Updates, New Kit, and a Freebie

Hey Y'all!

Well, Irene (the Hurricane) missed us almost completely; we suffered no ills from her in our part of North Carolina but, man, so many other folks weren't so lucky. Up in Virginia, my old stomping grounds have been decimated by the earth quake but especially Irene.  Some of my friends haven't had any power for days and it will be Friday before they might see any relief.  My heart and prayers go out to all the people who fell in the path of such destruction.

Around here we have been having problems of a different sort. Kim saw the nephrologist again yesterday and it was confirmed that she is in stage 3 renal failure/kidney disease.  Everything about the diabetes interferes with the treatment for the kidneys so nothing is being done. They will just wait until she has to be on dialysis then on the transplant list and by then she will probably be too sick to withstand and qualify for the surgery. Rock? Hard place? Oh well, at least she has been enjoying her life for the past year.  She went to the Baptist University Hospital in Winston-Salem this morning to see her endocrinologist to have her insulin adjusted.  She no longer qualifies for the gasteoparesis study because her gastroenterologist had her have that awful surgery last February(*See below); he didn't think about the fact that it would disqualify her in the study. The docs up there are doing their best to try and keep her supplied with insulin.

My grandson, Kim's son, has started middle school and needs our prayers for freedom from teasing and bullies.  He will be 12 on October 1 but he has not grown much in 4 years; he weighs 62 pounds.  He was put on ADHD meds a couple years ago and it has stunted his growth and made him anxiety ridden which causes problems for him at school.

Enough about troubles already!  I wanted you to know that I finally finished my favorite kit! It has been a labor of love even though it was nerve racking too.  I kept going back and changing or improving some element and it was getting to be ridiculous so I had to put my pen down and bundle and box it up for sale.  I think I will probably go back and add other things to it in the future; it has so many directions it can go in!  I named it 'Good Morning, Sunshine!' because I had my grandson in my mind when he was a toddler and always woke up with a huge smile and a hug for everyone. The descriptions I entered in the Southern Comfort Scrap shop give you a little more insight into me and my childhood. Anyway, I hope you will take a look and consider purchasing some or all of it and let me know what you think.  I made a gift for you of 'stacked' papers from the kit; all you need to do is add a photo or two and some journaling and viola! you are done!  Here are the previews of my new kit and also of the freebie; choose which site you want to download from and enjoy!

The Kit

A layout I made using some of the items from my kit. Isn't he adorable?

The preview of your gift:

4 Shared Here           MediaFire Here

Hope you all have a great week!

Hugs,

*For those who aren't familiar with the facts, Kim had major reconstructive surgery on the bottom of her stomach and the top of her intestines in February in order for her food to flow into her intestines better as her stomach no longer works and all her food must be digested only in her intestines which are over 50% necrotic.  She had a feeding tube in her stomach for almost two years but it really didn't help-it made matters worse so the hole was allowed to close up last autumn.

Quake?

Yes, we did have an earthquake!  My youngest daughter lives not far from the epicenter of Mineral Virginia, the site of a 5.9 earthquake.  They are all okay, for now, and are just hoping that the phone and electrical lines stay operational.  According to Suzi, the Richmond area is acting like business as usual with no closed bridges or businesses closing, yet hundreds of miles away people are being evacuated from their buildings.  Really weird, huh? Suzi works for a bank in Richmond and they refused to let their employees evacuate the building during or after the quake!  There was also a quake in Colorado of 5.3 on the Richter scale just prior to the one near Richmond.  And now we are expecting a hurricane to sweep in and up the Eastern Seaboard.  I hope that when the news starts pouring in about the quake that there were no fatalities or major property damage. Also any prayers offered for those in the path of the oncoming hurricane will be appreciated. Think we may be living life on the edge?

Sorry I have been MIA lately; I haven't been well and a lot has been going on around here that takes my attention. Hope to get back soon.

Hugs,
Liv

Dog Days of Summer

Hello All!
It's been way too hot in North Carolina to do much of anything for the entire month of July! Temperatures have been over 100 degrees most days and the heat indexs have been unbelievable for July; August is usually the hottest month in the Southern United States. I am just wondering what August will bring this year . . . I don't know how long my air conditioner can run without overload and breakdown.
Ms. Echo, owner of Southern Comfort Scraps, has put the August Store Collab, Summer Sun, up a wee bit early this month.  It is full of fun summer elements to answer any need you might have to scrap those vacation and hot summer days of the Northern Hemisphere and last summer's photo for you of the Southern hemisphere! It is a very large kit so make room on your XHD for these goodies which are free with just a $10 purchase from the store or $5.99 outright. Check out the preview:

Click HERE to go to the collab in the store!

I am currently working on a special kit called 'Good Morning, Sunshine!' which contains some unique furnishing items to scrap your child's morning. Everything is offered in masculine and feminine versions! i will post a sneak peak soon along with a Freebie to whet your whistle.

Y'all stay cool now!

Too Hot Tuesday!

Hey Y'All,

Too hot is right!  It is 98.2 degrees in the shade here today and it truly is not helping with my sinus problems. If it's not mold from too much rain it's dust/pollen from too much heat.  At least my eyes have begun to feel better from the pressure the sinuses were causing.  I can read now, Yay!  I was suppose to go and visit a friend of mine today that I haven't seen in a few weeks (she's been at the beach and I've been sick) but it is just too hot to go out.  I have really missed her though because when she's at the beach she gets lousy cell phone reception so we lose touch.  I'm going to stay in today, do my grocery shopping tonight when it's cooler, and visit Jan on Thursday when the weatherman says it will be 'cooler.'

Kim and Joshua were down yesterday and we sat in the dining room working on our latest puzzle.  Joshua is such a sweetheart and I enjoy him so much.  They left this morning for Virginia where they will pick up Tabitha and head to Washington, D.C. tomorrow.  Joshua has been wanting to go to the Smithsonian for a while now and Kim says she is up to it, so off they go.  Kim has a Mini-Cooper so the gas prices don't really keep them at home like having a gas guzzler like mine does.

Have you gone by the store, Southern Comfort Scraps, and checked out that July collaboration I was telling you about?  You don't want to miss it because after this month each of the designers will take their contribution and put it in their respective shops at a price of around $4 each!  You can get it All for Free with a $6 purchase now or just buy it outright for $6 and you are still getting a major bargain!

Next month is 'Summer Sun' and I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at what I will be adding and a small freebie of stickers that will match the August theme.  The stickers are on one .png file so you need to lasso or select and paste into your new document.

Downloads:

4Shared HERE           or           MediaFire HERE

Oh, one more thing before I go!  Southern Comfort Scraps needs some store Creative Team members.  Nothing much is required, I think maybe two layouts a month and you get to choose the kit you want to use from some of the designers and you keep it for yourself.  Not bad for a couple hours work; let me know if you are interested by leaving a comment.  I'd like to have another CT member for myself if you are interested; you'll have access to anything in my store and only one layout a month is required.  Also the store and I are very understanding, if life gets in the way, you just have to let us know ASAP and we will get someone else to take your turn.

Y'All Stay Cool!

Freebie Quick Page!

Hey Y'all!
I forgot to tell you that I made a quick page freebie using my True Blue Add-On kit and my part of the July 2011 Collaboration freebie. Please enjoy (PU/S4H/S4O-Only)! Come and check out my other products at the Shop.  Southern Comfort Scraps

Download @ 4Shared    -OR-     Download @ MediaFire

Hugs,

My Cutie Pie Has Left The Premises!

Hey Y'all!


Well my Tabitha went home on Friday evening and it has taken me these last three days to come to terms with it.  She says she wants to come back and visit during her Christmas break but I kind of doubt she will be allowed to.  This past week, that she spent with me, was wonderful!  We laughed, talked, hugged and just enjoyed each other so much; it was the first time I have seen her in five years (she was 12 at the time).  She is a happy and loving teenager and a joy to be around.  She brought some of her graphic artwork for me to see and I am really impressed with her quick conquering of PhotoShop.

Isn't she a cutie!? She's just as beautiful on the inside too!

Here is some of her artwork:

My Tabitha

The street is a creek!

I have been trying to get over impacted sinuses and now a painful and swollen eye.  My daughter says they are probably connected.  I have been using Dr. Oz's remedy of salt water nose washes and I almost drowned myself this morning! I know too much information!  I'm a sad looking momma though and if I wasn't so vain I'd post a photo of my distorted pitiful face!


I've finished another kit; it is an add-on to the True Blue Free Collaboration that's available this month at Southern Comfort Scraps.  I previously said it was with a $5 purchase but it's with a $6 purchase because it is so Huge!  This add-on includes some great fireworks (if I do say so myself); they look great on dark backgrounds.

I certainly hope you all are enjoying your long 4th of July weekend in the States and are having a better Monday than I am throughout the world!

Sale at Southern Comfort Scraps

Hey Y'all!
Just a quick note to let you know that we are all okay and I will be back to update you on the 'Ya Ya Teenhood' visit!  We are having such a great time together.

We are having a 4th of July sale at Southern Comfort Scraps plus a new collab 'True Blue' which all starts on July 1st and runs through July 5th.  The sale is almost storewide and is 50% Off!  Check out the collab which is free if you spend $5 in the store or you can purchase this extra large kit for $5:

Have a wonderful Independence Day in the USA and great weekend for the rest of the world! I will get back to you ASAP.

Hugs,

Just when you think . . .

. . . that things are getting better, the bottom drops out of your bucket.  My mom used to tell me it is because you are not supposed to count your chickens before they hatch.  Kim’s divorce is final, Joshua has graduated with honors from elementary school, Tabitha is coming to visit, I have a shop in which to sell my designs, and most of all: Kim’s health has been really good for the past 8 months (relatively speaking).  Well that is what we thought.  She went to Wake Forest on Monday to participate in the gasteoparesis study and they had her drink too many carbs and she wound up in the hospital and went through ten hours of diarrhea, nausea, and out of whack blood sugar counts. While she was there they ran some routine tests of her blood and urine which showed some cause for alarm because her creatin level in the blood was too high, and they wanted her to see a specialist about her kidneys immediately.  It just so happened that she already had an appointment for today with a specialist because when she had to have that blood transfusion a couple of weeks ago her primary doctor didn’t like her lab results either.  Kim just called with the results of her specialist appointment.  On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the worst and dialysis is needed, Kim’s creatin levels in the blood and urine put her at a 3. She is anemic (thus the transfusion) because the kidneys are not doing their job of supplying whatever it is you need to make blood in your bone marrow.  What they are going to do for the present is put her on high blood pressure meds (she is already on low blood pressure meds) and hormone therapy to try and combat the kidney failure.  She first has to do one of those 24 hour collection cycles and get them to the lab and the specialist will take it from there and figure out what type of meds and how much she should be taking. Then we will pray even harder (if that’s possible) that things will get better or at least not get worse.

I know that I am a pessimist, always have been because every time I start to feel comfortable and maybe even happy about something, things go bad.  That’s my experience with everything from husbands and lovers, to home purchases, to missing a sale at the grocery store, to picking the wrong line at MacDonald’s, and my children’s’ health; every single time, things go bad.  I pray, I plead my case(s) to whomever is in charge, I try and be optimistic but I end up divorced, then finding and losing the love of my life, living in a house that wasn’t built correctly and causes all kinds of problems and expenses, and having my children suffer ill health to the point of it wrecking their lives and the lives of those who care about them.  And I know I am whining, but damn, does everything have to go bad for Kim?  Can she not have some peace for a little while?  She was just told this week, by her ex-husband, that he’s not going to pay for Joshua’s meds for the summer; he needs to have some spending money so he can ‘have a life.’  Enough! Do you see why I periodically feel like not living anymore?  It is just so hard to face the day sometimes and the nights are a bitch.  I have friends to talk this over with but they cannot solve the problems or even make me or Kim feel better. What’s the use?

This and That

Hello Y’All.  Well I am back from a week of non-stop drama!  

 

First, my granddaughter, Suzy, was in labor from early Monday morning until late afternoon Friday when she finally delivered my great grandson Gavin Bentlee Marlin.  We were all counting the contractions, worrying that Gavin was in distress because he had been in ‘position’ for so very long, and wondering why the doctors didn’t think Suzy should be hospitalized in case of major complications.  She went to the ER at least 3 times and they sent her home; frustration seemed to be her major problem as the contractions didn’t seem to bother her-ever! When the little fellow showed up he weighed in at 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 ¾ inches long, which is a pretty good size for such a young mother.  Both he and Suzy are doing fine, in fact she has gone back and finished her final exams and is home for the summer.  Gavin has lots of dark brown hair and right now his eyes seem to be grey (but I know they will change soon) and he has the sweetest little round head.  I thought for sure that his head would be misshapen because of the long labor but he’s perfect. 

Gavin Bentlee Marlin

Not yet 24 hours old!

While Suzy was having Gavin, I was in a dental surgery suite having a tooth removed.  It went really well and I felt that I was going to do much better than I ever did when I had out my wisdom teeth. Not!  It turns out that I was allergic or sensitive to the antibiotic I was given.  At first I thought I was having a heart attack because my jaw, chest, back, and arms went into some sort of spasm that mimicked a heart attack!  When I realized that swallowing, even my own saliva, was causing the pain and that it wasn’t my heart I was somewhat relieved but honestly the pain just wouldn’t go away since swallowing is an involuntary reaction to moisture in the mouth.  This went on for days, which seemed like weeks since I was not eating or drinking, before we checked out the side effects of the antibiotic which proved to be the culprit; I thought it was my acid reflux going into high gear and it never occurred to me that an antibiotic could cause so much pain.  For those of you who are sensitive to medication the name of the medicine is Clindamycin.

When I started feeling better I had to get right to work on my digital designs since my shop hardly has anything in it at all so I was working at least ten hours a day.  This past Thursday my grandson, Joshua, graduated from grade school!  It seems like just yesterday he was an infant and now he is going into middle school.  Be still my heart . . . I think I am going to suffer empty nest syndrome worst than my daughter will.  Joshua has got to be the sweetest, most loving, grandson anyone could ever have.  You should see him with his new nephew, he cannot leave him alone for any length of time and is constantly kissing and baby talking to him.

Here is the preview for some frames I finished late last night; I hope to have more done by tonight.  I want to finish up on the July store collaboration so I can complete a kit I began last month that is called ‘Good morning, Sunshine!’

Purchase Here!

Here is a preview of my Doodle Bug Brushes:

 

 

I hope y’all continue to have a wonderful weekend and pray for all the animals and people who have been displaced by the wild fires in the western United States and for all those folks around the world who are suffering from the warfare that seems to be popping up all over the globe.

Quick Page Freebie!

Here's the freebie I promised, a quick page I made with my OceanSide kit; personal use only.  Hope you like it!

Click HERE for 4Shared  or HERE for MediaFire

If you'd like the kit just drop by my shop at Southern Comfort Scraps.

Hugs,
Liv

PS: Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don't miss any of my freebies and new products!

Newsletters, Sales, etc!

Hey Y'All!

I am going to do a newsletter!  It won't be a naggy every day kind of newsletter (I don't like those kind), I'm just going to send one out whenever I have something new to say or show so I hope y'all will sign up to receive them (look to your right, top of blog page).

Southern Comfort Scraps has just put the June Collab Ice Cream Social in the shop.  It is brought to you by 5 of the designers; each has contributed a wide variety of papers and elements. There are 13 zips with over 230 MB of goodies. PU Only. All you need to do is spend $5 anywhere in the shop and you get it for free! Awesome! I didn't contribute anything to this one as I just signed on but I will be in on the July one.

Click on the preview and it will scroll through the previews for you.

Blogger doesn't take gif like it use to :(

I have to get started on next month's collab but I will have a quickpage freebie for you soon.  A friend of mine says she schedules her freebies the same day of each week-sounds good and if I get to going good I think that's what I will do.  I'll let you know when the freebie is available in the newsletter!
Come visit me in the shop!

New Products In My Shop!

Hello friends!  Well after more than 36 hours straight of packaging, uploading, description writing, and all the technical stuff you have to do to get your products in a shop,  I have finally finished with my first new kit!  It is called OceanSide and it includes a full kit (50 elements, 1 alpha, and 12 papers), a 12 glitter style add-on, a frame cluster and photo mask add-on, and a complete bundle of them all!  I need to get some rest now but my plan is to make a quick page or specialty cluster freebie for all my loyal fans.  Speaking of which, I need to hear from more of you about being on my CT; don't think you have to put out a lot.  Just be willing to download (for free) at least one kit or product per month, make a layout, a hybrid project, or the like, photograph them and post to a minimum of 3 forums, i.e.: DigiShopTalk, My Scrapbook Art, and one other of your choice. Here are some previews of OceanSide:

 

Thanks for checking in with me!

Just A Little Note About My Freebies

Hello my faithfuls!  I wanted you to know that I had to lock some of my freebies for the time being.  This doesn't mean that I will not be offering freebies, just that some of them are so intricate that they need to be revamped and put in my shop for sale.  Sorry if you missed any that were previously free.  From this point on, I will offer freebies that will stay free and the links will stay active.  Hope you all will stick by me and check out my shop when you get a chance. I promise to get some freebies on here as soon as I load my shop up!
Thanks for hanging in with me!

It's Open!

Hello everyone!

Well, my shop has finally opened even if there is only one product in it! The reveal of the shop:

Southern Comfort Scraps

My one and only product is some doodles and brushes.  Yes, I have been working on stuff but you would not believe how complicated and mind numbing it is to learn a whole bunch of new things at one time as in Zen Carts, ftp upload sites, preview loading, description, and attribute links. Whew!  Can't say I did a good job on putting this little product in my shop; it ended up that the shop owner (kudos to Echo) fixed my Zen Cart for me. Duh  . . . can you say dunce?

Anyway, the doodles are clean and large and can be used in many different ways; I colored one and included it in the download.  It is really simple to color them.  Jut put a layer Under the doodle (Cntrl and click on the new layer icon and a new layer goes under your current layer) and color on this layer with your brush, simple!  You can also use a clipping mask above a doodle and use color or designs (papers) for clipping and also styles work beautifully.  Another option is to use the brushes in your color of choice using the color picker and even coloring these after stamping.  You can set the brush attributes so that you can get random sizes, random amounts, and directions or even dual brush attributes; have fun and experiment!

Please drop by my shop HERE and have a look.  I am planning on having a lot of kits and elements in there soon.  Don't forget that I will need a Creative Team so if you would like to get my products free by joining me send me an email to me at: countryliv at yahoo!

Hugs and thanks for being here!

Working-Working-Working!

Big mix up! They liked me, they really liked me! LOL! I am still going to design for the shop that I thought dissed me!  Seems that my email got lost on the way with my acceptance and after 10 days a friend of mine thought she'd check in with me and Woo Hoo! I'm on my way!

Actually my trade name is already up in the shop but I have nothing for you to buy, so . . . I'm keeping it to myself until I can 'hit' you with it!  I'm so excited, that I just can't hide it . . .

I'm off to prepare some product! Just a heads up for you:  Some of my freebies will be revamped and put in my shop for sale so if you were wanting them just the way they are, grab them now because I will soon lock the links!  This doesn't mean I won't be adding freebies for you as I go, just that some of the more intricate designs will no longer be available for free.

Wish me luck guys!

Hugs,
Liv

PS:  I will soon be looking for a couple of lovely people to make up my Creative Team so keep me in mind if you are interested.  I think I will be asking for layouts made with the Summertime kit.