me about it so I was able to change it and stay in the race.
ADSR #7 was a doozie of a challenge. I let Marieta choose which part of the challenge she wanted to do (after all, she did challege #6, so I didn't have to... it was one of the challenges just one partner had to complete) and she picked #1, so I did #2. I'm actually very happy with how it turned out, except for the photos. I didn't have any available (busted scanner), so I just put in 3 semi relevant ones to get it done. But I saved it as a QP of sorts, so I can change them out later.
And in design news... first of all, I just put this cute little Brag Book Album in my shop. It was a Friday Freebie at Digital Freebies a couple months ago. Still a pretty good deal at just $2.99...
And I created this fun QuickPage Album from my recent Lovelies kit. You can get it as an album of 8 pages, or in one of 4 sets of two (I posted a couple of them).