A (digi) Place to Call Home

Some of ya'll have watched my journey thru the digital world.  I stumbled into a speed scrap with my friend Alamama (in real life Christine) over at Scrap Matters a few years ago.  I had just been uprooted from friends for over 20 years and the internet kept a fun connection with Christine.  Christine was a Creative Team Member at Scrap Matters, a sweet and friendly forum.  I played there and then played another place, and then another.  I then got a few Creative Teams myself...over the past few years, I have collected a few designers that allowed me to play with their designs

In alphabetical order:

Alexis Designs
Amy Stoffal
Amy Sumrall
Bubbles Bits
Cari Creates
Carolyn Rose Kite (for almost 2 years)
Charlie's DigiSraps (my very first)
Creative Victorian Designs (for almost 2 years)

Dani's Delusions
Dawn Inskip
Digi Designs by Denise
Digi Scrap Cafe
Doris Castle
Gabs Art
Julie. It is.
LouCee's Creation
Lyndsay Ritchie
Pressed Petals (my friend Christine)
Rosey Posey
Ruby (who gave me my first taste of altered)
Sarah Barber
Scraps of Candy (templates)
Southern Creek Designs
there were a few one kit calls (OKCs) here and there...but all in all, my EHD is full with some beautiful designs.

Last week, I resigned from the 8 I was on at the time.   I knew it was coming, but I didn't want to walk away from the digital scrapbooking world.  I have some great friends and superb mentors.  I go to a fun chat on Tuesday evenings over at Scrap Book Graphics, and sometimes after the scheduled 1 hour is over, the ladies just stay and babble about life in general.  One brought up wanting an assistant, another brought up saying she would pay 5 times the amount to have someone assistant her and help her stay organized.  My heart jumped...oh would I love to help her!!
Then Miss Behaving, my friend and pushy broad, said, Anne does it for me, ask her!!  I timidly, (now you know me, timid is not my personality, unless I am on unstable ground), said, "Tangie, I would love to help you in any way possible."  That was it...then an hour later, Tangie and I chatted...
I am now her Woman at Arms.  I help assist her in ways to make life easier for her...and organize calendars, spreadsheets and a running activity list! I love it!!  This is like a re-invention of scrapping for me, now I scrap for the pure fun, and get to play with Tangie Baxter...pretty great all around!

Spin til you puke! The fair is in town!

What an evening!  We had some extra duckets, and wanted to bless our little tax deductions....aka Eric, Gabriel, Abby and Anna.  To the County Fair!  The fair here is beautiful, grass, paths to walk on and a RODEO free with entrance fee to the fair!! I love a rodeo, and this was a bull riding rodeo!

We got arm bracelets for the kidlets, so they didn't have to figure out how to divide the tickets and spend inordinate amounts of time on the decision of which one to ride.  This proved to be a dilemma for my poor children.More on that later!

The fair is so safe, and sadly their was not the crowds (sad for the vendors, nice for us).  We arrived around 6pm, a good hour and half before the rodeo.  This was for getting the bracelets for the kids and a recon of my coveted funnel cake!

First the bumper cars! This proved to be the all time favorite of the evening! The thrill of slamming into each other was fun, 

but to slam into perfect strangers was beyond hilarious!  Gabriel was scary about his focus on catastrophe!  The girls, they just giggled through it all!

I took the girls to the bathroom and I look up and see my boys:

It is a nice leisurely ride up and you see everything in the fair...the girls looked on, thinking that looks doable. Then it came down a bit faster:

We were excited to have Dan & Peggy Jamison come over to join us for the evening.  It was Dan's birthday and he loves a rodeo.  To start the rodeo off, a man is dropped from a plane with the American flag.  Oh and "I'm proud to be an American" is rocked throughout the stands!  We live in a very, very conservative part of California, with a whole lot of farmers!  We are a proud group of Americans!  The crowd roared as the flag came into view:

I mean roared! People began to stand and the crescendo of Lee Greenwood's voice just boomed..cause their ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the U.S.Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The Star Spangle Banner was next and oh, yeah, I get a lump, how could you not, seeing the people around you proud of the flag and the country you love:

I blame The Pioneer Woman for the above picture, I just love the hats off gesture of respect, especially when it is a cowboy hat!
Then the rodeo was on...started with the peewee division, that meant 13 year old boys...I was thinking where are their mothers? I hardly looked at the rides!
Then the regular bull rides came:
A lot of this:

and a whole lot of this:

I think 3 kinda finished, but one of them got dragged off the arena, his leg got stomped on so bad...my tummy was all in knots.
There were more highlites, but I got into the screaming and eeking of them all, like the double teeter totter of 4 cowboys who had to stay on to try and win $1000!  The back of the teetertotter had red, white and blue bunting, and the cowboys would get that ol' bull to come charging and try and push themselves up and the other is trying to push him down, cause the last cowboy on the ride wins the money...I don't know what happened much, cause I hid behind my paper fan! It sounded gruesome!
Then back to the fair....the kids had come to the rodeo, and I had a hankering for my funnel cake.
btw I had a carb free day to indulge on this amazing food of nothing but sugar flour and lard! lol
We had given each child $5 to get food or drink or whatever.  They got whatever. The boys tried darts to win football jerseys, uhm no jersey and now no money.  Anna  tried to win a live frog.
We have about 5 frogs that live by our front step, and I think the carcasses of a few others have baked in containers in our backyard, so why they would do this astounds me...but hey it wasn't thier money?? aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh...yeah, mom is losing patience.....
They won't go on any rides, rides they said oh yeah, the previous years that we couldn't do them all!! The girls stood in line, and got to the front and then chickened out.  So, I explained facts, with my finger pointing and all, and amazing they decided to try some new rides:

 They liked it! Imagine that!!! 

It was hard to capture Gman and Eric...but they were having fun, poor G was exhausted from holding on, trying not to smoosh Eric.
This pic is blurry, but this is a fast ride and those are Abby's hands in the air!!

The Jamision's laughed with us, as the kids finally found fun.  Gabriel and Eric went on the Graviton, I spaced getting pics, but it is a space ship that goes in a circle and spins and spins so you are pinned from the force to the sides!  Gabriel came running out of that one..."Girls, girls, you have to go on that one, it is so cool, you are stuck to the sides!!"  It was closed for maintenance (which in carnie talk means, hosing down vomit), so they took off to the ferris wheel and a few others to work their way back to the midway.  They got back and all went on the Graviton.  Gabriel didn't look as pleased when he got off this time.
Abby had some money left, she got a pickle and did a pony ride and Anna had a few dollars so got a snow cone.  Gabriel went to bathroom in hopes of throwing up.
Midnight was rapidly approaching and we hurried to the van, the chills had hit Gabriel.  Hunger had hit the kids hard.  Eric and the girls grabbed a quick snack and Gabriel hugged the toilet and then we all went to bed...it is 9am, and the kids are still crashed...pretty good nite, don't cha think?

CU for YOU! Conversion of Creative Victorian Designs (CVD)

I have been a QP artist, CT member and become a friend to Netta of Creative Victorian Designs.  This woman is a work horse!! Work horse...she pours her heart into her kits, extracting to the perfect pixel.  She has decided to go straight CU-Commercial Use.  This change over will happen quick, but she is giving some last minute chances to purchase her fabulous designs.

In the meantime, we are retiring HUNDREDS of Personal Use products and items that we will no longer be able to carry in the store. Take advantage of 70% off savings while you have the chance. The sale ends Sept 3rd!

If you are in the store and looking for certain things like the Elite Series, take note that some items have been pulled in order to be altered and converted for use as Designer Resources. Please look for these items again at the beginning of September.
http://creativevictorian.com/boutique/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=25
Here is a schedule of the changes to follow:

Now - Sept 3rd: Massive Retirement of Over 500 products at 70% Off!
Sept 4th: Gallery will be closed. All parts of Forum, except for CVD Health Club will be closed.
Sept 4th-5th: Store will be closed for reconstruction.
Sept 6th: Grand Re-Opening Event with new look and new products!

The CASTs are OFF!!!

For those of you who have never had a cast, or been around someone on a day to day basis, let me tell you a tale.  This is not for faint of heart!  Anna is not a sit under the a/c and read a book all day kinda gal.  She is a go play as hard as she can and she SWEATS!
I want to you to remember back to that kids playing outside all day in hot sun smell.  The one that their hair is soaked and matted to their heads with sweat.  I usually just point to the shower and demand soap and water to remove the unpleasant stink.  That works for 80% of Anna's body...the 20% that is in casts (both her arms) are a breeding ground for putrid "superpower" strengthed smells.  I sat next to her in church and each movement of her arms brought wafts of an aroma that caused my nose to twitch and tummy flip in nausea! I am so not exaggerating.
I could not handle another weekend with the smells thru the house, and the enclosed van!  I called the doctor, please take this off sooner.  They agreed.  We had x-rays done on Tuesday and Thursday, the casts came off.
The nurse and the doctor are tops, we laughed and they played up the saw:

 

This instrument would cut both casts off, and supposedly not cut Anna.  The nurse began this evil laugh as they began the procedure......

Anna remained calm.  Then the doctor reared back his head in a strange and obscure way:

He mumbled and cackled and then his nurse joined him in the strange behavior:

Was Anna worried? I don't think so, she watched, wondering when these adults would get her casts off?

Okay, she was a little worried, and that darn blade gets hot!  One little ouch out of her and then the pliers:

One done, and then the next.......remember 2 casts? egads....the smell that emitted from these dual stink bombs....just try to put that out of your minds.

Abby took the camera as I washed the (insert gross disgusting word of your choice here) stuff from her arms.

We all made it out of the clinic, Anna now walking like Frankenstein, with her arms free of the casts, but her mind thinking they were still on.  We quickly exited the town and cruised to our Yuba City's Carl's Jr.  The girls enjoying cheesy fries and Anna cast free!

First fruit

We did a garden! 

We did! 

We ate a cucumber! 

First we picked it! 

Gabriel took these pics of Anna picking the first fruit!  

I feel in love with this kit! 

It is by Dawn Inskip and called Enchanted Meadows. 

It is only at Pickle Berry POP! 

A poem of the cross

I wrote a poem last week for a layout I did for Carolyn Kite.  The kit is a special one to Carolyn, as it is made in memory of the man who shared her life and laughter, Arron.  It has a silver and gold cross in it.  I am not a big wearer of the cross, but I am a believer of the power from the man who died on that cross.  This poem is done as a reminder:

It is more than something to hang on a
chain,
My Savior who died and took all my
blame
I hear the foul words and gangsta
slang
and see the large crucifix all covered with
bling
and even the sweet innocent girls whose ears it adorn
wearing this cross  for which my savior was born
too sensitive is what I am told
it only  jewelry be it silver or gold.
Yet my life was on a course of hate and
destruction,
until another told of the words  and God’s instructions.
It wasn’t their light or the jewelry they
wore
But a man who was mocked and the Gospel he bore.
He asked of my life, my views and my 
dreams
I blustered at first and was actually  quite steamed
That a stranger would get involved with a sinner like me
Then I saw, the sin in my life, the pain  and wanted to flee
The word of God is alive and it  echoed in my head
I called out on this Jesus that night in my bed.
Since then I have served Him with all of my heart
not by a cross on a chain , but  by taking the part
That Christ died for all sins, but repentance is key
Receive Him right now, and be set free.

Creative Team for a long, long time.

A few years back, I stumbled into the digital world. Grabbing freebies to put on my pages made with Power Point.  I thought for sure I would wake up one morning and all those who made the freebies would stop.  Frantically, I stayed up late at night, downloading and downloading. 
I then noticed that CTMs were working with kits and getting the kits for free! Hey now, I was on that like white on rice.
Carolyn Rose Kite was one of the first teams I was on.  For the past few years, my "boss" and friend has done a kit as a tradition  to release a kit on the anniversary of her friend and companion; Arron death each year. Designing these kits, and scrapping a layout about Arron each year, helps Carolyn get through a day that would otherwise have been very difficult to handle.
This year, Carolyn's team has a few new members, and Julie (mother bear) is one of them.  This is a very close knit team.  Our Julie lost her husband; Robert last year, and Carolyn has dedicated this kit to him.
REMEMBER

Opening a kit that has been poured from another's heart, out of pain and loss is a sacred thing to me.  I seriously started so many layouts and trashed them out of frustration.  I have not suffered the loss these precious ladies have gone through.  I believe I had every element in this kit on my canvas at one time!
Finally, the cross was all alone, and the cross is a symbol, but there is more behind this symbol.  The words began to flow and as my children ate breakfast, I wrote this poem for a layout for REMEMBER.

It is more than something to hang on a
chain,
My Savior who died and took all my
blame
I hear the foul words and gangsta
slang
and see the large crucifix all covered with
bling
and even the sweet innocent girls whose ears it adorn
wearing this cross  for which my savior was born
too sensitive is what I am told
it only  jewelry be it silver or gold.
Yet my life was on a course of hate and
destruction,
until another told of the words  and God’s instructions.
It wasn’t their light or the jewelry they
wore
But a man who was mocked and the Gospel he bore.
He asked of my life, my views and my 
dreams
I blustered at first and was actually  quite steamed
That a stranger would get involved with a sinner like me
Then I saw, the sin in my life, the pain  and wanted to flee
The word of God is alive and it  echoed in my head
I called out on this Jesus that night in my bed.
Since then I have served Him with all of my heart
not by a cross on a chain , but  by taking the part
That Christ died for all sins, but repentance is key
Receive Him right now, and be set free.

Miss Behaving Workshops - Pen Tool @ SBG!!!

I have been sucking the knowledge out of Miss Behaving's brain for a while now.  She was my mentor in wierd and obscure layouts during the "ladies of the night chat" contest.  I learned more in those wee hours of the morning, then I knew the whole time I have been scrapping.  She really is a master at getting it just right! 

As a Mother's Day present, my kids gave me her Photo Shop 101 class, and then after inundating Miss Behaving with questions, I finally begged to be her CT, I would be a one woman show! Yelling to the rooftops of Miss Behavings skills, in exchange for a life time friendship.  lol, actually the friendship came first, but I derive some satisfaction from the enable part of being a team member.  I don't know why, but I love it.  To do this for a close friend, one who knows what is written on my tattoo, that is friendship.  One day, perhaps we will meet in person and not even like each other.

But for today, Miss Behaving is my duty to enable and get the word out, that she is teaching a brand new class-using that pen tool....the funny looking one in your tools that you go, uh, I don't think so.  

 

Yeah, that one!  Now, now worries, take this class with me, you get laughter (I try and supply that) and all the knowledge from Miss Behaving.  It is at Scrap Book Graphics, and starts August 23rd! It is a good time!

Cari is having a HUGE sale!

She is a fabulous lady, and awesome designer....pop over to Sunshine Scraps!  

She has some really nice stuff!

Oh yeah I did!

I am making a mini book of our mini vacation (without kids) to Arizona for the conference.  I am enjoying the process...and my youngest daughter Anna(with 2 broken arms) took some pics of me prepping.  Dying my hair and uhm, well scrapping the dead cracked skin from my hooves, I mean feet!
I scrapped it! bha ha

I used my buddy, Julie. It is. newest kit, Nostalgia:

It really is a beautiful kit, and is 25% off right now, if you buy it quick.  Go to Plain Digital Wrapper and put it in your cart...and enjoy a lovely time scrapping.  You can also get a nifty add-on over at Julie. Itis. blog.

Now for the layout you have all been waiting for:

I survived conference!

This is the sun setting behind us, as we head East thru the Mojave Desert.
We drove all Sunday, to the curry hotel...that made my poor hubbies eyes water...but exhaustion and little blue Tylenol PM pills caused me to collapse into a deep sleep!  I awoke to hot! I mean Needles, California is HOT! The AC was pumping, but the glow of hot seeping under the drapes was just beyond hot.  Yeah, yeah a dry heat! 

After showers we headed to the Denny's off the highway for fun laughter with the cohorts in the ministry (up the road from us) Dan and Peggy.  They are veteran drivers and attenders to the conference so I relish all her advice.  The top advice in which I will forever be in debt is to bring seat cushions! 

We got to the tent and tears began to flow! I didn't take any pics that first night due to being totally overwhelmed.  Vanessa is living for God! oh how I love that girl, and then another, Jesse and precious Jada who is a woman of God, and then Isaac and Naomi (the anointed couple), it kept blowing me away, Nathan, thin and still on fire for Jesus, the Luna boys, and a new convert Jacob! I kept crying looking at them, serving God, precious souls we prayed and fasted and then prayed some more for are making good decisions! Okay, I cried alot!

then I got silly with Vanessa:

oh how I love that girl! she sent me the fun pics and more of the folks from Alamogordo! 

I keep looking at Jesse Jr, with that 18 inch neck? wow! 

I also got to meet two blog friends in the Potter's House world!  First was Kerri, and for some reason, perhaps exhaustion? I didn't take a picture, but I loved her, she is a hoot and her kids beyond awesome.  Real kids enjoying life!  

I did take a picture of what I believe is the most photographed baby in the fellowship, dear Lily Rice:

After I uploaded the pics, to show our kidlets the adventure and folks at conference, I clicked and the girls yelled, "LILY!!"  She is famous you see! The dreamiest child, who was bouncing around the tent from one arm to another!  I also got to meet my blog friend Patti, and I went back and asked dear Peggy to take a pic of us to prove we had met:

 A funny to finding her.  I have been reading her blog, since Lily was born, and I went back in time and read her previous posts.  I love that she homeschools and seems calm...I search for calmness!  Patti has a few children, uhm more than 10! To me, she was a tall willowy woman, strong and gentle.  I was looking for a woman my height.  I told Peggy, and laughter...you see, her children are not giants, but she is taller than them in the pictures...since they are 1. children and 2. her offspring!  ha ha
So although she is not tall, she is a giant to me...in faith and fortitude, and I am so glad to have met her in real life!

Get the full view!

 

It is a beautiful kit and the colors are just superb! I had a blast playing.  

You can actually pick the kit up now at Pickle Berry Pop at a 20 % discount if you hurry!

Here is the final layout, of the sky in Arizona:

 

Sneaky Peaky from Dawn!!!

 

Don't you just love the colors? I did something totally different with this kit!  I used this picture:

 

This is the view from our hotel in Prescott, Arizona!  I love the desert skies!  So......find out Thursday, how I used this awesome kit, and you can see the whole kit then too!

off to conference

 

We are off to conference! 

Pray for us, traveling mercies and for our children to be safe with Lisa while we are gone!  

PLEASE!

♥Freebie Time

I had a blast with  anew kit from Julie. It is. The kit is called Summer Sweet and I got to play!

As soon as I saw the kit, I knew I had to practice my shadows from Miss Behaving's Class over at Deviant Scraps.

This class is a video tutorial and more.  Miss Behaving grades your homework, yeah there is homework and helps you to achieve the right shadow.
This is my final for the first week using the Summersweet kit from Julie. It is.

Miss Behaving is having another class start on the 15th of July, so you can sign up now.  It is a limited amount of people, so sign up quick!
Okay, so after the shadow fun, I got to playing with the rest of the kit...and it is just so soft and wonderful...full of all kinds of fruit, but the nicest flowers too!
My girls and I were out one Saturday, and this dragonfly came flitting down and just landed on Abby's arm.  I was so excited, cause I had my camera with me! I snapped a few pics!  I love this curl of hair in Abby's face, it is always there...and it makes me smile:

I would also with Julie. It is.'s  blessing like to give you a QP made from this very same layout, without Abby and the writing of course! ha ha ha

Freebie Link
it should work now...so sorry