Life's Journey

My poor neglected blog and hobby. . . As most of you know it's been a rough couple of years for me and so many changes in my life with my Mom's illness.  I've traveled a path of pain and sorrow for the losses in my Mom and have now embraced where she is at and realize that it is all in God's hands.  I miss the Mom I had terribly and there isn't a day that goes by that I would give anything to sit down and talk to her. To hear her say I love you.  All that made my Mom the wonderful loving and caring person she was is gone.  All that is left is a shell that holds a lost person.  I've learned that the brain is so powerful and when it doesn't work as it should it takes so much away from a person.  I am not the same person I was a year ago and am painfully working to find myself.  I struggle with my creativity and I worry that it's lost.  I don't want to give up, but struggle with how I hold on.  I've neglected so many of you and for that I am sorry.  I always felt like my blog friends were my second family.  I thought about taking some time off but fear if I do that I will never come back.  I am fortunate that the design teams I am currently on are understanding of me and understand where I am  in life.  A big thanks to Leeanne and Barb for being there for me.   I realized the other day that I had created a layout for the October sketch challenge at Purple Pumpkin that I never posted on my blog.  I guess better late then never.

I am working on a couple of projects.  What use to take me a matter of hours to complete now can take days.  I am hoping to get them completed and posted this month.

Thanks to all of you that understand where I am at in life.  You never know where the path will take you or what it may hold.  One day at a time . . .

-Debbie

One That Almost Got Away - Purple Pumpkin August Sketch Challenge

I want to share a layout with you that I created for the August sketch challenge at Purple Pumpkin.  I should have posted this the beginning of the month, but better late then never.

I used some Crate Paper Acorn Avenue (another forgotten purchase), along with some UmWow Studio chipboard and some Purple Pumpkin embellishments.

There is still plenty of time to enter the Purple Pumpkin August sketch challenge.  You can check out all of the details here along with the August sketch which I designed.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Life Is A Journey, Enjoy The Ride

Happy Monday everyone! 

Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge is  Ribbon, Twine and Washi Tape.  

You have to use at least two on your layout.

I did a lot of layering with paper strips and washi tape on this layout of my grandparents.  

Love this photo. ♥

Here I've added a "round" from Purple Pumpkin that has some twine threaded through the button.

We have a fabulous sponsor for this challenge

Donna Downey Studios 

 

One lucky winner will win an online class worth $65.00

This online workshop includes direct access to the artists, all 15 projects & videos, each artists personal video tutorials, supplies lists and project photos.

Check out all of the details here and join us for a chance to win!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Dance

Good morning everyone. I have a layout to share with you today that I created for  Page Maps Sketch Conversion Challenge where you convert a 8.5 x 11 sketch to a 12 x 12 layout.  I knew when I saw the sketch that I had to work with it. I love working with a white background, but I have to admit it's hard to get a decent picture, especially since the last few days it has been cloudy and raining here.

I snagged the adorable pictures from my friend's FB page.  When I saw them I thought of the song by Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance.  I printed out the lyrics of the song and included them on my layout.

Here is the sketch we had to work with:

A closeup of the song lyrics, along with some white tickets from Purple Pumpkin
and star confetti from UmWow Studio,which I painted white and then added some glitter.

Love adding clusters to my layouts. 

A quick tip for those who want to outline shapes and a punched border.   I used a Candy Pink Zig Writer,  pen (1.22 mm tip) and placed my pieces on a scrap paper and gently guided my pen along the outer edges to create the outlined effect.  I also used this technique on the Purple Pumpkin tickets.

 Thanks for stopping by!
. . . Debbie

Supplies:
Bazzill cardstock
Bazzill Vintage Market Place Paper
Martha Stewart Flower Shower border punch
Mister Hueys Opaque White
Martha Stewart glitter
Recollections flowers
K & Company butterflies
Purple Pumpkin Embellishments
Um Wow Studio Star Confetti chipboard
Zig Memory Writer - Candy Pink

Love You Beyond Measure

I had a wonderful Mothers Day yesterday!  Hope you all did too!  

Two days in a row with a layout to share!☺  A new record for me.   Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday Challenge is Black and White + one color.  I chose red!♥

 I dug into my stash and came across the Yours Truly collection by Echo Park.  I admit that I forgot that I  had it.  I've got to start looking through my stash more.  I was shocked at the various Echo Park collections that I had purchased and forgotten about.  

Here are a few closeups with lots of Purple Pumpkin embellishments:

Purple Pumpkin red fabric button.

Purple Pumpkin red heart button

Purple Pumpkin red spotty button

I painted gesso on the polka dot paper, added some stitching and stamping.

Frosted Designs challenge is sponsored by

SpiegelMom Scraps

10 Yards of May Arts burlap string (red and Natural) 2 wooden veneers (winners choice) and 2 Washi tapes and again lucky winner, you'll get to choose that too!

Please stop by the Frosted Designs blog for inspiration by our DT and join us in the challenge.  You have until 12:00 pm (cst) Thursday, 5/23!

Happiness Is My Binky!

I am so in love with the Vintage Bliss Collection by Simple Stories!  Love the colors and designs!

I used it on my layout I created for the May Sketch Challenge at Purple Pumpkin.

Lots of Purple Pumpkin embellishments on this layout! 

Stop by the Purple Pumpkin Store here.

A cute fabric bird button and small yellow crochet doily.

A large pink crochet doily along with some flowers.

A pink plaid fabric button.

And a cute little girl flair button!

Hope you have some free time this month to join in on our sketch challenge.

I designed this month's sketch:

Enter for a chance to win $25.00 in Purple Pumpkin products.

Check out all of the details here.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

This Is My Happy Place

Gosh the weekend just flew by . . .  Saturday was beautiful, warm and sunny.  Spent lots of time out side working in the yard.  Sunday on the other hand was quite the opposite, cloudy and chilly, a perfect day to stay in doors and scrap.  I actually got 3 layouts done and here is one I'd like to share with you.

I created this layout for the Fabulous Friday Challenge at Frosted Designs:  Doilies + Sketch.

I had a wonderful sketch to work with designed by one of my fellow DT members, Brenshevia:

I titled my layout "This Is My Happy Place" as I so enjoy working in my flower gardens.  Beautiful flowers bring a smile to my face.

Here are a few close ups:

I used Crate Paper's new Maggie Holmes collection along with some flowers from my stash and lots of Purple Pumpkin embellishments!

Hope you have time to join in on the Fabulous Friday Challenge.  You have until noon, Wednesday May 9th to enter for a chance to win a great prize from our sponsor Vintage Street Market.  Check out all of the details here!

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Spring Blossoms

Good morning!  

I'm excited to share that I will be staying on for another term at Purple Pumpkin as their sketch designer.  Here is my layout for the April sketch challenge.

I live about an hour from Washington DC, known for its Cherry Blossom trees in the Spring.  This year the weather has been cold and the blossoms have not opened yet.  Thousands of people visit this time of year to see the spectacular site along the Tidal Basin.  I have to admit that I have lived in Maryland my whole life and have never been downtown to see the trees.  The picture in my layout was taken years ago by my daughter.

I got a little creative with my background and did some misting, inking and stamping.  To create the sky effect I combined some blue acrylic paint with water in a spray bottle.  Just as effective as mists, but a lot cheaper!

Love this cute cloud fabric button from Purple Pumpkin! 

I inked it a little to blend in with my blue background.

I added some sead beads to my flowers and added a touch of yellow paint.

My cluster includes a pink doily and fabric flower button from Purple Pumpkin.

I hope you will join us for the April Sketch Challenge.  Here is the sketch I created:

Check out all of the details and prizes here.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.  

It's been chilly here, but today temps are suppose to reach the 60's and tomorrow the 70's!

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

New Year, New Start, New Me

I have a lot of goals for the new year.  The year 2012 was a difficult  for me.  So much loss and heartache.  I spent last year taking care of my mom.  Most of you know that she was diagnosed with Alzheimers.  It's been heartbreaking for me to lose my mom little by little.  I miss her terribly as the part of her that use to be the caring and loving mom is gone.  I miss those moments of talking to her about my day, my children and life in general.  I've experienced emotions that I never knew I had and have struggled with depression.  I know that changes have to be made for me personally.  When I saw the January sketch challenge at Once Upon A Sketch I knew it was the perfect challenge for me:

The new year is among us. What better way to celebrate change, renewed hope and having a positive attitude than with a brand new year? A new start...a new horizon and the start of something new! A new year is full of possibilities. So in honor of the start of 2013, we would like you to create a layout and interpret the theme "The start of something new..." however you like. Whatever that sentence inspires you to scrap then go for it.

I am also entering my layout in the February Challenge black and white photo at Inkido.

 I have to mention that my son criticized the picture of me on this layout.  He questioned why I had to use a picture of me that was so serious, yet so sad.  I told him that I wanted to use a picture of how I am now,  and hopefully down the road will do another layout of myself with a cheery smiling picture.

I loved working with Nadia's sketch:

My favorite part of the layout is the bottom right hand corner.  I used a large fabric button from Purple Pumpkin which symbolizes me caring for my mom. I surrounded her picture with flowers as she loved to tend to her flowers.

The boots and umbrella symbolize the rain, which Mom always said, "I never mind a little rain, as it saves me watering".  

My title, so important to me:

Here tucked beneath the paper is a green journaling tag.  A personal and private note from daughter to mother.

A lovely cluster of flowers a reminder of the gift of gardening that my mom taught me.

Last of all I dug into my rub on stash and used lots on my layout:

I shed a few tears working on this layout. I reminded myself that I need to start taking care of me. One day at a time Debbie, one day at a time. . .

And yes I can smile . . . here is the proof:

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie

Snow Days

The January sketch challenge is up at Purple Pumpkin and here is my layout: 

Love this old picture of my mom and her brothers!  While organizing my scrapbook (still an ongoing project) I came across the Pink Paislee Snow Days collection which I had forgotten I purchased.  Love how the papers match the Purple Pumpkin embellishments!

Here I used a red corduroy fabric button which you can find here in the store:

Love this pink heart fabric button. 

Here I tucked in a white ticket, also from Purple Pumpkin. 

And a touch of red heart washi tape which you can find here.

The January sketch was designed by Crece and what a fun sketch it is!

You have until the end of the month to complete this Sketch Challenge and link it up the sidebar at Purple Pumpkin by midnight 31st of January 2013. There will be two fabulous Purple Pumpkin prize packs to give away - one winner will be chosen by the design team, and the second will be a random prize draw.

 

Can't wait to see what you create!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 . . . Debbie

Celebrate The Holiday

Good morning all!  It's cold and windy here today.  We've had our second snowfall in less then a week, both of which only gave us a few inches thankfully!  Love to look at it, but hate to drive in it!  The Christmas holiday has come and gone much too quickly.  I've still got decorations to take down but that won't happen for a few more days.  I managed to squeeze in some scrappy time yesterday to complete this layout using the December kit from Artful Delight and the Workout Sketch #82 from ScrapFIT.  I always enjoy working with the sketches Diana creates.  Here is my take on it:

 and here is Diana's sketch:

I cut the background using my Silhoutte Cameo and then punched 

the circles from the Tis The Season paper by Simple Stories. Included in the December kit is the chipboard word "holiday" by Fabscraps which I painted with some Jenny Bowlin Malted Milk paint and them stamped with the Tim Holtz Merry Christmas stamp.

Love this cluster which includes some Maya Road ruffle blossoms from the kit along with some Purple Pumpkin embellishments.  I couldn't resist adding a badge of santa's belt that I got this holiday season from shopping at JCP.

For those of you that are interested in purchasing a December scrapbook or card kit from Artful Delight, you can check out the contents here and place your order.

Thanks for stopping by!

. . . Debbie