An Invitation To Fun!

Hello Scrapbookers!  

How are you? Do you have the seasonal doldrums and need something to spark your creativity or just to keep you awake? LOL! Will you come and join me and others in the ScrapBird forum for camaraderie, scrapbooking information, tutorials, games, and challenges? 

Free Products

We want to welcome you and encourage you to join in and receive free products just for registering in the forum!

Here is the kit you get just for registering in our ScrapBird Forum:

Just go Here:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=40248

Here is the kit you get by posting 30 times:

Go Here:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=41589

Scrapbooking Challenges

Don't know what a scrapbook challenge is? Don't be shy, as none of us knew what they were until we familiarized ourselves with the scrapbooking sites! Scrapbooking challenges are a giant array of scrapbooking projects to participate in from Brush Challenges to Progressive Scraps!  At ScrapBird each challenge is listed in the forum index and you can find all the instructions and help you need right in the thread (topic/subject) you are interested in. 

My Current ScrapBird Challenges
    
    Brush Challenge:  For my brush challenge, I will give you a free .abr (Photoshop file) or .png (other generic digital programs) brush/digital stamp and you make a layout, greeting card, desktop, or artist trading card (ATC) using my brush and my products!  You then post your finished project, in reduced pixels, in your personal ScrapBird Gallery Album and in the thread (topic/subject) you made it for. I not only give you the free brush, you also get a Loyalty Stamp for participating in the challenge: get 6 to 8 stamps a month and trade them in for free products of your choice! A real Win Win situation!

Here is the free brush/digital stamp I'm giving away this month: 

  You can use this link to go to February’s Brush Challenge:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewtopic.php?f=245&t=42357

    Desktop Challenge:  For my desktop challenge, I design and give you a desktop template (blueprint for a personal layout you use on your computer's monitor) that you use to make yourself a pretty and colorful monitor desktop! So, you get the template for free and I also give you a Loyalty Stamp for this challenge to go with your monthly collection! 

Here is February’s free desktop template:

Use this link to go to February’s Desktop Challenge: http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewtopic.php?f=240&t=42356

Not Familiar with Forums?

Don't worry about registering in the Forum or for a Gallery Album, we have all the instructions you will ever need right in the forum, in plain English! If you should have a question, speak up! We'd love to answer and talk with you either in the forum or via PM (Private Message) in our forum. Questions are always welcome because your question could lead us all into a new technique or thought pattern!

Special Forum Links

ScrapBird Forum:  http://forum.scrapbird.com

ScrapBird Gallery:  http://gallery.scrapbird.com/

Gallery and Forum Guidelines and Instructions:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewtopic.php?f=133&t=40685

Main Index of our forum: http://forum.scrapbird.com/index.php
Loyalty Club:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewforum.php?f=152

Designer’s Challenges: http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewforum.php?f=139

Country Liv’s Challenges:  http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewforum.php?f=208

Creative Team Challenges and Information:   http://forum.scrapbird.com/viewforum.php?f=160

ScrapBird Store:  http://scrapbird.com/

CLGraphics Shop in the ScrapBird Store:  http://scrapbird.com/country-livs-graphics-m-179.html

ScrapBird Birthday Bash Blog Train!

Hello ScrapBird Fans!

The 5th Birthday Blog Train is ready for you to come on board and when you finish the ride you will have a lovely kit called WildFlower! Hope you have been enjoying all the birthday festivities at ScrapBird!  You should be reaching me from Baby Cakes Scraps and when you leave here you go to Crescent Moon Designs!  Here is my contribution to the train:

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Here is the complete list in case you need it:

AADesigns: http://aadigitalart.blogspot.com.br/
Arizona Girl: http://scrapingarizonagirl.blogspot.com/
Baby Cakes Scraps: http://babycakesscraps.blogspot.com/
Country Liv's Graphics: http://countrylivs.blogspot.com/ -YOU ARE HERE!
Crescent Moon Designs: http://www.crescent-moon-designs.blogspot.com/
Kittyscrap: http://kittyscrap.blogspot.fr/
LeaUgoScrap: http://lea-ugo-scrap.over-blog.com/
Mamrotka: http://mamrotka.eu/
Mariscrap: http://mimi-mariscrap.blogspot.fr/
Tiny Dancer Posers: http://tinydancerposers.blogspot.co.uk

Come back soon!

Sunday Blog Freebie 9/15/13

Hello y'all,
That time of the week to share with you a small token of my appreciation for your support! This week I've made you a CU okay Overlay Transparency in three sizes.  I hope you enjoy using this gift and come back soon.

Just click HERE to get your gift!

The Blog Train List Awareness Blog Train goes live on the 20th so come back to grab my portion!

Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter! Each month I draw a name from my subscribers and they get to choose a free kit of their choice!

PS:
For those of you who showed an interest in the little black puppy I showcased last week, Biggie Small, he isn't doing so well and needs our prayers and support. He is just a tiny, wee bit of life and is absolutely adorable.  If you would like to learn more about little Biggie, check out his Facebook page:  RescueRappinBiggieSmall



If you'd like to donate to a critically injured little Chihuahua girl dog named Nadia, she can use every single $1! No amount is too small! GO HERE:  http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/urgent-immediate-need-for-nadia/86680
Nadia was beaten almost to death by a coward, now it is our turn to help her in any way we can.

Sunday Freebie Time!

Hello Scrappers,

How have you been? Did you have a pleasant week? Have you been riding the Digi Shop Talk Blog Train and increased your scrapping stash? I love blog trains! Before I started designing I used to hop aboard every single one I heard about and now I try and participate in every single one I hear about! If you are looking for my part of this month's DST train it is in the post just prior to this one.

Been another hot time in North Carolina this week, temps have soared higher than they have been all summer! I'm not complaining though, I am thankful that we have had a really cool summer by North Carolina standards.  I wonder if that means we will have a colder winter or warmer winter than usual? Colder, I certainly hope!

Have you heard about my Loyalty Lottery? I have already had the pleasure of giving away one of my largest kits to this month's newsletter supporter/subscriber! Sign up and confirm your email addy to be automatically entered into the monthly drawing:

School has begun for all the schools in NC now that it is the second week of September; Please Watch Your Driving! I have made you a really large piece of wordart/clipart to use on your school layouts.  I decided to make it 12 inches square so that you may use it as an album cover or a facing page or just reduce it and use it as an element. I love basic grade school colors and I think that is what makes this gift special. I hope you like it! There is a direct download link below the preview.

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Little Biggie Small passed away from a grand mal seizure in October, 2013.

I have a request: Could you please help this tiny little fellow, Biggie Small, get the funds he needs for a liver shunt? He is absolutely adorable, has been through more than any tiny little being should, and has already raised $5,000 of the $6,000 needed! Anything you can do as most of his funds have been small donations of only 1 to 2 dollars! Just go here to see him, read his story, watch a video if you'd like, and donate! This is Biggie's Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/biggie.small.56679

Gone but I will never forget him!

Thanks so much! Please look around my blog as I have loads and loads of freebies! Have a wonderful week!

I forgot to tell you that I uploaded a bunch of new things this past week to all my shops! Check them out by clicking on the 'Newest Kit Previews' tab above!

DST September 2013 Blog Train!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I have my part of the DST September Blog Train 'Country Fair' ready for you to add to your digital stash. You should have reached me from Pixel Scrapper's Blog (Marisa & Brooke). Here is my part:

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The next stop on the train is Mags Graphics's Blog. Please be sure and thank all the wonderful designers for providing all the goodies for you, we all like to feel we are appreciated! :)  If you should get lost you can always head back to the DST Blog!

If you haven't been to my blog before, take a look around as most of my freebies never expire and the ones that do expire in a year from their posting date!  Take a moment to sign up for my newsletter for news and freebies on a weekly basis.

Y'all come back now!

Sunday's Blog Post on Saturday!

Hello Scrapbooking Fans!

I am a wee bit early with this week's blog and blog gift since my usual day, Sunday, is the first and DST's Blog Train goes live at midnight Saturday.

Another week has been stored away in our memories and on our hard-drives to scrap and share when we get the chance! What were your memories like? Were they happy, exciting, or sad? We must scrap the hard times in our lives too as we don’t want our ancestors looking into our memory books and thinking we didn’t actually live our lives, that we just floated through them on happy times and pink clouds! I could scrap this week with hard brazen colors to represent my mind altering migraine or use shades of black and grey on a layout depicting my daughter’s painful eye surgery on Friday. I could use candles and shadows to represent the sadness I have felt when I discovered a newly acquired Facebook doggy friend passed away, (there were actually two) or I could use the colors of the rainbow to represent the Rainbow Bridge that our little loved ones pass over on their way to Heaven. (Please see a continuation of this thought below) I haven’t designed any kits or products that could be used for those times when the slogan ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ wouldn’t apply, so perhaps I will keep that in my mind the next time I pick up my pen tablet!

As I said above, my daughter Kimberli had eye surgery again this week and it was very, very, painful; I cried hearing the description of what went on. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers; she has surgery on the good eye next Friday.

I've spent quite a bit of time on Facebook this week and I shouldn't have.  I am an animal lover, always have been, and my heart is ripping apart with all the cruelty we humans visit on God's other creatures. I am sure She never meant for us to amuse ourselves by crass indifference or propagation of the cruelty that I have seen this past week on those simple, trusting, animals. Facebook has made it easy for us to know what is going on in our world and we must do something about the problems, not turn a blind eye to them. I live on a fixed income and cannot foster or adopt additional animals but I can do my part to share what is happening and to make small, but appreciated, donations to the causes that cross my page.  Won't you help too? There are so many pages, too many to list here! One of my favorites is The Mia Foundation but all you need do is a search on Facebook using terms like 'prevention'  'cruelty', 'pets', 'dog', 'cat', 'animals'. There are heartwarming success stories to bring tears of joy to your heart too, not just horror. Okay, I won't pester you more but please think about being a supporter of one or more of these wonderful foundations.

This week's blog gift is for autumn and consists of a background paper and a leafy border; I hope you like it!

 To download your gift just click HERE!

For those of you who aren't aware, I give my newsletter subscribers a free gift each week, and now am starting a lottery for my subscribers! Look:

Don't forget the DST Blog Train begins on Sunday so come back by!

A FEW FACEBOOK LINKS FOR ANIMALS:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiny-Tims-Blessings/499093840149546?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-newly-created-page-for-special-needs-animals/382895568404793?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

https://www.facebook.com/arfmobile?ref=stream&hc_location=stream

https://www.facebook.com/RabbiOtis?ref=stream

Anorexia & Bulimia Awareness Blog Train

Hello Y'all,

Today is release day for the Blog List Anorexia & Bulimia Awareness Blog Train!  I am very familiar with anorexia as my oldest daughter became anorexic before she reached 13 years old and it has haunted and destroyed her health to no end, she will never be cured.  I didn't know what to look for or what to do when I found out what was going on with her as there was hardly any information available at all.  Kimberli celebrated her 44th birthday on the 15th of this month and both of us will tell you that we didn't think we would see her living this long.  I believe that the anorexia was the catalyst for her Type 1 diabetes that has devastated her body and her life.  More information on anorexia is available at this link:  Anorexia Nervosa.

The title of my part is Remember . . . you are perfect just the way you are.

The pallet is beautiful and I think you are going to like all the parts and pieces you can pick up from the designers located all around the world. I enjoyed making my part and I am considering making an add-on to put in the shops at the end of September. So without further ado, here is my part:

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You are welcomed to cruise around my posts and pick up the free gifts available. I would appreciate a comment and also like to invite you to join my newsletter subscribers.

The Blog Train List:

Dea’s Design
Patty B Scraps
FB Queen JJ Creations
Kreations By Sparky
Timber Scraps
Bobo Bernie
Marniejo’s House Of Scraps
Touched By A Butterfly
Becky’s Creations
CL Graphics - You are HERE!
Shuckclod’s Stuff
Mama’s Designz
Sugarbutt Designs
Dezines2Amaze


Come back soon. The DST train will be ready on the 1st of September.

Happy Sunday Scrappers!

Hello y'all,

Sunday has popped up so quickly this week that I wasn't sure I was going to get your weekly freebie made in time! I think with getting Our Boy! finished and uploaded, my week just seemed more whirlwind than usual. This week was also my oldest daughter's birthday week and she turned 44!  We are so happy that we have been able to count on her having birthdays for the past couple of years; it was really a 'wait and see' game for too many years to count.

Are you ready for the Blog Train List Anorexia & Bulimia Awareness Blog Train?  I have my part all uploaded and just waiting on the 20th to roll around so I can post it for you; mine will go live at 12am EDST or +5 for GMT on the 20th.  I have also started working on the DST Blog Train and should have it ready in plenty of time for the scheduled September 1 departure.

This week's gift coordinates with my Our Boy! kit; I hope you have purchased one so you can add all these freebies to it for a colossal kit!  I made a sandbox for the children to play in! For the newsletter gift I did some bottle-caps that have 8 choices of deco to go on them.  If you purchase the kit you can spell out your child's name with them using any of the three alphas included!  Here is the preview for the newsletter (don't forget to sign up here or on my Facebook Fan Page):

Here is the preview for your Sunday Blog Gift:

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I have been considering a free kit give away once a month for my newsletter subscribers (I would do it for my blog but don't have access to the email addys).  I would choose a random name and post it in my newsletter and give them a week to get in touch with me.  When they do, I will give them one free product of their choice for being the winner! What do you think? Would you be willing to sign up for a chance at a free kit or bundle?

Be sure and come back soon to pick up the blog trains and also for the weekly free gifts.

Hugs,

Sunday Freebie!

Hello y'all,
How have you been this week? I have been busy with finishing my Our Boy! kit!  Woo hoo! It is finally all completed and now all I need to do is make the previews, zip it up, and put it in my shops! This one has been a lot of fun with so many ideas coming at a fast clip, the kit turned out to be rather large and I still have more elements and papers available for it. I cannot decide if I should do an add-on or not just yet, I think I will wait and see how the kit does. I have been offering Our Boy! freebies for a couple of weeks now and have decided that I will include all of them with the kit as an extra bonus :) Today's blog gift is here for you now, it and tomorrow's newsletter gift will both be included in the bonus. To get your gift today just click on the link under the preview!

Just click HERE for your gift download!

Thanks for coming by!

It's Freebie Time Y'all!

Hello scrappers, how have you been this week?  Did you ride on the Pixel Scrapper Blog Train?  Did you make any fabulous layouts? Oh, you must be waiting on school to be back in session if you live in the Northern Hemisphere! I no longer have to worry about school as my babies have been grown for a very long time but that doesn't mean I don't remember how glad they were to get back to school and me to say, 'Bye bye girls! Love you! Have a great day!

I have been working on my 'Our Boy' kit all week and am loving every minute of it.  I love designing.  I love getting the idea and then seeing it come to fruition on my PC monitor; I get so excited to share my stuff when it goes the way I want it to go.  I have been working on other things also, like the FaceBook Fan Freebie that changed on the first of August, and the blog freebie for today and the newsletter freebie for tomorrow. I have also been working on putting some commercial use items together. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term 'commercial use' or 'CU' it is just our way of saying that other designers have our permission to use our products in their work. Since the product is used to produce income the files are a little more expensive than they would be if offered for 'Personal Use' or 'PU' but they may certainly be purchased for personal use too. When I first started working with digital products, the acronyms used to drive me crazy! I remember spending a good four hours just trying to find out what a CT was (creative team or a member of the creative team) and why were folks advertising for one! I was just too proud (or didn't know any better) to ask someone in a forum. I just want you all to remember: there is no stupid, silly, or useless question when asked in earnest! If I can be of help to anyone please let me know, if I cannot answer the question, I will find someone who can :)

Now I will show you the gifts I have worked on this week.  First up is the FaceBook Fan Freebie that is available for my FaceBook fans that have 'liked' my fan page! This month's gift coordinates with my soon to be released kit 'Our Boy!' I change the gift on the first of each month, God willing and the creek don't rise!

Click on the preview to go to my fan page!

Next is the gift for tomorrow's newsletter, it also coordinates with the new 'Our Boy' kit! If you have not signed up for my newsletter please do, the sign up form is on the right top of the side bar. Do not forget to confirm your subscription when you receive the confirming email by clicking on the link provided!  If you have signed up but haven't received any newsletters, this is most likely the reason. Many of my subscriber are not getting their copy because their name and email address are sitting under the Unconfirmed column and I cannot send them a newsletter without the confirmation.

The last preview is of today's blog gift and it also coordinates with the 'Our Boy' kit! Just click on the link under the preview to download your gift.

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If you are looking for the Pixel Scrapper Blog Train freebie, it is in the post just prior to this one; just scroll down a bit!

Thanks for coming by!

Blog Freebie and a Peek!

Hello y'all!
Well, I might not be able to sleep lately but I have been able to catch up on most of the product requirements I have to do every month! Would be nice to actually sleep two hours straight through! I have your weekend blog freebie made for you but first I wanted to show you a very tiny peek at the kit I have been working on for almost two months, I am planning on its release the first week of August. What do you think?

There aren't that many little boy kits around so I hope this one fills the bill for everyone who needs one :)

Here is your weekend blog gift, a set of sports ball flairs, hope you can use them!

Just click HERE to download!

I am thinking that I might have to turn off some of my previous blog freebies pretty soon as my storage site is getting a little crowded. You might want to check the freebies from this January forward to see if there are any you missed. Most of the ones prior to January are with 4shared and MediaFire which is free and I still have room there.

Thanks for dropping by. Don't forget the Pixel Scrapper Blog Train will go live on the first of August!

Weekend Update and Freebie Time

Hello y'all!

Well it's Sunday in my part of the world and that means I have my weekly blog gift ready for you! But first, if you are looking for the Cancer Awareness Blog Train it is in the post prior to this one (just scroll down).

Did you see the coasters I made this week (in the 2nd post down)? I am planning on making cutting files of them too, so if you are interested in using them in your electric cutting machine, just hold on a little while longer :) I am diligently working on a special little boy kit and so far I am pleased with how the boys are turning out and I can hardly wait for you to see them!

I've been hanging around in FaceBook this week trying to catch up with my friends and family but I have got to mention all the hyperbole and meanness that's going on!  Give the masses a subject and you are sure to read a bunch of nonsense and bashing about! Don't care for that at all; we should support each other and be understanding about our differences.

Okay, won't keep you any longer! My gift to you this weekend is a tag cluster that I made large enough so it can be used as a journaling spot, if you prefer. I made a matching border that I am giving away in my newsletter tomorrow so be sure and sign up so you can get yours!

Here is the tag:

Just click HERE to download.

Here is the border for the newsletter:

Thanks for coming by and have a great week.

New Freebie at FaceBook!

Hey y'all!

We have now reached 350 FaceBook Fans! I made a little gift to celebrate this milestone and it is available on my FaceBook Fan Page!

Click on the preview to visit my fan page!

I have also added two new items this week to my shops.  The first is only at Berry Applicious in the Berry Pickin' Time July/August category.

 Click here to go to Berry Applicious!

The second is a commercial use element/template for coasters in all of my shops.

All my shops can be accessed through the right sidebar!

Thanks guys!

Happy Sunday!

Hello y'all,

How are you doing today? Drier than we have been I hope! It seems like it is never going to stop raining and causing the power and cable outages along with flooding and felled trees because the sodden ground cannot hold them upright! Rain is good, we all need rain and it helps cool those North Carolina temps down but enough! The fibro and arthritis are working overtime to sideline me along with the depression.

I haven't completed any new products this week, but I have been working on a special little boy kit that I hope to have completed this month or at least by the first of next month. I told you I have been depressed, well I am really getting disillusioned with designing; I have even thought about totally quitting and just reading and watching the telly for my retirement years. I have these thoughts more often lately and it makes me wonder if I am truly serious about it. 

Have you gotten tired of digital scrapping? Have you slowed down taking those family photos? Do you need a spark of imagination to get back in the groove? Tell me what you do to pull yourself out of the funks.

I have a blog gift for you today. There are four tags that can be used for journaling when you pair them with the journaling inserts. These are large enough to use as photo mats too. Hope you like this gift.  I have a similar gift for you in my newsletter this week so be sure you are signed up so that you can get the remainder of the tags. Here is the preview:

You can download this gift by clicking HERE!

Did you see the new FaceBook Fan Freebie for this month? Click on the preview to go to CLG's Fan Page to get yours! 

I will go and start on the newsletter now.  If any of you have any sparks you'd like to share with me, to get me out of the funk, I would certainly love to hear them!

Come back soon!

DST July 2013 Blog Train!

Hello People!
Welcome to my stop on the fantabulous DST Blog Train! This month's theme is Welcome to My World and I was lost on what to do other than make some cartoons of an old woman sitting in front of a PC studying the monitor! And we know that has been done to death! So I picked something that means a lot to me that has something to do with where I live: the beach! Myrtle Beach, Nags Head, Hatteras, they are all super places to go.  I would love to live in Kill Devil Hills, NC :)  

You should be reaching me from Snackpackgu's Designs blog and will be going on to  StarSong Studio's blog after you leave me; if you get lost just go back to the DST Blog: The Insider .

Here's my part, I hope you like it!

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Thanks for dropping in and come back any time and grab some of the freebies that are in the previous posts!

It's Sunday! Time for a new blog gift!

Hello y'all,

How has this week treated you? I've been busy, as usual, but also disturbed by the new development in my daughter's, Kimberli, eyes. I believe I told you that the diabetes has taken so much from her and the current monster result is she is losing her eyesight. Last Monday she had an ocular migraine and then the vision in her left eye went black. A trip to the eye doctor confirmed that the blood vessels in the retina have broken away again and the blood is obscuring her vision. Friday he injected a chemo drug used on colon cancer patients into her eyeball!  This is suppose to stop the blood flow, hopefully, but it is beyond my understanding how you can have chemicals injected into your eye and still have a chance of seeing with that eye again. The medical breakthroughs get more and more complicated and bizarre every year.

Enough about that. My store, Heartfelt Perfections is turning 3 years old this Tuesday the 25th! Leigh and Debbie have planned a really nice celebration with discounts and freebies; I have decided to put my shop on sale at 50% off! This is for one day, the 25th, and one store only.  If there are any kits or products you have been wanting, then get on over there and pick them up at this deep discount.

I almost have 300 likes on my FaceBook Fan Page! I have another Retro Summer brag book page ready to give away when it hits the mark.  Have you collected all the Retro Summer brag book pages? I have one for you today (below) and one will be in my newsletter on Monday for a total of 5 which makes a very nice mini album.  This is the one that will be on FaceBook for the milestone gift:

This one will be in the newsletter Monday:

This one is ready for you now!:

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There are 3 blog trains running through my blog this month. The Pixel Scrapper Blog Train is in the post of the 1st of June, the Berry Applicious Blog Train is in the June 14th post, and the Fibromyalgia Awareness Blog Train is in the June 20th post. Just scroll down so you can download all of these gifts today!

If you haven't signed up for my newsletter you are missing out on some nice newsletter gifts; just sign up in the right top of the sidebar!

I need some help people!!  I need someone who still paper scraps or crafts that has an electronic cutting machine to test my cutting files.  I plan on making greeting cards, alphas, boxes, bags, keepsakes, etc. but have to have them tested before putting them up for sale.  If you can help me out I will pay you with free files of everything I design for cutting! I would get my own machine except I have way too much invested in Photoshop and Wacom now! LOL! So please if you can help out or if you know someone who could please leave me a message here in the comments section or send me a message via my FaceBook page.  Thanks!

Have an awesome week!