1*30 Fantastic Friday!!

Good day praisers!!! It's finally Friday. Valeri and I apologize for not getting a post made on Thursday. She wasn't feeling well and asked me to post, but I didn't read my e-mail till late in the evening. So instead I thought I'd combine our featured LOs with my "digi point of view" today.

I am so happy to see some of you using the Layout Lovin' forum. It's so fun to see so many different pages. I totally loved Valeri's post about posting links from your faves folder. We are definitely going to have to do that more often. Okay onto the featured LOs.

This first one is by my good friend Jules called Brothers by Chance.

Her boys are so sweet, I love that quote too.

This next one is by Jessica called sleepy:

Isn't he so sweet?

Now the other part of my post today is the "digi point of view". Well today I am doing a mini spotlight on a kit by Randi Oh Designs. Randi will be one of our spotlight designers in the next few months, well she was so excited that she offered a kit to both Valeri and I to use. Here is our finished product and the kit she gave us -- thanks again Randi!!! This was such a fun kit to use and it is packed full of awesome elements too.

Garden Delights




Remember ladies, keep linking up those LOs for a chance to win the gift card from Dielle's store.

Wacky Wednesday With ValeriGail... 1/28/09

So... How frozen are you today? ;)

As I sit here typing up this post, I can hear the sleet hitting against my windows. I am hoping to not wake up to scenes like Christy posted yesterday!

So, with it being so very very very very very cold right now (I know there are places even colder than me, but darn it I can be a wimp right now if i wanna!) , I am going to feature Bright warm pages today.

Lets see what I can find!

First up is Christy's Week two for the 365 project


Love the bright colors she used on this layout. They totally bring out something in every picture. From matching the buttons, to the color of the bowling shoes (how do you match pants to those shoes?? LOL), to the blue of the sky behind her son. Its all Perfectly coordinated to highlight everything! Love it!! And I have to agree, that is one smart dog!!

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Next up is a layout I came across at DST..

At our Beach
By HeatherB

Isn't this just too cool?!? I love how she has added in the sand to play on the imagination of the day. Very nice! The colors are just wonderful. Bright, cheerful, warm.. Everything a day in the sun is!! I just absolutely love the imagination that went into this layout. Please everyone, stop by her page and leave her some Genuine Love for this great layout!

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Now, I have got to show you one of my favorite layouts of all time. This is by Dielle, our Spotlighted Designer of the week. Both Dielle and I have twins and hang out at a message board called "Twinstuff"... it was there that I was first introduced to scrapping by other twin mommies, and saw this layout by Dielle...

Poor Bob
By Dielle

It is scrapped using her "Afternoon in my Garden" kit.
Now, isn't this just halarious??? Poor Bob!! At least he's a safety guy, right? So he should know how to get out of this with out too much trouble? HAHA I can't help but crack up everytime I look at it!! And yes, my kids would so do this too! ;). I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE her shadowing on the iron fence, absolutely Gorgeous work! I wish I could shadow like that!

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Before I go, I would like to challenge you all again... Or ask a favor of you all, depends on how you want to look at it. I would love it if you could dip into your favorite file, at any of your scrapbook Galleries, and pull out your all time favorite layout, that someone else has scrapped. Then link it up here (either in the comments section or in the Layout lovin' section). Share with us the layout that inspires you the most, or makes you laugh the most, or makes you think the most or just makes you smile.... It does not have to be a new layout either, it can be something that you've had stashed away in there for sometime. It just needs to be a layout that you love! And hopefully tomorrow, I can feature some of them, or even ALL of them here at the blog. What do you think? Sound like fun? I hope so!! I would so love to see what inspires all of you!

And with that I will let you all go. Stay warm everyone!

Live, Love, Laugh...... And Scrap often!

~Valeri~

1*27 Tuesdays with Christy

Hello all, sorry I haven't posted sooner. We've had a major ice storm come through, so this is what my house looks like: Ice Storm pics.

It's been rather nerve wracking all day to say the least, but I am here now -- so let's get some layouts featured!!

This first page is by Valeri --- I love how many photos she got on here and that tree is the perfect touch. What a fun Easter page.


This next one by Tiffikat is just so sweet. I love the one of the older brother holding the younger.

And this is also by Dielle Designs called Morning in My Garden.

I'm throwing in one more for posting this late, I totally love it. I so need to get this template because that heart just rocks!!
True Love by Paula

1*26 Marvelous Monday!!

Why is it so marvelous? Because our school day got done before lunch -- that in itself is just shy of a miracle on Mondays -- LOL!!!

I thought I'd spotlight a page done using Dielle's kit: Afternoon in my Garden.

Grammy's Boy by ForgetMeNots is so sweet, I love the gate along the bottom.

This next page is by Sya, I totally love the strips of paper and the bead work on the side.


Make sure you stop by and leave each page some much deserved love. Also for every link you leave in our Layout Lovin' section will get you into the drawing for the $10 GC for Dielle's store.

1*25 Spotlight Sunday (Dielle)

Welcome to another Spotlight Sunday!! This time around we are featuring Dielle from Digital Freebies and Faith Sisters. She has graciously offered a $10 GC to her store. I asked her for a bio about herself and this is what she said:

I'm Dielle Designs, and have been designing for almost exactly 2 years. I currently have shops in DigitalFreebies.com and Faithsisters.com. I'm also a SAH, homeschooling mom of 5 gorgeous kiddos, expecting #6 in May, with my sweet husband, Fred. So I'm busy and not the most prolific designer, but it's my creative outlet and I find a lot of joy in creating designs that I also love to scrap with. I always try to scrap with my kits as I make them, to make sure they work together, are good quality, and are what *I* love. I hope everyone else loves them as much as I do.





Here is just a sampling of some of Dielle's products:


The images are clickable.

So remember, link us up to some LOs that need some love using our Layout Lovin' link, just click on the retro girls. AND.... you don't need to link your own LOs either to qualify, link as many as you want!! Have a great day!!

Digital Point of View with Valerigail 1/23/09

Hey ladies, Christy here to announce the winner of the $10 gift card to Miss Mint's store. YEAH!!!

And the winner is. . .

jlady11 (Jessica) -- please e-mail me, Christy, at AquaRubyMom [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hi everyone!

Today, instead of taking you all over the net to different digital places and happenings, I'm going to Challenge you to just one challenge.

Today, at Peppermint Creative's Forum, I came across a thread titled "Unofficial Challenge: Do it different", and was quite intrigued by it. So much that I wanted to spread the challenge, bring it here to all of you!

(I tried to get this clearer, but well... I'm apparently not all that good at screen shots! LOL)

It seems that we all have some "preferences" to our scrapping. For example, I really like scrapping to the right. When I start a layout, I always bring in my pictures and layer them out on the right side of the page, and usually up in the right corner. I also tend to start out with at least three different pictures. Then either add or subtract as I scrap the page, and strangely I also tend to move the pictures to the center. I don't think I've ever scrapped a picture on the left hand side of my page. Seriously. But I LOVE the ones I see that are scrapped with the pictures to the left. I also love to use the same colors over and over. Reds, pinks, blues, bright bright colors.... and hardly use neutrals or monotone. When I do use neutrals, It tends to be a very simple layout. Which just makes me wonder what I'm thinking when I do this? LOL I've only done one white space layout, and that was a HUGE step out of my comfort zone to do. And interestingly enough, it is one of my favorite layouts of all time. Makes me stop and think... Maybe I should step out of my comfort zones more often.

So this Challenge is to step out of your scrapping preference, and scrap your page differently. If you tend to place your pictures to the right, go to the left. If you tend to stick to corners, try the center of the page! Try out new color schemes you would never have chosen before. Add more pictures if you tend to scrap singles, or do a single picture layout if that is something you tend to shy away from. Do it ALL differently! Try something new! Mix it up, have fun, and then Share it with us!!

I'd also LOVE to hear what everyone's preferences are! What have you noticed about your scrapping style? Share it with us in the comments section or at Peppermint Creative! There are several threads over there about this... stop in and share your preference with the group. They'd love to have you there!

I'm excited about this, and can't wait to get started on my "Do it Different" layout! This could be a lot of fun, seeing what we can accomplish that's a bit out of our comfort zones. I'm pretty sure we are all going to surprise ourselves with this one!!

So, Go for it!! Challenge yourself to Do it Different!!! Then come back and link us up! I can't wait to see all the "Different" layouts!

~Valeri~

Thursday with Valerigail 1/22/09

Happy Thursday everyone!!

I've got a new strategy today. ;) I've done the begging, now I'm going to seriously tempt you!

There are only 2 more days to link up layouts for the Gift Card drawing to Miss Mint's store!! Come on everyone!!! You don't want to miss out on the chance to win this!! Her stuff is like Super Awesome!! The more you link up, the better your chance of being the winner!!! I could so go for a $10 shopping spree at PepperMint Creative. that would completely make my day!! What would I get? Oh, let me see... Probably Mr Fix it element pack and paper pack. But then there is Patchwork Princess, I've wanted that for some time now! hmmm... I've also been drooling over Skater Boy, which is like totally cool! It would make perfect layouts for my teenage son! She also has alot of great EZ elements that I would totally enjoy, because I love clipping and masking. Just to have these shapes would be awesome! She also has 6 whole pages of different alphas to chose from!!! Who can't have enough alphas???? Not me!! Come on, take a look around her store and decide if you want to give up this great chance!!! All it takes is a link. Just one, or two or ten.. LOL. LINK US UP!!! The more you link, the better your chance!

:) Enjoy your time at Peppermint Creative looking around. I'll wait for ya here!


You had fun, didn't you? Told you she has amazing stuff!!

So, on to the layouts of the day!

First up is a Gorgeous layout found at DST...

Picking flowers
by Mag Henrey

I think this is absolutely stunning! It should be framed and hanging on a wall where everyone can see it. Her blending is Gorgeous, as is her photo! Framing the picture with more flowers was the perfect touch, and I love those little clouds up in the right corner too. Everything about this layout just totally grabs my attention. Its Beautiful! Please, stop by her page and leave her some very well deserved love for this wonderful layout!

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Next up is another pic from Layout Lovin', that I thought was just adorable!!

Brothers
by Jules

I really like the clean lines of her paper strips and how she's placed her photos. The title tags are adorable, and I totally love the initial tag held on by the ribbon string. Her color choices are perfect, as is her shadowing and layering. I really like that her layout isn't all cluttered up, but holds just the right amount of balance. I have a hard time achieving that myself, so I totally admire it in others works. Oh, and Her little boys are super cute, too!! Please everyone, stop by her page and leave her some love for this great layout!

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While I was at Peppermint Creative drooling over all the great products I would buy if I could win the Gift card, I hopped into the Gallery. I saw this layout and just had to feature it today. It is so cute!!

Hungry
by Jlady11

I told you it was cute!! I got to giggling when I saw it, because every single one of my kids tried to eat their daddy's nose! :) I love the simplicity to her layout, and how she has each picture just a little tilted. The colors are perfect, drawing your eyes straight to the pictures, where they should be. I just totally love everything about this layout! Please, stop by her page, at Peppermint Creative's Gallery, and leave her some Genuine love!

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And that is it for me today... I'm gonna hop back over to Peppermint Creative and continue my dream shopping... you all should too, AFTER you link us up a layout or two... or five! ;) I can dream, right? Might as well dream big!

Live, Love, Laugh.... And Scrap often!!

~Valeri~