Happy New Year's Eve!

Can you believe today is the very LAST day of 2012??? I know I can't! 

And I am so excited - I was selected to guest for Two More Days! Kim has some Project Life products coming out later this week that are super fun! I can't wait to do a few pages. I just need to decide which weeks to do since I've got about three months that haven't been done yet. Overall, three months behind isn't too bad, considering it's my very first year attempting Project Life. I did great at keeping up until we went to visit family in September, and I couldn't take my tools along. I suppose I should have started doing it digitally at that point, but I just wasn't prepared for it. Oh well, life moves along, right?

I'm off to go work on doing some 2012 Project Life pages!

Have a very happy and safe Happy New Year's Eve!  :)

Reflecting on Project Life

Earlier today, I posted how it might be handy to have a few selected kits or a stash of items just for Project Life. (I plan to do Project Life 2013 digitally.) Lo and behold, I came across some items from Captivated Visions while searching for something else! Check these out...

My Project Vol 01 [Mega Kit]

Courtesy of Captivated Visions

These are all the staples you need to do Project Life digitally! And there's more to help you fancy up the pages a bit...

My Project Vol 02 [Kit]

Courtesy of Captivated Visions

My Project Vol 02 [Finishing Touches]

Courtesy of Captivated Visions

There are lots more of other My Project kits from Captivated Visions, but I just wanted to quickly share the few items I found.

I heard an interesting quote today that resonated with me:

"Life is in session." - Kassie from The Switch

Okay, so Kassie was talking about moving on with her life and having a baby. But the quote is true regardless. Life keeps going on, regarding of what else is happening. And this brings me to another quote that I love:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while,
you could miss it."
- Ferris from Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Where am I going with all this? It's the reason I decided to participate in Project Life. I know that even a year or two from now, I won't remember some of the small things in life, especially with the pace that the munchkin changes. I look back at some of my pages from the first few months of Project Life 2012, and I am pleased that I captured some of the small moments. Many years from now, I'm sure the munchkin will be grateful I have the memories for him to read through.

So here's to another year of Project Life! 2013...here I come!

Project Life - Weeks 51 & 52

I finished my Project Life pages for Weeks 51 & 52. That, however, doesn't mean I'm caught up!  :D   And, those last two weeks were done digitally rather than via my usual hybrid that I've been doing all year.

One thing I noticed about doing the pages digitally was that it was a little bit more time consuming. I spent too much time trying to make everything look perfect or to jazz up the pages because they looked too boxy. When I was doing doing it with actual paper supplies, it was easier to arrange, and I didn't have to jump from folder to folder to find what I needed. All the items were right in front of me. 

Hmmm...maybe that's the key - limiting myself to using just a few staple digi kits... That way, I don't have to spend too much time trying to figure out what I want or looking for the right kit to match my photos. I'll consider it.

In the meantime, here's what I did for Weeks 51 and 52...

WEEK 51 - double-page spread (bigger previews below)

Week 51 (left page)

CREDITS – Week 51 (left page)
Papers: Tis the Season (Wishing Well Creations); Ribbon Candy (Gina Miller Designs)
Embellishments: Scenes From Real Life (One Little Bird); This Life: December (Penny Springmann)
Fonts: Bebas Neue (week); CK Ali’s Hand (journaling, captions)
Template: Pockets No. 3 – The Templates (Valorie Wibbens)

Week 51 (right page)

CREDITS – Week 51 (right page)
Papers: Adventual (Two More Days); Ribbon Candy (Gina Miller Designs)
Embellishments: A Very Vintage Christmas (Amy Jaz); Adventual (Two More Days)
Fonts: Bebas Neue (title); Calibri (journaling)
Template: Project 2012: April - Templates (Connie Prince)

WEEK 52

CREDITS
Papers: Ribbon Candy (Gina Miller Designs); A Very Vintage Christmas and Twinkle (Amy Jaz)
Embellishments: Filler Notecards – Set 11 (Gina Miller Designs); Scenes From Real Life (One Little Bird); Peace Kraft and Joy (Micheline Martin); Pockets No. 3 – The Basics (Valorie Wibbens)
Fonts: CK Ali’s Hand (journaling, captions); Bebas Neue (week)
Template: Pockets No. 3 – The Templates (Valorie Wibbens)

Now, on to trying to catch up from where I left off on Project Life - somewhere around late August/early September...

Me & Mike

I'm back! It's been a bit of a crazy month. I'm not even sure how the month disappeared! In less than a week it will be a new year - yikes! 

I haven't had a lot of time to scrap, although I have a few layouts completed for new releases, which I will post as soon as the products are released. I do have one fun layout to share - one with me and my friend Mike. The photo was taken a couple of years (or so) ago, during his birthday celebration. 

CREDITS

Papers: Talk2Me (Allison Pennington); Winter Washed (Amy Wolff)

Embellishments: Talk2Me (Allison Pennington); Blueberry Blush (Captivated Visions); Booked for Life, Love Me Tender, and I Kissed A Frog (Pink Reptile Designs); Touch of Mess – Vol1 (Micheline Martin)

Fonts: Miserably Lose (title); Shelter Me (journaling)

Template: Blends Vol. 4 (JenC Designs)

That's it for now. I'll be back to post again tomorrow - I hope, LOL!  :D

A Perfect Gift

With the spirit of the holiday season in mind, have you ever received a gift that meant the world to you?

I received this gift in 1991. There is a lot of sentimentality attached to this gift, and I finally decided to document it. (It's also one more Lilypad challenge completed!)

The journaling reads:

"December 1991. It was our first Christmas together. Unfortunately, you were also deploying on Christmas Day for at least a year - 6,000 miles away.

I know we both went to great lengths to make our Christmas celebration special. We arranged to spend Christmas Eve alone - just the two of us.

After making dinner together and starting a fire, we sat down to exchange gifts. You gave me several wonderful things. But one gift in particular will always stand out - a gold, heart-shaped key charm. It was perfect! At that moment, I knew I wouldn’t have the key to your heart just while we were separated, but forever."

CREDITS

Papers: Reflecting (HGD by Laurie Ann)

Embellishments: Reflecting (HGD by Laurie Ann); I Kissed A Frog (Pink Reptile Designs); Kitschy Christmas (Jenn Barrette and Sahlin Studio)

Fonts: CK Maternal (title); Traveling Typewriter (journaling); CK Ali’s Hand (date)

Template: Lilypad Template Challenge Freebie – Dec. 2012 (Amy Martin)

Holiday

One more layout completed for The Lilypad challenges! This one is for the One Word Challenge. And the word for this month is: HOLIDAY. I took a little liberty with my interpretation, lol!

CREDITS

Papers: Peace Kraft and Joy (Micheline Martin and Studio Basic)

Embellishments: Blueberry Blush (Captivated Visions); After the Rain (Micheline Martin); The Things You Say (Pink Reptile Designs); Peace Kraft and Joy (Micheline Martin and Studio Basic)

Font: Ali’s Hand (Creating Keepsakes)

Template: iDSD 2012 Grab Bag (Sara Gleason)

Mary, Mary

I don't have a lot of old family photos - I mean ones of my mom and her siblings growing up. In fact, I have exactly one photo of my maternal grandfather, who died years before I was even born.

Of the photos I do have, I don't have a lot of background stories behind them. The memories are fuzzy, so I can only guess why/when/where the photos were taken. For example, I have an old photo of my Aunt Mary. I have no idea when it was taken or why. All my mom could tell me was that it was my aunt. Nevertheless, I scrapped it.

CREDITS

Papers & Embellishments: Memories (Blue Flower Art)

Font: Vladimir Script

Don't get me wrong. I like having the stories behind the photos. But I also want all those old photos out on display instead of buried in boxes. The great part about scrapping them digitally is that I can always add the details later, if someone provides them.  :)

My Prince Charming

I am loving the collection of BYOC (Build Your Own Collaboration) items over at The Lilypad this month! In fact, I finished my BYOC challenge last night. Here's the result!

CREDITS
Papers: Jolly Ole’ (Sahlin Studio); Winter Washed (Amy Wolff); Call Me Baby (Micheline Martin)
Embellishments: I Kissed A Frog (Pink Reptile Designs); A New Start (Little Butterfly Wings) 
Font: Ali’s Hand (Creating Keepsakes) 
Template: Lilypad Template Challenge Freebie – Dec. 2012 (Amy Martin) 

Candy Lane Released!

Candy Lane from Blue Flower Art is now released! All pieces are $1 through the weekend, so don't miss the sale!

I LOVE the word art so much, I made 2 layouts with one of them:

Both pictures were taken back in 2002. I love these photos of my great-nieces and nieces, respectively. I'm so glad these pics were perfect for Candy Lane!

Dream Today

Over the weekend, I was invited to work on the Blue Flower Art CT - so exciting! There is a fun new kit that is perfect for Christmas (although it can be used throughout the year too) coming out THIS Friday. I won't be able to post my layouts until the kit is released, but I absolutely love the word art!

However, I also got to work with a new kit from Blue Flower Art called Sunny Laura. Since that kit IS released, here is my layout:

CREDITS

Papers and Embellishments: Sunny Laura (Blue Flower Art)

Font: Traveling Typewriter

Template: Rainy Day Guides – Fall (Rainy Dayz Designs)

The photo is of one of my nieces when she was a newborn. She is now all grown up and has three daughters of her own. 

Off to do more creations - oh, and hopefully get some sleep, LOL!  :)

New Goodies from Lilach Oren Designs

WOO HOO!!! I got an email today from Lilach Oren allowing me the use of one of her new paper packs to be released this week! She is releasing Monthly Artsy paper pack, a new set of grunge papers that can be used for Project Life! Here's my layout...

CREDITS
Papers: Monthly Artsy Paper Pack (Lilach Oren Designs); Travel Dreams (MScraps Designers Collab)

Embellishments: Scrapaholic Pinback (Lilach Oren Designs); Captured, Last Days of Summer and Travel Dreams (MScraps Designers Collab); Chic n’ Sweet, Nouvelle Addresse, and My Life My Rhythm (ninigoesdigi)

Font: Baby Boston

Template: Bunch of Templates (Dunia Designs)

She also has Monthly Artsy 4x6 Journal Cards to match! 

Of course, now I have to float back down to Earth and finish what I was working on - trying to get the supplies together for a simple Christmas card-making session I have tonight, LOL!

Random Stuff of the Day

Sometimes this blog becomes a place to list all sorts of random thoughts re: scrapbooking. Today is one of those days! :)

Random Thought #1:  I have a layout that I did this morning, based on a color blocking challenge for ScrapMatters:

CREDITS:

Papers, Embellishments, Alphabet: Crazy Beautiful Life (Memory Clips)

Font: Bebas Neue

Template: Road Maps Boxed Freebie (Down This Road Designs)

I haven't uploaded it on to the challenge page yet since it looks like I haven't done any other ScrapMatters challenges this month. I'll have to see if I can get a couple more completed. The only reason I even had time for this one was because the little guy was awake at 4:30 am. When he fell back to sleep around 8:15 am, I couldn't go back to sleep. It's no wonder I'm a little cranky today.

Random Thought #2: Echo Park is offering a free Season's Greetings Idea Book! If you haven't snapped it up already, try to do it soon. I'm not sure how long the freebie will last.

Random Thought #3: The Lilypad is having a PADvent event! For the next 25 days, The Lilypad will feature a different designer and have one item from that designer for $1.50. Everything else in the designer's store will be 25% off for that day. Today was Michelle Godin Designs! I'm a big fan of Michelle's stuff - especially being part of her CT. Tomorrow will be Micheline Martin. I love her stuff too. Let's put it this way - The Lilypad is one of my favorite digi stores, LOL!

Random Thought #4: Have you heard of Minted.com? You can make beautiful printed holiday photo cards on heavyweight paper. I felt the sample in the Nov. 2012 issue of Real Simple and was so impressed, I had to visit the site to check it out. Unfortunately, the cards are a little pricey. I decided that the cost wasn't quite worth it for me at this time. But, I love the quality!

Random Thought #5: Persnickety Prints is offering a free holiday digiscrap kit called BMerry.  It's got fun, bright colors that are not traditional, but still cute!

OK, that's it for now. The little guy is tearing up the living room trying to get my attention. Be back soon!  :D

Thankful for You

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping weekend! I did hit Black Friday sales - online only! - so I didn't have to worry about crowds or parking!

I also had time to do one layout - don't ask why just one - using a kit from Two More Days.

CREDITS

Papers/Embellishments: Turning Leaves (Two More Days)

Font: Century Gothic

Template: ScrapMatters Tuesday Template Challenge 11/20 (Siamese Studio)

I haven't used a lot of blues (my fave color!) in layouts lately, so it was fun to do it with this one. I'm so glad I finally got a chance to use Kim's Turning Leaves kit, which I bought back on Digital Scrapbooking Day (early November).

Now, off to attempt challenges...

Interview with Aprilisa Designs

I got the opportunity to interview Lisa from Aprilisa Designs. See the interview on the Real Life Scrapped blog!

You might also get some coupons and freebies too...  ;)

HoHoHo - Nano Love

Earlier this week, I got a fun surprise in my email. Mirjam of Pink Reptile Designs sent links to her new Document Your December items at The Lilypad! It was a terrific surprise to get, and I created a layout earlier this week, but couldn't release until today. 

I decided to use an old pic from Christmas 2005, when my niece received her very first iPod.

CREDITS

Papers: Dear Santa (Pink Reptile Designs)

Embellishments: New Perspective Pockets, Star Struck, and Wanderlust (Pink Reptile Designs)

Alphabet: Making Headlines (Pink Reptile Designs)

Fonts: Octin Spraypaint (date); Sunshine in My Soul (journaling)

Template: Garland (Amy Martin)

I had a little trouble trying to figure out how to incorporate pockets on a digital layout, but I think it all worked out okay. I'll have to email the layout to my niece and her parents, too. Hey - Christmas gift!  :D

Teen Queen

Ninigoesdigi is releasing a new kit today called Chic n Sweet! Here's the kit:

And here is what I did with it...

CREDITS

Papers & Embellishments: Chic n Sweet (ninigoesdigi)
Fonts: Riddle (title); Prelude FLF (journaling)
Template: Free to Wander 6 (EH Studios)

I dug pretty deep into the archives - back to 1985 (like in Back to the Future!). I can't believe how long ago that was. It makes me feel really old, lol!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A little greeting from some of my favorite characters!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately. Life has just been hectic lately with deadlines and the holidays. I've barely had time to scrap! But, I did complete a couple pages - one of which I can't share until Friday. But, here's the other one...

CREDITS

Papers: Fall Beauty (Lindsay Jane)

Embellishments: October and Thanksgiving Dinner (Aprilisa); Colors of Autumn (Aprilisa and Just Jaimee); Guys and Gals Word Art Pack (Word Art World)

Font: McEnneking

Template: Project 2012: October (Connie Prince)

It's funny - the photo was taken in the month of April, yet the colors/kits I used were from Fall kits. Everything still worked out, lol!

And what have YOU been working on lately???

Little Puzzler

Another milestone for the little guy today - he actually put the puzzle pieces in the correct places without any help.

Before, he would just take the pieces and try to jam them into spots that didn't fit. Since they didn't fit, he would get frustrated, then just throw the piece on the living room floor. So, although it's a little milestone, it's still a big deal to me.  :)

And it worked perfectly for one of the Lilypad challenges!

CREDITS

Papers & Embellishments: Jack of All Toys (Michelle Godin & Jacque Larsen)

Alphabet: Sloppy Stencils 2 (Michelle Godin)

Font: Miserable Lose

Template: Nov. 2012 Lilypad Template Challenge (Amy Martin)

Toy Hall of Fame

What do dominoes and Star Wars action figures have in common? They were both inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame today!

I actually didn't know that only 51 toys have made it into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Some of these toys have been around for years, like the rocking horse and marbles. And some of them are items that I wouldn't have ever classified as "toys," like a blanket, cardboard box, or a stick. I'm not disputing the fact that they aren't toys, since kids love to play with them, but they are not traditionally thought of as toys.

Take a look at the list just for fun or to reminisce a little about your childhood. Or, you can even consider it as a list for this year's Christmas shopping. :)

QOTD & How Preemie Moms are Chosen

Courtesy of Michelle Godin Designs

I came across an interesting quote that I thought I'd share for today:

"You don't look out there for God, something in the sky, you look in you."

- Alan Watts

It's timely that I found that quote, since a few days ago, a friend posted something on Facebook that I love:

How Preemie Moms Are Chosen
(Adapted from Erma Bombeck)

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen? Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. 

As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger: "Beth Armstrong, son. Patron Saint, Matthew. Marjorie Forrest, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia. Carrie Rutledge, twins. Patron Saint ... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie." The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."

"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied.

"She will never take for granted a spoken word.

"She will never consider a step ordinary.

"When her child says 'mama' for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it.

"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see – ignorance, cruelty, prejudice – and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

---------

Being the mom of a preemie, I used to wonder "why me" at first. But then I figured it was because I already knew how to deal with a baby that was born full-term, having taken care of numerous nephews and nieces. So, I figured that having a baby born two months early was a "challenge" that I needed.

And it was a challenge for the first few months, trying to make sure I could keep him alive. Now that he's healthy and on track, I am thankful for every moment of that challenge.

Yes, I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Which Way?

Finally got one challenge done for the monthly challenges at The Lilypad! 

CREDITS

Papers: Corn Maze (Emily Merritt, One Little Bird, Paislee Press)

Embellishments: Corn Maze (Emily Merritt, One Little Bird, Paislee Press); Open Polaroids 4x4 (Amy Martin)

Font: Baby Boston

Gotta finish at least one more for the month, but my goal is to complete at least four challenges. Let's see if I can get another one completed tomorrow, lol!

Happy Veteran's Day

In honor of Veteran's Day, I created a layout with an old photo of my uncle while he was in the Army.

CREDITS

Papers: Always Remember (Michelle Godin)

Embellishments: Always Remember (Michelle Godin); Assorted Messy Stitches – Brown No. 2 and Vintage Frames No 29 (Katie Pertiet); Apple of My Eye (Jennifer Barrette and Micheline Martin); Peace Kraft and Joy (Studio Basic and Micheline Martin); Botanical (Amy Wolff)

Font: Stencil (title) ; Traveling Typewriter (date); Vaguely Repulsive (journaling)

Template: August 2012 Freebie (Amy Martin)

Digi Dare #300

It's been a few weeks - okay, maybe a few months - since I participated in the Digi Dares challenges, mainly because I haven't had time. But, I got a little push this week from one of the CT members, so I decided to just leap in and make a layout.

This week's Digi Dare #300 had the following guidelines...

Dare Flair:

• a minimal, white space page
• 1-2 photos
• just a few elements
• some journaling
• text on a path (in your title or journaling)

Not too bad, eh? Here's my layout...

CREDITS
Papers: Dia De Los Muertos, Moody Blues and Winter's Canvas (Michelle Godin)

Embellishments: I Heart You and Moody Blues (Michelle Godin); Today I Feel (Lauren Grier)

Font: Baby Boston (journaling and date); Larger Mime (title)

Template: Outlined No. 1 (Fei-fei’s Stuff)

The journaling reads:

"At home, we don’t have a backyard big enough for N to have a swimming pool. So, when we visited our family in California during late summer, we picked up an inflatable pool that he could play in during those days when the temperature were unbearable. The day we arrived, it was almost 100 degrees. We decided to fill the pool. As we were doing so, N wanted to be sprayed with the hose, so we wet him down. He laughed so hard and so much over such a simple thing as playing with water! It was so fun to watch his joy over the simple pleasure."

I did have to figure out how to draw a text path in Photoshop since I've never done it before. I've heard about it, read about it, but hadn't actually tried it until this layout. While the word art I created isn't perfect, I think it worked for the title in this layout. Guess I'll have to spend some time trying to perfect how to use text paths in the near future! :D

Pinterest: Secret Boards

I received an email from Pinterest this morning that I normally would have just ignored. I was drawn in by the personal anecdote in the email. The gist of the email: Pinterest's owner, Ben (?), was surprised at how much his wife knew about being a first-time parent. She said she learned by reading (and pinning) other people's Pinterest boards. :D

Sometimes the answers to things are right in front of us. And Ben was so used to Pinterest as an informational vehicle for other people, he didn't even think of using it for his personal life. Anyway, Pinterest is now offering "secret" Pinterest boards. Everyone gets 3 of them. (According to the email, they are at the bottom of the page.) These boards can be used to pin items for things that you are planning that you don't wish to make public - new job, surprise birthday, new baby... I think, however, that I may use my secret boards in another way - pages that I want to pin that I don't want anyone to know about, lol! 

Photo Filter Tricks

Photo courtesy of Photojojo

Photojojo had an interesting article today on DIY photo filters.

Before you think, "Cool, now I can go use the money I was saving for something else," be aware that these are everyday items used creatively as photo filters. Nothing wrong with being able to multi-task everyday items, but don't be surprised if you get some funny stares while using them.

Either way, the article is worth reading and possibly even trying a few of the tips. Enjoy!

Hello Snow

No, it's not snowing here - yet! But, I dug into the archives to find photos for a challenge on The Lilypad. I swear, if it weren't for the challenges, I might not even use some of the kits that I've purchased, lol! This is one of my main reasons to try doing the challenges - it forces me to use my stash!  :)

Today, I worked on some snow photos from January 2008, which is when I went sledding for the first time. Unfortunately, the photos are a little fuzzy, but since I was the subject instead of the photographer, there isn't much I can do about that. the point is that I do have photos!  :D  Everything (except for the font) is from the Winter Wishes collaboration from The Lilypad. (The kit was free with a $15 purchase from the store during DSD!)

CREDITS
Papers: Winter Wishes (Micheline Martin)

Embellishments: Winter Wishes (Michelle Godin, Rachel Young, Gina Miller, One Little Bird, Paislee Press, Sahlin Studio)

Font: Shelter Me

Election Day

Courtesy of Katie Pertiet

All over the U.S., there are lots of people waiting to find out who will be elected as the president. If you haven't voted yet, be sure to exercise your right to do so.

I haven't yet tuned into any news to see how things are going, but I know I will this evening.

Here, we vote by mail in/drop off ballots. Everything is mailed to registered voters a few weeks before. Then you can take your time about voting and either mail in or drop off the ballots at specific drop points.

I turned my ballot in on Halloween, mainly because I was tired of having people knock on the door and leave more info about local candidates. It's been quiet since then!  :)

I got a picture of my ballot before I dropped if off, and today, Designs by Megan Turnidge offered up a free voting template for digiscrappers. Here's what I did with it:

CREDITS

Papers & Embellishments: Land of the Free by Gina Cabrera

Template: Tuesday Template - Week 36 by Megan Turnidge

Font: Century Gothic

Courtesy of Creashens

Also, if you are looking for more election freebies, visit Creashens Facebook page to get these cute flair embellishments! I posted one of them to my Facebook page!

Happy Election Day!

DSD & The Beauty of Fall

Friday was Digital Scrapbooking Day (aka DSD), although most digi scrap stores celebrate it over the weekend (and the day or two before and after!). It's like Black Friday for the digi scrap world, with new kits and sales galore. I love it! In fact, this was my first official DSD since I didn't really focus on digital scrapbooking until the last year. And that was only because the munchkin kept getting into my paper scrapbooking stuff! So, digi scrapping was my only other alternative. 

Anyway, there were tons of challenges, freebies, blog hops...all sorts of things to make the whole DSD celebration fun. Unfortunately, I only scrapped one layout this entire weekend, mainly because me and the munchkin came down with something that isn't really a cold or the flu, but enough to make you sort of light-headed and fuzzy, sore throat, congestion, no appetite. We're still going through it, but he seems to be better than I am since he's bouncing around all over and playing. 

So, the one layout I completed was for the Digital Design Essentials Snail Scrap Challenge. A template was provided, so that made it even easier for me. Here is what I came up with...

The Beauty of Fall

CREDITS: Layers of Fall kit and template from Gina Cabrera

I love the rich colors and embellishments in this kit! Fortunately, I found some photos that worked perfectly with the papers. (Usually, I'm always trying to find the right papers for the photos, lol!)

I know I'm behind on blogging - it was a busy October - but I'll get caught up soon. I'm also behind on project life, which I'll have to start working on soon, definitely before Thanksgiving gets here!

In the meantime, stay healthy and Happy November!