Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Dec Blog Hop

At The Table
December 1, 2016
Oregon

Did you have a terrific Thanksgiving, those of you in the USA?  I sure did.  It was wonderful to be with family, and we also had two people that had no place to go.  It was great to serve as their family, too.  I can't believe how the months are flying by. I could have sworn I was just looking out the winter window a few days ago, looking for spring and summer.  Now they are behind me, growing smaller in the distance.  Next year I need to do something different.  At least once a week I'm going to take a blanket and lay out in the field to watch the clouds drift by.  I'll let the day fill me up inside with sounds of the birds, sounds of the breeze blowing across the faces of wheat stalks, and the sound of bees taking pollen back to the hive. I'll watch the evening sky fall into night, and gaze upon the velvet darkness scattered with the magnificent ribbon of stars.  Come back to me, warm days of summer.

I live on a hillside, above the world's second largest valley.  Some days are magnificent, and other days are like today, as the winter wind races across the face of this mountain like a zephyr.  But somehow, even the quail manager to waddle about, eating sunflower seeds along the patio that have blown out of the bird feeders.  I'm surprised that they haven't been blown over into the next county, but I suppose that is the blessing of being a bird, knowing how to maneuver through the storms.

I just ate an apple called a "Pacific Rose".  Wow, they are good.  Sweet, juicy and crunchy, like a Honeycrisp, but only better and less expensive.  I hope you look for a few at your local grocery store.  I didn't even know about them, but the produce fella was putting out new fruit and told me that he thought that they were the best apple ever.  They are big with a delicate pink and white color. They are now my "Go To" apple.  The produce guy was greatly disappointed when I grabbed a bag of the less expensive apples to feed the horses.  Apparently, he doesn't like his precious fruit going to animals, and I don't blame him.  But our two horses get a treat every morning, and they are more like children than horses, anyway.

Now that it is December let me just say, I am SO GLAD that the election is over.  No matter who you were voting for, the anxiety and tensions were tantamount to a mad house.  I don't think I have ever seen such a tidal wave of emotions grasping our nation than during this particular election. I hope that things soon settle down and that we all can find common ground.  We all need to come together in harmony somehow, and be kind to one other.

I hope that you have wonderful plans for the holidays, no matter if you celebrate or not - we are going to visit my daughter's family for the holidays.  They live in another state, so it's a long drive.  I don't get to see them as often as I would like, but my husband makes the occasion very special for me. 

December means another Blog Hop. The assigned subject is "At The Table".  I went for a theme that had more kitchen gadgets and word art about gathering together at the table - But guess what - I took a look at the preliminary work of the other members on Pixelscrapper, and realized that the majority were putting together Christmas decorations - and they sure looked beautiful!  So, just to balance my own kit, I made a few Christmas things for you.  I made a snowman, a moose, and a mouse, as well as some other designs.  I'm just learning how to use my shape tools to make my funky animals, so I need to improve.  I'm thinking about buying a graphics table for drawing, but haven't made up my mind if I would use it often enough. If you want to see the other kits in the blog hop, you can find the final list in the Pixelscrapper forum, under "Pixelscrapper Blog Hops".  It's free to join.  It's free to download the blog hop kits. 

Here are my previews of my December Kit, and once again, I had trouble with choosing what papers to package up for you.  But I whittled it down to just 32 papers so that the downloads would be more manageable. (I received a complaint about the size of my paper downloads....)   I also have more elements than displayed - I just didn't have the space in the display.  All of these are under my "Good Karma" Terms of Use, which is supplied at the end of this post.  To be clear, you may use these for commercial use, no strings attached.  I simply ask that you do a kindness for others, no matter how small. When you receive a kindness, please pass a new kindness on to another.  

Clusters Download

Elements #1 Download

Elements #2 Download

Elements #3 Download

Frames Download

Journal Cards Download

Papers Download # 1

Papers Download # 2

Quickpages Download

Word Art Download

Blessings and blue skies,

Sunny

     

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Snowflakes

SNOWFLAKES!
November 15, 2016
Rush Ranch, Oregon

A new designer challenge is taking place over at Pixelscrapper.  It's still a mystery as to what the final goal will be - it's like a treasure hunt.  We are provided one assignment, and then another, until we come to the final clue that pulls it all together.  So the first assignment is snowflakes, and since I really don't know what the focus of the entire kit will be, I made snowflake templates (They are black, and you color them as you wish).  I also included in my download, three colors of centers, a pearl, a red glass bead, and a green glass bead.  That should keep things tied together in some manner.

You should really come join us over at Pixelscrapper and participate in the designer challenges.  They are free and open to all levels of designing.  Even if you have never designed anything before, you will find lots of support and terrific information - just ask.  And the tutorials that are posted are very helpful, too.  I've really enjoyed the generous and helpful community there.

As always, these are free to you to use as you wish, including for commercial use. My "Good Karma" terms of use is at the bottom of this post.

Download Snowflakes

Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - The Subject is Pie

The Subject is Pie
November 9, 2016

Sometimes the thing that most troubles you, is the most rewarding.  I can put this latest Pixelscrapper design challenge on the topic of Pie into that category.  We also design within the framework of an assigned color scheme, to increase the level of designing difficulty.  I really couldn't get into the swing of things, on the subject of pie.  I like pie.  I think that pie has a place at the table before or after dinner - it brings back memories of grandmothers and everything good about their wonderful recipes.   But I couldn't figure out how to design something on the topic of pie that people would find useful in their scrapping.  I gave it a go and came up with the designs below - but I don't see them as being particularly useful to you in your projects, especially the elements.  They challenged my brain somewhat, and I designed several pies.  That was new to me.  But I didn't find a pleasant rhythm or direction to the theme, so forgive my poor commitment to the subject of pie.

I have a scattered brain you see, and I work hard at keeping organized.  I have TWO calendars on my refrigerator door, several journals and notebooks full of notes.  My bible is full of little scraps of paper where I have written some thought down.  If you are familiar with Myers-Briggs personality types, I am an INFP.  I pay attention to how others design, hoping to improve my work habits.   They seem to have the majority of their designs established within the framework of an original idea. I, on the other hand, open my design program and start looking at shapes and colors until ideas come to me.  For example, my papers have an average number of five different layers in which are a number of textures, colors, and patterns.  But I get there by accident.  The majority of my designs are the result of happy accidents, or "what-ifs".  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

I have happy memories of pie - My husband and I, when we were just new to each other and dating, loved to go down to the beach at Ninikchik, Alaska, and have homemade pie at the small cafe there.  It was a rustic place that was built on stilts above the icy blue waters of the Cook Inlet, and was only open during the summer months.  We had the most amazing views sitting there eating our pie.  Strawberry-Rhubarb for me, and Cherry for him.  We could look out across the inlet and see four of the 52 volcanoes of Alaska - Augustine, Iliamna, Redoubt and Spurr.  The wind was usually blowing and and polar fleece jackets were the norm.  But how marvelous, to sit there watching the eagles dance and dive among the waves, capturing fresh salmon for their dinner?  And every so often I would see the most sweetest sea otter floating by, tummy up as he/she cracked clams open on that furry belly, for their dinner.  I loved that area so much, I even thought that I would retire there. But alas, it was not to be.  

So here it is, those humble scrapping items designed with the theme of "pie" in mind.  I need to mention to you that I have made 91 papers for this project in an effort to hit the target.  Only 12 of them are displayed in the preview below.  I have a question for you, if you are interested in commenting - Do you prefer one big download on papers, or do you prefer several smaller downloads?

Download 1

Download Papers # 1

Download Papers # 2

Download Elements

(These items are included in the "Elements" download)

      
Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny