A bitter-sweet Good-Bye to one of my favorite frogs [& a word or 2 about templates]

Hi guys. I know- I don’t keep track of time/events on way of blogging these days, but this called for something… The super ultra fabulous Andrea aka Little Green Frog Designs is closing down her store this Wednesday, 27th of August @ The Scrap Orchard. Yes- I know many of us were stunned by the news and sad too…. but there is a sweet & happy side to this closing, and is the fact that she is closing down to go to University- How many of us make pages & pages about pursuing our dreams, encouraging our sons & daughters to do so? It is commendable that a lady with children and a full life to attend decides to make a move like this, and for it I’m super happy for Andrea and even for ourselves here: we do know now who will be delivering Sarita’s babies!!!! (she is doing midwifery)-

My story with templates isn’t all sweet. I remember in my beginnings, I would frown upon them, even vocalizing (loud, as I do) how I kinda dismissed them as to me it was having the page done for you….until, in one of my string vocalizing moments, Vanessa aka half of ViVa Artistry explained her view, and how interpreting a template isn’t an easy way out when scrapbooking- Vanessa being who she is,I decided to listen to her & had a go- She couldn’t have been more right. I tried- It is NOT easy to get it right. It does, however, make you go into creative ways you wouldn’t ever have thought you could, and you can end up with awesome pages…. that’s how my love affaire with templates started.

Last year at some point I kinda invited Angela aka Angelclaud’s ArtRoom (another superb template designer & amazing lady, mother, friend!) to invite me into her team…to my surprise she did…and, as one does, I posted the news on Facebook- With all the people who came to congratulate me was Andrea, of whom I was already a customer, and I joked about something & other and” if this or that was this or that way I would have been pestering you to take me in your CT”- We had a further chat in which she mentioned she always has a call for guest CT later in the year and encouraged me to apply. I cannot start to put into words how GLAD I am I did. I started my guest spot in the beginning of this year & was then invited to stay. It has been an amazing journey- Andrea is one of the most talented people I know- super nice, kind and fun to be around, and her creativity is limitless (not only on shapes & dimension…have you payed attention to her templates names? !!!!)

I am so proud and delighted to have been part of this team, as together with Andrea came my belonging to a team with so many stars, all of them amazing in their creativity, most of them the ones I aspire to be like…. I know I have mentioned this to some of them, but if I never mention this but you are in Andrea’s team: I most definitely LOVE what you do. All these past months on blogging for Little Green Frog I have come across some of the most amazing pages I have seen in my life, both from CTMs, Guests & customers… it was a marvelous journey and I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity. So: she is closing on the 27th which leaves us 3 days to shop… she has the whole store on 50% OFF, which means you get every pack half price- and there is even an offer to buy her store for $100…a very, very small price as the value is of over $1000… Just go have a look and get at least some of these amazing templates before they are all gone….and I promise I will TRY to keep this updated more often- 🙂

About love, digital art, pride & a bit more {or the story of how I got my hands on a copy of Somerset Digital Studio Magazine}

I don’t quiet know where to start. The fact that until this very early morning [3.30 am] I had been awake for 50 something hours doesn’t help, & there is so much involved in what I want to say, what this means to me, that I don’t think I will really achieve that, but lets start by the fact: this morning I got a copy of the Somerset Digital Art Studio magazine through my letter box. The fact itself is not a mega occurrence since the magazine is one of the most famous publications on the digital art/digital scrapbooking industry where I spend most of my day. The fact that it was addressed “artist complementary” is.

I have to admit I never quiet understood all the fuss about being published, maybe because I entered the industry straight into the digital form, and though I “got” the fact that being published was a big time thing for many, I didn’t much see the point, maybe because most my digital work until not long ago was purely documenting our lives, and I didn’t expect anyone to want to see that as a form of art, let alone be worth of going into a publication. I even had an offer in 2011, after I won The Digi Dares for the first time (and what a buz here again that I am now one of the Darers, talk about pride!) but I didn’t pursue it, I was busy trying to make my online time make sense, didn’t think it was important enough for making a bigger effort, but seeing one’s name & creations in print can do wonders for a battered heart.

The magazine is amazing, so much inspiration, so much beauty and talent, most of which made me understand some scrappers that until today I didn’t….but that could be another post entirely. (You see I am trying here to keep focused- not sure about succeeding but at least I do try!) So… how come I am there? Thanks to ViVa Artistry. Yes. I know you know how much I love them, but just in case and for the future generations (I’m in no rush but I hope one day my grandchildren will be looking at my life and wanting to know) the kind of love I have for these girls is the kind where you wont think for a millisecond before saying yes to give them your kidney -or any body parts needed, but lets not get away from the subject- The talented ViVas are featured in this issue – now am thinking maybe I should’ve started with this?-

A few month ago (was it a couple? or more?) Vie wrote to me asking for a few LOs I had done with their kits, and she wanted the whole size images, so I knew this was different. A few weeks later she wrote again, this time letting me know a nice lady called Jana Holstein would be writing to me and I should answer with all the info requested. I kind of started to connect the dots, and when I got the email I thought I couldn’t have been any happier.. but I was wrong, it actually kept getting better (maybe a way to balance all the not-so-happy events of the past few months? God working on mysterious ways and all?)

Now I feel I have to say: it is not false modesty, I do know my pages are some kind of good or I wouldn’t have all these amazingly talented designers saying yes to my application to their CT calls, even more so I wouldn’t have the high quality ladies who have invited me to join them without a CT call needed… but being in the teams I am, with such talented ladies whose art is a jaw dropper each & every time…  my mind & heart never think I’m quiet all that and, despite being told of many times by many of them and some of my colleagues, there is a little (ok, yeah, not quiet so little) voice inside my head that tells me they see my pages as more of what they are because of the relationship we have built and things like that… so though is not like I don’t consider their words truthful or that such words are not important, but when the other night, chatting with both Vie & Va (oh-the wonders of modern technology!) I learned that it was not them who picked the pages, but Jana Holstein, the lady editor herself…well… what can I say… I guess I’m entitled to a bit (or very much indeed! LOL) pride, right? -add some more laughter and joyous smileys here- If you add to that the fact that the names and work of a few of my most loved, admired, talented friends/colleagues are in the same issue of the magazine, it ties up into a very, very nice mixture of emotions.

So, the whole point here is how proud I have been feeling lately. Being blessed by being in some of the most talented designers in the whole of digi-land’s CTs, being invited to some of my most admired, loved, favourite, talented designer’s teams, receiving said designers’ newsletters and seeing my pages there, having the so dear friends I have in my teams, making new beautiful friendships in the new ones, the pride gives way to a much more powerful feeling of gratitude, and I can be here for ages talking about how it is near impossible to find words to explain this gratefulness, but I know I get cheesy and we want to avoid that, after all a stream of tears can damaged the keyboard and we all know life without the computer is, in this day and age, as dramatic as you can imagine. So I want talk/write for ages, but I will have to say how much I owe these amazing women in my life, how much pleasure it is to play with their creations, how much their support means to me and how it gets me through the day in those when nothing seems to be right

And now I’m gonna go and carry on looking at the Somerset Digital Studio ‘s amazing featured art and articles, try to sleep a bit more as my brain isn’t engaging (have been here for a couple of hours trying to make sense of what I wanted to write, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t- remember English isn’t my first language…or the second-) Even at first, very quick glance the magazine is well worth every penny it costs, you should have a look too.

I want to do now something I wanted to do two years ago, which was/is to write a post per team I am in, and show  you how great these artists are… I may just try get it together and make it happen, but for now, I will say a HUGE THANK YOU  not only to the designers, but also the girls in my teams who honour John Lennon’s Imagine (which my published page is about) by putting aside all differences & being the best friends one can hope for. Here is my latest signature, one I wear with pride to which today I can add the being published.

 

Signature made with: CD Muckosky: Urban Scribbles Alpha, Jacque Larsen’s Neapolitan Please (part of the The Lilypad freebie collab The Ultimate Vacation) Karah Fredricks: Which Way 2. Fonts: Pea Roxy Girl (Fonts for Peas/Kevin & Amanda) & Misproject by Eduardo Recife @ misprintedtype.com.

Thank you again from the core of my heart to the designers for having me in their creative teams, I’m linking to their stores so you can have a look at their great work:  Angelclaud Art Room, Etc by Danyale, Gallery Stand Outs , Laurie Ann , Lynne Marie, Paula Kesselring, Pink Reptile Designs, Scrap N’ Art,  Sus Designs, The Digi Dares and Vivienne & Vanessa of ViVa Artistry (you should get the magazine to read the article where they are featured!) Also to Kim Jensen & Michelle Godin with whom I am guesting at the moment 🙂

Hope you are all having a great week!

 

 

The DigiDares #333: Friendships

ohhh I’m so EXCITED and so NERVOUS at the same time!!!!! you know I LOVE the Dares, but this one is very special as it is MY VERY FIRST own Dare!!!!I hope you like it and join in us with a page, and you can be the lucky winner of up to $40 in coupons from our amazing sponsors!!! Congratulations to our winners from last week, you all most certainly did not make it easy for me to choose, your pages are amazing! And I want to thank from my heart those of you who have made pages already, my super talented team colleagues Angie, Dalis, Paula & Sara, & also KazaD & Lili who have already posted a link to your pages….this was exactly what I had in mind when I thought the Dare, and am thrilled to be reading about!

In case you just stumbled upon this [crazy woman’s] blog and are wondering what this is all about, here is where you can read all about it:

http://www.digidares.com/digi-dare-333/

and here is my page:

Pink Reptile Designs & Amy Wolff: Home Grown, Pink Reptile Designs:  Chatterbox Elements, CD Muckosky: Urban Scribbles Alpha , Kim Jensen: Bloomin’ Loopy & Bloomin’ Baubbles,  Kaye Winiecki & Studio Basic: Hey Girlfriend, Paula Kesselring: Speech & Can You Feel? Papers, Forever Joy: Basics: Story Telling, ViVa Artistry: Misfit, Kimeric Creations: Kraft Party, Etc by Danyale: Favorite Moments, Lauren Reid: Call Me, Alyssa Jones: The Good Wife,  Laura Banasiak & Litabells Designs: Let Me Tell You (retired) Fonts:Pea Katrina, Clementine Sketch & Bajerelle.

I may also remind you that The Lylipad has just had released August Build Your Own Collab and is rocking the world!!!!!! Until tonight all the packs are on 20% OF, there are amazing kits/word arts/journal cards and a lot more, even some amazing templates! I really need to break my piggy bank and do some shopping before tonight, though I confess I already got the Amy Martin Templates…she has an extra 10% discount code in her blog, as do most designers if you sing up to their newsletter! anyway, I will come back very soon to tell you about some news as, as usual, I have lost touch with the reality of blogging and so much has happened since my last post….

Remember you have until next Thursday 10pmEST to post a link to your page in the comments section of the Dare, and who knows, you may be the winner! I’m looking forward to seeing your pages!!!

Huggzzz

The Digi Dares: #330: Dream a Little Dream

Hi again!!! some summer atmosphere has finally happened here in London, I have one of my most treasured and loved friends of my life visiting us from Argentina, and lots of things have happened in these past few weeks, but I will be rather quick (or as quick as possible me being me LOL)

It’s Friday and that means a new Dare, a new amazing challenge to our creativity and lots of fun to be had! I’m sure you will LOVE Allison’s Dare this week….we all dream, asleep and awake…so come join us for the chance to win up to $40 in coupons for our amazing sponsors!!! This week sponsor is none other than Karah Fredricks, mamma hen for us Darers and super, amazingly talented designer at The Lilypad!!!! Come to our home and join us in this super fun Dare, here is where to read all about it: The Digi Dares#330

Here is my page, followed by the {readable version} journaling, I promise I will be back as soon as possible!

Dare#330: Dream a Little Dream

Allison Pennington: Hello Day Dream; YaYeah: Over the Moon Elements & former Christine H Horsinger(now Yah Yeah): Get Creative with Fiddlette.Michelle Godin: Moody Blues & Look Up (Art Journal Mini), Amy Martin: Funky Painted Flowers; Jackie Larsen Launch Pads Vol #8; Enkay Designs: Doodle It Summer Elements; Studio Mix#40 Life is a Journey, Re Kneipp: Hey Summer: Elements, Jazzmin Designs: Cozy Afternoon & Cali: Vintage Mania. Font: Soul Handwritting

Journaling reads:

Growing up with an Arabic, very superstitious as well as a good God person, mother like mine wasn’t easy, & as much as I tried to avoid the influence, I had a time, during my late teens, when I would keep a notebook by my pillow so that I could write down my dream as soon as I woke up, then would go to the end of the world to descipher it until I was happy with what the premonition was, I did grow out of it (thank God!) and I have it more than clear that my dreams are most of the time, a product of the unconcious desires or worries, and more often than not I wake up wishing I could go back to the dream as I was having such a great time! I have had, though, many dreams in which nothing made sense, all mixed up times & people of my life, people in different hemisphere who had never met each other would be fraternising happily in my dream, but there is one constant, especially lately, the dreaming of traveling. I go places in my dreams I have never been before, and here again some weird things happen, especially in one , not so log ago in which I was on my way to the USA, but had spent a lot of money on my Dad’s American Express card (he made me a second card the first time I came to Europe but I never used it…) In this dream, which I have now just a vague recollection as it was weird but these days I don’t write them down… I know I was anxious, but pushing to solve the problem… anyway, the point here is,I think most of the dreams I had in my life, at least the ones I can remember, have no other meaning than living situations I wish I was or could, like when I was a kid and couldn’t walk (I only walked aged 5) until my 12 years of age I dreamed constantly of being a prima ballerina, and my most recurrent dream after I was 12 & my parent’s took me to see Hair, was of me on stage with the whole tribe (the cast)  This actually became true, so I reckon some of my dreams were decisive in more ways than one for big time things in my life: my career, my marriage, in general things that I dreamed that gave me a vision of something, the feeling of joy or sadness towards a certain situation or person which will determine my actions later. I have read many books that are, allegedly, truthful interpretations of dreams, but I have to confess none really fitted my experiences, but know that some of my dreams have given me happiness, both in the actual time of dreaming & after so I keep an eye and try to follow some of them…a beautiful way of dreaming awake!

Until the next!!!

 

 

 

 

Digi Dares #324: Warriors of Life

Hi everyone, hope you are doing well. This week’s Dare is one that not only brought back events so important in my life, but also made my heart grow even fonder of all the Darers…not only are they absolutely awesomely talented in the visual arts, but also each & everyone of them is a warrior of life in different ways, I admire these women for their artistic skills and now, getting to know a bit more of some big time events on their lives, I am even more honoured to work alongside all of them. But I think is better if you check this out yourself: HERE is the Dare#324 , would love it if you also come & share with us a response to Cynthia A’s Dare. Here is my page:

Dare#324 My Cloud’s Silver Lining.

Paula Kesselring Designs: Paper Pack#3 {CU or PU}, Over the Rainbow: iNDSD Freebie Alpha, Typewriter Keys Alpha#1 & Splish Splats#1. Allison Pennington: Hello Day Dream & Follow Me. Little Butterfly Wings:That’s Life iNSDS Freebie, Twenty Four Seven & I Kraft You Kraft, collab with Studio Basic Designs. Journaling Font is Homemade Apple.

My journaling: my life has been, from the very beginning, a sequence of  battles. Nothing I have ever done  or have came easy. I was born with a double  hip dislocation in time when the success rate was almost nil, almost 60 years ago hip replacements were  sci-fi. I didn’t walk until aged 5, had 9 operations until age 8, and had a very sheltered life until aged 13, when all that impossibility of  movement made me go into my ability for the arts so in full, that you may say it was thanks to not having the use of my legs that I ended up with a wonderful carrier as a performer… Every little thing was very much of a fight, though I have to say I had a great life & regrets are very, very few….But lets jump to mid 70s. I started having pain on my knees, bad pain, cannot move pain. Saw the doctors who told me to take some aspirin and they would give me an anti-inflammatory if things got worse, but, they said, not to worry: the pain is due to your congenital condition,& there is this amazing procedure in it’s experimental phase now, but it will be a routine thing when you reach your 40s and need more  serious help. So, of I went with my aspirin, and once in a while some diclofenac sodium.  Jump again to 1995. Pregnant with  Sarita I was working & continue to do so until 10 days before she was born. Then comes a period in which the diclofenac becomes a necessity every night or I would not be able to move in the morning. Still working long hours and started to use a walking stick. Fast forward some more and we are back in Britain after a few years in Brazil, I m alone with  Sarita and now my mobility gets lessening by the minute. I’m put on the list and get a date for a hip replacement. This procedure, they assure me, will give me  the hips of an 18 years old and  I will be able to do everything, main being going back to full time work. Things don’t go according to plan though, and the 7 days I was told I was to spend in hospital turned into 40, having 3 more operations trying to fix the initial error, failing even more. My right leg was now 3 & half cm longer which meant bye bye cowboy boots or stilettos, & crutches which would bring other problems with time. My life went from being a high paid professional to  the humiliating benefits well fare, so called friends disappearing without much of a word, a lot  more hardship to come… The silver lining? My mum had come for 3 months which was the estimate recovery time, but she ended up staying for almost a year & returning in 2005 for what would be the last time I would let them operate on me, so this was an opportunity for  Sarita to spend time with her grandma like never before, as though we would spend long time  in South America, this was grandma taking her to school, ballet & trips, cooking together & so much more, & for me to not have gone completely crazy, as none will take as much as your own mum… There are many other things, little things, like getting amazing prices to the West End theatre , or not so little things like finding digital  scrapbooking & with it some of my most loved people in this world… but my mum being here was one huge silver ray, the sealing of the sense of family I had started early in Sarita’s life, & one that would continue to this day.

 Come read all the Dare’s Flair , scrap a page, post a link to your page in the comments section for the opportunity to win up to $40 in coupons from our wonderful sponsors. Don’t forget that, if you participate in 2 Dares from #321 to #324, you will get the super gorgeous Mega Freebie Make Over, The Digi Dares DigiVersary kit! If you just came across the Dares this week and only have this #324 to participate, don’t worry, go back in to any of the qualifying Dares, #321, #322 or #323, make a page, give us a link and you qualify. You wont compete for the weekly prize of the past Dares, but you will get the Make Over kit Free 🙂 here is a preview:

Make Over The Digi Dares Free DigiVesrasry kit

Looking forward to seeing your pages 🙂 Until the next then!

Impossible Dreams {and a peek into the FREEBIE Dares kit!}

Another Friday gone, another Dare as amazing as usual, this time on crazy dreams one thinks impossible…I have dared all my life so there is little I haven’t battled for…but there is one wish, one dream as wonderful as, say, winning millions at the lottery…and is the playing Elphaba, the green witch of Wicked, the musical that tells the story about Elphie & Glinda, the witches of Oz… here is my page:

The   Dares #323: Being Elphaba

Credits:by Karah Fredricks:Love is {Keeley} , by Paula Kesselring Designs:Spooky, Lucky  & Over the Rainbow , by Little Butterfly Wings: Date Night  & Hello Spring collab with Nerdy Scrappers , by Etc by Danyale: Glamour-Ween & by Sus Designs: Bright Happy Day. Font: My Own Topher.

I hope you will come join us in this week’s Dare.. and, remember how I mentioned this being a special month for the Dares? well, a bit late but we are celebrating the Dares DigiVersary, and for that we have teamed up, all of us at the Dares made something for this mega wonderful kit, which you will get FREE in the end of this month, with a little catch: you have to have participated in two Dares at least. Here is a preview of the Make Over mega gorgeous kit you will get:

Make Over- a Digi Dares Collaboration FREEBIE!

We have had a great Make Over and you can come know a bit more about us all too:Just CLICK HERE  to learn more about the Darers, and CLICK HERE for DARE #323 , you have until this Thursday evening to complete, post and link us up at the Dares to have the chance to win up to $40 in coupons for our sponsors, which this month happen to be the Dare’s Designers!!!! So, come share with us your impossible dreams, looking forward to see the pages!!!

Until next time!!!

The Digi Dares #322 – All About Mum…& a FREEBIE!!!!!!

I LOOOOOVE FRidays!!!!!!!! Don’t you? Always loved the start of the weekend, be that for partying (in a different era of my life) or for the relaxing, stop thinking and enjoy feel of the weekend…and now, with the added magic of the Dares!!!!! We are celebrating our 6th  birthday/DigiVersary, and celebrating in style. We had a make over, & we also want to make you part of the celebration, so, like I mentioned in this post, apart from the usual wins of up to $40 in coupons from our wonderful sponsors, you also have the chance to get your hands in our AMAZING Mega gorgeous (in beauty and size!!!) DigiVersary kit!!!!! To get it free, you have to participate in 2 Dares this month…read all about it (and have a look at out new look!) HERE.  There is also a little note about giving you all another week to finish last week’s Dare, as there was a mistake in our part on the dates, so, we look forward to seeing your #321 AND the #322 pages next week!!!

This week Dare is brought to you by our Amanda, super fabulous scrapper as I’m sure you know, and the theme is one we all want to scrap about: Mothers & motherly love! Come read all about it HERE , I’m sure you will LOVE scrapping this Dare!!! Here is my page:

Dare#322: The Best {number one} Mum!

In this page: Karah Fredrericks: Fancy Schmazy Borders , Allison Pennington: Follow Me  Paula Kesselring Designs: Amore Mio Ephemera , Virtue of Wisdom , All Scrunched Up  & Be My Valentine. Little Butterfly Wings: Dear Diary  & Twenty Four Seven , Studio 68: Azul Word Arts from: Studio Basic & Kaye Winiecki: Hey Girlfriend & The Digichick Boutique Collab: The Daily Details. I made the labels & the circular stitches, Font: journaling: Pea Ellie Bellie, labels: Angel Tears.

Hope you like this and are inspired enough to join us, looking forward to seeing your pages!!!!!

A New (gorgeous) Collection & a FREEBIE!!!

I have said many times, I CT for some of the best people in this industry. Each & every one of these women are so talented, each on their particular style, some of them also proven to mix together so well. Amongst these ladies are the girls that make ViVa Artistry , Vivienne & Vanessa. They created a Collection so amazing that released today, that I couldn’t stop myself and went ahead to make 3 pages. I also made an alpha, It made me laugh that a sewing/fashion related kit had no stitches on it (not that I have an obsession with stitches or anything like that…I just…love them LOL) So I made an alpha out of them, and it is FREE for you to grab, I’ll tell you how in a bit, look at these pages made with Clothier , a LOT more than a sewing kit…. Images are linked to the store:

Taylor Made with ViVa Artistry’s Clothier

The Clothier Collection  is absolutely amazing, I linked the images to the full collection but you can see all the different packs in the store…lots of saving with the collection though, and I’n sure you will love all the pieces! Here is another page:

Not Born for Sewing with ViVa Artistry’s Clothier

And the last one for now, a page I made for one of the challenges at Scrapbookgraphics . These page has items from At First Sight , Fantoccini , Mascherari , L’Ete  & also a marvellous Studio Collective the girls made recently: Studio Mix#43- Free Spirit. 

Keeping Up the Colors with Clothier Collection& other kits by ViVa Artistry (see above)

And, as I told you, I have a FREEBIE alpha for you. I made the alpha in the first 2 LOs, and you can collect it at the ViVa’s blog , where you can also read a bit more about Yours Truly….Click on the image to get to the ViVa Artistry’s blog , look at the marvels the girls have there and download the freebie alpha!!!

Clothier Collection Freebie Alpha by MrsPeel

Hope you like it!!! there are also some of the girls fav LOs made by little me 🙂 I was pleased to see some of my favs are theirs too… 🙂 Remember there is still a day to make a page for The Digi Dares  so you can collect your FREEBIE DigiVersary kit! Read more about this in my previous post HERE .  Hope to see your pages tomorrow then!

The Digi Dares is 6 and we are giving you an amazing present! [mega FREEBIE alert!]

I’m sure you all noticed our absence for the last couple of weeks. Well, amongst other things, we were getting a make over to be all pretty and have a fresh start!!!! The Dares are 6 years old and we want to share our DigiVersary with you!!!! Yes, we have an AMAZING mega FREEBIE KIT for you all, yes, yes, this is apart from your chance, as usual, to win up to $40 in coupons from our marvellous sponsors! There is a tiny little catch to the Freebie though…… you can click on the image or carry on reading….

Dare#321 Celebration!!!

Allison Pennington collab with Jen Barrette: Social Butterfly , candles from Allison’s part of an old MSA collab: Celebrate, Paula Kesselring Designs: Ribbon Rainbow & Over the Rainbow , Karah Fredricks: Scribble Scrabble Funky Swirls . I also used part of the gorgeous DigiVersary FREEBIE kit by the Dares’ Family. Fonts: CentSchbookBT, My Own Topher & Pea Courtney (Fonts for Peas).

So, I guess you want to know how to get the freebie, right? Well, is very simple and so much fun!!! just join us on at least two Dares this month and you will get the DigiVersary kit for FREE! This month, our very own Dare’s designers will be sponsoring, come read all about it at this week’s Dare HERE , lets get the party started!!!!!!

Other news are the most amazing kits released for iNDSD… did you shop much? I have to admit, I gave in on my temptations and got a few gorgeous kits…I really need to go back to scrapping chronologically so I get to use all the stuff I buy LOL, but let me show you the pages I made with my scrapping CT families’s new releases:

From Etc by Danyale, the absolutely gorgeous Military Collection had me wanting to have something to do with the military, but, as usual with Danyale, the kit is so versatile, the pages my team sisters have made are wOw pages, you can have a look at them HERE , and I’m posting as usual all kits linked for you to get there in another window 🙂

2013:Discovering my Roots with Etc by Danyale’s The Military Collection

Also in this page and by Danyale are High School Rulz , Morning Coffee  & also by Danyale on collab with ViVa Artistry: On My Desk. Font is Jane Austen.

From my super dear Paula Kesselring , there are some mind blowing re- releases you may want to go get if you didn’t at the time, but also she has made so many absolutely fabulous NEW releases for the past few weeks, you may want to go have a look at the whole store. Paula has two choices with her Personal STORE HERE  or the OSCRAPS HERE  or clicking the image. She has the Over The Rainbow  new release that is a fav so far, and here is a page I made with the latest packs and a couple of items I bought from Crowabout StudioB  @ Deviant Scrap :

2013: Don’t Let it Explode –

by Paula Kesselring Designs: Paper Collection#3{PU or CU} , Paper Pack#3 {PU or CU}, Painted Art Journal Papers & Transparencies#1{PU or CU} , Flair Box#2 , Typewriter Keys Alpha#1 , Over The Rainbow Collection: Brushes#1 , Brushes#2 &  Brushes#3 & 2 of her freebies (newsletter & Facebook). Crowabout StudioB: JustGo With It, mini printables & digital . You can read the journaling of this HERE , if interested 🙂

The ViVa Artistry girls have also been very busy with their fabulous talent in every pixel, I reckon I will have to make a post especially dedicated to these super talented girls, I have been enjoying hugely the small changes in my scrapping through their kits…let me show you a couple of pages with the latest releases, I’m linking the image to the store so you can have a good look at all the new kits…well worth spending time there!

2013: Under Control with ViVa Artistry’s kits:

This was a iNDSD Grab Bag , you can buy the pieces: Fantoccini  , Note It Brushes , In Control Word Art , & In A Hurry Alphas . There are many other kits/collections like the fabulous At First Sight  which is a rendition to motherhood in the best possible way and more, and I HAVE to show you this page…is a book cover for one of my printings:

Motherhood: My handwritten diary cover, At First Sight kit & Word Art by ViVa Artistry

I could be here all day showing of as I am so very proud of my teams but life awaits…so I have to show you the last but never ever least last release by another lady growing on her store full of beauties that never fail to get me back to the most beautiful, happy moments of my marriage/motherhood with her kits. Sus Designs  is now exclusively at Scrap Takeout , a really, really nice bunch of people whom I (promise!) need to give a bit more of my [already inexistent LOL] time. One of Sus last releases is an amazing mega kit: ZOOper Day  is one gorgeous and packed full of beauties kit, the animals are so cute I (as usual) wanted to stick them all in one page….but resisted the temptation…and here we are, a page about one of the most beautiful, happiest days of Sarita’s childhood, which I remember well to this day!

1998: Buenos Aires’ Zoo, ZOOper Day by Sus Designs @ Scrap Takeout

The image is linked to the Bundle, but don’t forget to check the rest of her store, she also has an amazing  Mother’s Day Grab Bag , and much more I’m sure you will be delighted.

And with this I will go to get on with trying to be less ill and happier…don’t forget to come by the Digi Dares  to see our fabulous new look and get in the wagon for our celebration! Have a great weekend!!!

It’s a Mum’s [or Mom’s] World! [and it ain’t easy!]

I had 24 different jobs in my life. None of them was even nearer as difficult, complicated and exhausting as being the mother to a teenager. I have to admit I am quiet lucky she didn’t decide she wanted to do the -teenage rebellion for nothing- thing until almost her 17th birthday a few months ago, but when she did, oh boy …she did. Full on. I have been suffering this and is the worse job ever… and you can’t give up. You can’t resign, not when you have the concept of motherhood I have… 

Teenage Mantra- click image for credits-

Today I started my morning with an absolutely amazing blog post from one of my most favourite writers, Patricia Volonakis Davis ,which you will need to read in order to understand my rumblings here. So, take 5 minutes to read The Little Pink Pill and come back if you wish.

I had mastered the art of  *No Thing*… most of my life was a constant battle because I was one of those saying it, no matter what. I have to say, at this very moment in time, I’m faced with the stress & all complicated feelings that come by educating a 17 years old (whom, of course, thinks she has it all figured out & I’m being -ridulous/silly/a pain in the butt/insert appropriate word here-). I am fully conscious of the fact that some of the extreme difficulty now comes from the inability to do the *No Thing* when she was little, be that because I didn’t want her to hurt, I didn’t think it would hurt or I just didn’t want to hurt myself….

As a matter of fact I have been about to write to Patricia on this issue, and I had to confess I remembered some thoughts I had when I first saw her counsel posts (as in people writing to her for advice, the agony aunt kinda thing) that feeling of “oh I don’t think I would do that” but for one of the very first times in my life, I was lost in a crossroads not knowing which direction to walk to… and faced with the realisation of a hard truth of one of those roads would be evicting your child from your physical life…me, who have spent 20 years criticising the British for doing so…

So back to Patricia and her [as usual] wise words…. do not think it is ever too late to start doing the *No Thing* though,teenage of course, the earlier the start, the better the results. I’m not going to tell you the teenage thing got sorted by the *No Thing* completely, but we are in a better phase now, even though I have to force myself to do the *No Thing* -and all the actions that come attached to it- again & again. Once again too I find myself being grateful to this amazing, wonderful, awesome (love that so North American word!!!! LOL) woman who writes wisely, funny, selfless pieces and whom I have the joy & pride of calling my FRIEND. If you haven’t yet read her blog posts, her books, well, you should. Find her HERE and delight yourself whilst making a new friend, none of my friends who have gotten her books as presents from us has regretted it, neither will you.

Back to my teenage -iknowitall- daughter, I have one little word of caution, as I’m not very good at advice: as a mother, I have learned to trust my intuition. I am friends with my child, and this has allowed me to tune in that perception, and I’m telling you, I have been right 99.9% of the times. I did not like the girl she was hanging around with, and I was right. I allowed her to rip this girl of her life in her own terms, I had to, to have the results I thought I would see. Of course the battle does not end here. And sometimes I am so tired with all the little battles I fight every minute of the day [oh.. just every day stuff of the 21st century like financial hardship, 24/7 pain/not being acknowledge by society, etc, etc, etc] that is too easy to fall into oblivion and forget about the *No Thing*…just, don’t [forget it] I reckon is the most powerful tool for a healthy life and it works out in physics well too: negative attracting the positive. 

Here are some of my pages that this whole situation created:

Imperfect Teen Thing -click image for credits-

Should Know Better -click image for credits-

 

Once again, thanks Patricia. For reminding us all those things we have in our brain but sometimes are unable to put it into the [so very wise] words the way you do. Once again too, thank you for making us part of your life. And with that I go before I walk into the cheesey style my friends usually laugh about. Oh well.. LOL. Until the next!!!!!