Breakthrough? Breakdown?

Its hard to say. I'm in a slump of sorts. I've long believed that the best thing to do in the winter is to follow the lead of many animals and hibernate. I think we all need a season of rest. I've not been feeling completely well lately and I think I just need more sleep. How many of you are nodding your head along with me? I am hopeful that with the approach of spring, longer days and warmer temperatures, my mojo will return to me soon.

Love is in the air - can you feel it? Quirky Twerp has been feeling the love lately and has some gorgeous Valentines Days designs. I made this first page of my sweet Grandma and her 2nd husband. I sadly never knew either of my Grandpa's on my father's side.

most elements and papers from Valentines Retrospect by Quirky Twerp
some elements from Vita Fortunata by Quirky Twerp
ledger paper from Noel by Mari Koegelenberg
worn album papers from Illuminated Journal by ViVa Artistry
page template Prefab tagbook square by Studio Dutchie (no longer available)

And aren't these just the most beautiful vintage tags? So fun for hybrid projects.

Vintage Valentine Tags by Quirky Twerp

One of my all-time favorite scrappers also designs templates, you may know her as gonewiththewind and she designs under the name of Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs. I've used her templates soooo many times in the past. Well, I just happened to ask around digi land for some templates for school portraits and she stepped right in and offered to design some! She is such a dear! This is just the first of many pages to come using school portraits.

papers and most elements from Lilac Mist by Jennifer Labre Designs
various elements from After the Rain by Jennifer Labre Designs
page template from Fuss Free Portraits Set 1 by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

This last page is also a Fiddle-Dee-Dee template using Studio Gypsy's latest and greatest madness called "Do That Thing." I am so lucky to be able to scrap using these wonderful designs!

all papers and elements from Do That Thing by Studio Gypsy
page template from Fuss Free Contest Series 1 by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you are staying warm and healthy. Please come again soon.

My two babes

Time flies. Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was carrying around one or both of these little kids in my arms or pushing them in a stroller. Guess not, they grow up too quickly.

My daughter is turning 12 this month. In general we get along quite well and have lots of laughs. But every once in awhile we get on each other's nerves. I know this is part of the growing-up process, but that doesn't make it any easier.

I made this page for The Color Room challenge #41. Here is the original color pallet, followed by my page.

papers and elements from Spring Sonnet by Holly Designs

page template from Fuss Free Set 8 by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

My son can come off as being a wild child. He's rough around the edges because he's always moving and noisy. But deep down he's a great kid.

This page is made using a very tough new collab between two of my favorite designers - ViVa Artistry and Studio Gypsy.

papers and elements from Industrial by ViVa Artistry and Studio Gypsy

page template from Honey Pots 5 by Busy Bee Designs

That's all for now, real life is still calling and I think that is a good thing. Thank you so much, every time, for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the web.

Feeling lucky

I've been lucky lately. The layout - Sweet - that I made for The Color Room challenge #40 was chosen as a feature layout for the newsletter and homepage. I am SO honored because you would not believe the talent there. These ladies are serious scrappers and I am so thrilled to be chosen.

One more awesome thing was that I won the January edition of the Grow With Love - Letters series of templates by Zinnia's and Swallowtails and Crystal Livesay. Their templates are always so fresh and fun, but its their journaling prompts that they encourage you to write that are my favorites. I love to journal when I actually have something to say.

As for the latest releases, here are my pages for the week. This page is a collab between ViVa Artistry and Miki Ferkul called All About Me. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but ViVa is one of my all-time favorite designers. So artistic, so beautiful and always so easy to make a gorgeous page with.

All About Me by ViVa Artistry and Miki Ferkul

page template from Fuss Free Just Journal by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

The other page I was able to get done this week was with the latest Snowflake Clusters by Busy Bee Designs. Sasha (Ms. Busy Bee herself) is constantly on fire with such fun and playful templates.

Snowflake Clusters part 5 by Busy Bee Designs

One True Thing by Kelley Mikus

This last page was my take on the January "Play it Again" feature on The Daily Digi blog. Each month Katie the Scrapbook Lady sends a few chosen scrappers her photos and journaling along with a few simple guidelines then sees what we each come up with. This month her photos were all about snow. The Digichick Designers just happened to have the perfect new collab kit called Winterberries that I used for this page.

Winterberries by The Digichick Designers

I always enjoy the quiet times after the holiday rush. I like to think of myself as hibernating in these cold winter months. I hope you are all staying warm and healthy.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Please come again.

Note to self - update blog. Note to self - update blog.

My poor neglected blog. My kids just went back to school today, finally. It was a long, but wonderful winter break. I just didn't have much computer time. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

Last week Quirky Twerp released the prettiest little girl kit. The florals are so sweet and delicate. I couldn't resist. This is a picture of my daughter from many years ago.

Sugar Blossom by Quirky Twerp

Snowflake Clusters part 3 by Busy Bee Designs

A very dear friend of mine went to visit her family in the states over the long holiday. I can't even begin to tell you how envious I am of her. She asked me to make some pages for her family and friends as gifts. For these first two pages I used a new set of quick pages made from one of my all-time favorite kits, So Grateful by Sugarplum Paperie and Sahlin Studio. The first page I altered a little to add the fifth photo.

So Grateful Quick Pages by Sugarplum Paperie and Sahlin Studio

She even got to celebrate a traditional American New Year's Eve at a real party. It looked like a lot of fun so I wanted to make her a fun page to give to her friends as a thank you gift. I found the perfect set, Gurrrl's Nite by Laura Banasiak. I love how playful this page turned out.

  Gurrrl's Nite by Laura Banasiak and Creations by Rachael

Fuss Free Funky Paper Play by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

Next I have a few more Christmas pages to show. This first one is of my babes several years ago. This was my son's first Christmas and the last Christmas we spent in the states with my family. I really miss enjoying the holidays with them.

Cherish Mini by Studio Gypsy

Fuss Free Room to Breathe Set 2 by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

This page is my Grown-Up Christmas List page as seen in the December 2010 edition of The Artisan Notebook.

Noel by Mari Koegelenberg

Fuss Free Photo Play by Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs

And finally, I have been having a blast making pages for The Color Room challenges. Okay, so I've only made two so far, but the community there is so warm and welcoming. And I love the freedom of making a page based on color requirements only. I also love the ease of making pages with just one kit most times, but I also want to spread my creative wings sometimes and mix and match. I'm sure I'll be back for more TCR challenges.

Just Chillin' by Jennifer Labre Designs

Snowflake Clusters part 4 by Busy Bee Designs

Tenderness by Kasia Designs

Easy Breezy part 15 by Busy Bee Designs

 I hope you all enjoyed a peaceful and healthy winter break. I wish you every good thing in this new year. Thank you so very much for stopping by. Please come again.