Cookbook Section Pages

I don't know why, but the pages I want at the beginning of each section in my cookbook has really been giving me fits. LOL I was able to come up with something finally today but we will see if I end up changing them over the next year.

Anyway, Blushbutter was able to get her part of "Deb's Kitchen" in the store now, and it's fabulous!!! She has a bunch of food items in it, which will work great...that is if I were better at scrapping lately, than I am. LOL I just wish my kitchen was half as nice as the "kitchen" the kit portrays is. I think it will be so fun playing with this kit...if I can just get my brain back in scrapping mode. It's been on vacation for a long time now, so my pages end up either being tossed together, or being the same as the last...just cause I can't think of cool changes. *sigh*


Case in point, these are my first two section pages...yep, they look the same, except for minor changes. They aren't even what I had envisioned to begin with, but that vision didn't go from my head to my computer to well. Ok, I didn't have a clear vision...just a thought that didn't fully form, or translate to my page on the computer. I have trouble like that lately it seems. To much going on, so my brain doesn't fully switch to designing a page like I'd like it to I guess.

I left the red on the right side of the beverage page, cause it's going to be right next to a Snack page, so didn't want the color changing in the crease of the book...so will just change the outside color on the section pages.

I am wondering if I should just do that little line of blue (or whatever other color they end up being) and leave the red the same throughout...or if the red should be blue (or other color) the same as the outside, once we get to the recipe pages for that section. Have I lost you? I think I did me! Ummm...hmmmm...can't think how to actually explain what I'm talking about either. Sorry! *giggle*

Have I mentioned I think my brain is on vacation lately?

Anyway, these two layouts contain papers and elements from Blushbutter & Dustybear's kits called Deb's Kitchen! They are two kits that will make a fabulous cookbook, if you are wanting to make one. I'm sure you can do way better than I am! LOL They even have a couple free mini kits to go with the big ones...and don't forget the recipe exchange we are having throughout 2011 in their Blush ~n~ Dusty Yahoo Group! :)

Hopefully I can get back to scrapping last years photos soon...I was hoping to be further along by now, but I tend to scrap a little then take a long break, then scrap a little...and that just doesn't seem to get the photos all scrapped. LOL To darn much I want to get done this month...it's so hard to believe it's already February!

Ok, gotta run, supper is in the oven, and I need to finish it. Hope nobody is buried to deep in snow! :)

Light of my life

It's my DH's birthday today, so I thought I'd share a couple LO's I did with photos of him and Peaches from December. They both light up my life.

Hubby is so gentle with me and our animals he can't help but be a shining light in our little world here on Hillbilly Hill Farm. We all love him, and hope he has a wonderful birthday!

Happy Birthday Darling....from me, our fur babies and the rest of the crazy animals here on the farm!! We hope you have a wonderful day!!! :-))

And yes I know....I'm crazy right along with our animals. ;)

Kit Credit for both LO: Love Letter by Rena Designs. I won the kit a week or so ago, and had a lot of fun playing with it! Thanks so much Rena!! :)

It's suppose to snow again today, it seems once the snow finally started hitting us, it decided it couldn't stop. Ok, it's still not as bad as last year, so I really shouldn't complain, but boy would it be nice to wake up one morning and find the white world outside had turned brown again...actually green would be better, but that's still several weeks/months away. LOL

I'd really like some above freezing temps, even if just for a few days. Oh well, guess I will just have to be happy with the fact that least it's not dumping on us (yet) like it did last year! Having several 4 inch snows is better than several 14 inch snows!! LOL

Well I better get off here, gotta try making bread again (since I didn't get around to it before now) and have a birthday cake to bake, along with a few more things to do around the house. As long as the snow isn't bad, DH is having a friend or two over for supper, so this afternoon I'll be starting some chicken noodle soup and letting it simmer on the stove for awhile, it was his choice for his birthday dinner...and is perfect for a cold snowy day. :-))

Have a wonderful weekend!

Scrapping & Knitting

With winter hitting with a vengeance this week, it seemed a good time to get some scrapping done. However, that's still easier said than done, as it seems I keep busy doing other things. LOL

I know I said I was going to just let Blurb slurp up my yearly photos and do a quick and easy book, instead of scrapping them...however that proved to be easier said than done. Reading about it, it sounded easy...actually getting in there and doing it...well not so much.

I did try it, but...it seemed like it would still take a LOT of work on my part, so figured it would just be easier (since I know what I'm doing in PS) to make a background I could live with and then drop the photos on them and add text. So that's what I've been doing...although still haven't gotten real far, but hopefully I can get 2010 photos done this winter, and get caught up with this years photos at the very least...we will see how well that goes. LOL I still have a ton of 2009 photos to do too, so need to get busy.

Anyway, these two LO's show what I came up with for my 2010 photos that haven't already been scrapped. I used all Blushbutter products, but at this moment in time I'd have to go searching for just exactly WHAT kits got used so I'm just going to link to Blushbutter's store for now. Sorry! LOL If you have a question about something in particular feel free to ask, and I can try to update the post later if need be. I've got to get busy on other things as I'm running late today. :)

I thought the butterflies were so pretty...especially when, looking out my window, there is snow on the ground and cold temps. *sigh* I'm sure looking forward to butterfly season again. :)

I also wanted to share the fact that I've finally finished my first dishrag. It's actually almost big enough for two I think, I made it to long (it's doubled over in the photo), so didn't make it square as it would be way to big for my hands to squeeze out the water. LOL I have another one started only didn't cast on so many stitches...so maybe if I have time to work on it, I can get it finished sooner than this one...although won't count on it, as I haven't been sitting down to knit much either.

I've gotten faster at knitting...but not real fast. LOL The nice thing about it is if I have just a little bit of time to knit I can sit and do a little bit, without having to try to figure out where I am in a pattern...since I'm just doing the one stitch for my simple dish cloths.

I'm just still so thrilled that I got my brain wrapped around knitting finally...after 20-30 years of trying. Yes I'm slow. *giggle* Ok, well I can't say I tried ALL those 20-30 years, but I did try several times in the last 20-30 years.

Why do I keep finding "hobbies" that I want to do, I don't have time to do the ones I've been doing for years, let alone new ones. *sigh* I seriously need help I think! *giggle*

Ok, gotta run, hope everyones week is going ok. My prayers go out to the people around Brisbane Australia, I've been hearing (and seeing) all about the flooding and do hope it goes down soon. I know a few friends who read my blog live around there or have family there. Stay Safe!

Cookbook pages

I worked on my first recipe pages over this last weekend. I had so much fun with them and since I'm wanting to put the name of the person I got the recipe from on the pages (myself if I got the idea from somewhere and changed them to fit our life) I put a little tab on them for that purpose. Since not all of the dishes will have my name on them, I put a little photo of Peaches in the background kinda as a "signature" so if I use the page in the exchange people may still know where it came from...since I'm doxie on a lot of forums. LOL

I just really love how it turned out, that pose of Peaches is perfect for the shape of the tab...it's so cute! So did any of you think my cookbook was going to be doxie free? If so it was a silly SILLY thought! *giggle*

I shouldn't share these till Blushbutter gets her kit finished and in the store...but I just love them so much I have to share them now! LOL

These are the first two pages I'm making for my cookbook, and will be this months pages for the recipe exchange on the Blush~n~Dusty Yahoo Group. Sorry, I blurred out the recipe's cause of the exchange...if you want them feel free to join us and create a couple pages to share with us...and you will get all that people make this month. :)

Kit Credit: Deb's Kitchen (both full and mini kits) by Blushbutter & Dustybear. I am in love with these kits...I think they are going to make this recipe book extra special!! :) The curly shapes I put on the papers are made with Wool Sweater Streets Die Cuts & Card stock Layer Styles. Since it was a CU shape that will be merged into the page, I can use it in the exchange.


What I'm planning so far, since I can't seem to make lots of pages lately, is to basically use this layout on all the recipe pages, changing the red paper to other papers in the kit for each section. This way I can make it easy to see where each section ends as I flip through the book once it's done.

The wider red strip will be in the binding, I wanted it wider so I could still do a spiral book if I decide to. I would love to, but am afraid they wouldn't hold up real well...but I have a year to decide. That's why I made it so it would work for either version anyway. (I don't know for sure, but I seem to remember reading if you do a spiral book, the binding area needs a little extra room in it) If any of you have done a spiral bound book before, I'd love to hear how you liked it, and how you think it will hold up!! I know mypictales has a 8x8 one...or I can do the regular 8x8 custom hardbound book....just have to make up my mind over the next several months, not sure if anyone else makes them.

Maybe if we win a small fortune I could try both versions of the book out and have an extra one! *snicker* Yeah right...I know...in my dreams.

Now I need to get busy and work on a category page...cause I want a page telling what category the next pages are going to be for...so hopefully I can get to that before time disappears and the month runs away from me. LOL I actually need to get a little ahead and do next months category page too...since I'm going to give them to everyone who participates in the exchange too...least I'm hoping to have them done so I can. :)

I was going to try to do all this last month, and as you can see I didn't get around to it, so hopefully this month doesn't end up leaving me behind again.

Better run, have several things I need to get done today...and it's already afternoon. Hope everyone is having a great week, ours has been busy so far...but still no calf! Guess we aren't to good at reading the "signs"...or she is good at tricking us. LOL

2011 Recipe Exchange

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's eve!!

I just noticed that this is my 1000th post...I think maybe I talk to much. *giggle* The first several years I had this blog, I didn't blog a lot, and it certainly wasn't to interesting (OK, I know, it's not majorly interesting now, but hey...it's better than it was believe me! *giggle*)but wow...1000 posts, who knew I had that in me. I'm usually the shy quiet one...least in real life. LOL

Ok, onward and upward...

I've not mentioned the fact that I run a digital scrapbooking challenge on the Blush ~n~ Dusty Yahoo group for several months now...mostly cause I haven't managed to do anything but manage it (no LO's from me for it). This year we are planning something different than the normal challenge we've been doing.

I've been wanting to get my favorite recipe's into book form for a while now, and in fact several years ago got some of them into a little notebook...but I never finished it, and prefer the scrapbooking pages now, cause I like the extra pretty pages I can put together this way, so have been planning on starting a book for the last several years...just never got around to it till now.

We (The owners of the group and I) wanted a change this year, in the challenge, so I suggested a recipe exchange...as I hoped that would kick start my book, since I kept putting it off. Blushbutter and Dustybear agreed, and even took my idea for a strawberry kit (which is what I wanted for my book) and ran with it! I have to say, they each came up with a wonderful kit, that will make some beautiful books, and even named it for me!!! LOL

My pages may all be laid out similar, as I want my book to look somewhat the same all the way through, with a few different colors in the different sections...and maybe some added elements here and there, but it's going to be so fun playing with the kits as the year goes by for those subtle changes on the pages. :)

Kit Credit for the cover above (which could change as the year goes by but I had a lot of fun playing with it for now anyway), is: Deb's Kitchen by Blushbutter. This kit isn't actually out yet, as Blushbutter didn't have time to finish it because of illness in her family, but since I had part of it, to work on an ad for the challenge, I got to playing with it and came up with a cover for my book and just had to share it! LOL Watch her store for the kit in the next month or two...and grab her mini while you are in the store. Dustybear has her part of the kit in the store here, and don't forget her mini in the store either!


So this year in the group, we will be having a new category of recipes to scrap every month...and doing two page 8x8 layouts (either one recipe per page or one recipe across both pages, depending on how much room we need for the recipe) and uploading them to a 4shared folder, which I will manage...and every month each person that shares a recipe, will get the other members recipe's for that month. I can't wait to try out some new recipes! :)

As an added bonus, at the end of the year, the top five contributors will be put in a poll for the group to vote on, and the winner will win a 39 page 8x8 book from Artscow, contributed by Blushbutter and Dustybear!!! How cool is that!! :-))

So if you love to do digital scrapbooking...love recipes...and want to enjoy using the kits from Blushbutter and Dustybear called Deb's Kitchen, join us on the Blush ~n~ Dusty Yahoo group and participate in this years recipe exchange! There is even a couple mini kits to go with the larger colab kits, available free to get you started!! Visit the group for more info, and remember we want tried and true recipes so we know they are yummy ones!

Lets make 2011 a great year to be In the Kitchen!!! :-))

A Blessed Day

Today was a good day. We enjoyed a good visit with a friend, and dinner was so yummy!! DH helped me get the food ready, he was totally in charge of the Yams and Stuffing and helped get things on the table so we could eat.

I was able to scrap a thankful page after all this evening. I guess the good day put me in the mood...especially when I saw the free mini kit with pretty flower clusters that Blushbutter had in her shop today. It was only free for the one day, but well worth the small price she has on it, if you missed it being free! :)

Kit Credit: Happy Thanksgiving cluster Set by Blushbutter. I just LOVE the clusters, they made it easy to make a pretty yet quick layout! :)

Since I turned 40 this year and have been a bit down from time to time lately (although NOT from turning 40...just from other things going on) I got to thinking I should make a list of 40 things I'm thankful for...because I know I have a lot to be thankful for, and it's good to be reminded of them in the harder times. Since they are hard to read on the LO, I'll list them below.

40 things I'm Thankful for:

1) God and his many blessings.
2) My wonderful hubby!
3) The fact that my DH is so gentle.
4) The fact that DH is Chivalrous .
5) The fact that DH is patient.
6) The Love DH has for me.
7) Autumn for always wanting to comfort me when I’m down.
8) Peaches for the Joy she brings.
9) The Farm God has loaned us.
10) The Cows for the milk, cream and butter they give.
11) The goats because they are so fun to watch.
12) The chickens for the eggs they give.
13) Yani for protecting our goats.
14) My Dad for his help and love.
15) My Mom for her help and love.
16) Our Nieces.
17) Our Nephews.
18) DH’s parents for raising a wonderful Son.
19) My Grandpa T. for teaching me to not worry what others think.
20) My Grandma T. for introducing me to the joy of making jelly.
21) My Grandma H. for the warm loving hugs she gave freely.
22) My Grandpa H. for his generosity with the little he had.
23) Great Grandma A. for her kindness and legacy.
24) My Uncle Orison for his big heart & all the help and love he gave us.
25) Rascal for his cute ways and being my Kitchen buddy.
26) Crystal for making me fall in love with Doxie’s.
27) Mischief for his loyalty and love.
28) Friends who are there for us.
29) Family members who are willing to be family.
30) The extra food God has given us this year.
31) My DH’s ability to “Scrounge” things.
32) My camera so I can document our life.
33) My computer so I can enjoy scrapbooking.
34) The “net” as it helps me keep in touch with friends and family.
35) Our House which is almost perfect for us.
36) The fact that I actually like making butter and cheese!
37) The enjoyment I get out of canning food for the winter.
38) Being able to make my own soap.
39) Having the money to get by.
40) My old fashioned kitchen sink.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you celebrated it! Have a great rest of the long weekend. :)

Scrapbooking

I know this post is about my scrapping plans...but I just had to share this cute photo I took this afternoon. Autumn loves to go hang her head over the patio looking for any movement of bugs or toads or anything that catches her interest, so she was doing that and Peaches stopped what she was doing and went over to see if she could see what was so "interesting" to Autumn. She finally gave up and went on but it was kinda funny and cute.

About my Scrapbooking plans...I've been thinking that I'm going to have to change the way I do things with my scrapping, since I don't get near as much time to do it as I used to...least during the summers. So I've decided, for the most part, my yearly photos will most likely just be put into books, without being scrapped so I can concentrate on other projects I've been wanting to do, which could keep me busy for years to come. LOL

I'll still scrap some of them, after all I want to try to scrap the ones of our nieces and nephews so I can put them in a book for them when they are older...and I'd rather keep up with them, than have to go back and do them in the future...well keep up as much as possible that is. LOL

Other Projects I'd like to work on...in no particular order are...

Wedding photos. I have them all in an album, but it would be really nice to have a book of scrapped photos, just because they are extra special to me.

Heritage photos. My Uncle put them in an album...but it would be nice to take them and put them into a book with other info and stories. We have SO MANY old photos thanks to my Uncle spending lots of time gathering them together for both of my Dad's parents. I have a few on my Mom's side too...and even a few from my DH's side. The Heritage books alone could take YEARS to do. LOL

Cookbook. I've been wanting to get my favorite recipes into a printed book, with at least one photo of the finished product. This project could take a while too, cause I have to remember to take a photo of the finished project...and I'm always on the lookout for recipes that I love. LOL

Stories I wrote. I wrote memories of my Uncle, shortly after he died that I would like to actually get into a printed book, as well as the story I wrote about my Grandparents life...granted they aren't fantastic literature or anything, but they tell about people I love and they are something I'd like to pass on to my niece so maybe they won't be forgotten.

Subject books. Eventually once I get a few of the above projects done or at least started, I might even do a book with just doxie's...or butterflies....or cows....or goats....or something like that in them. That's not a priority thing, but is something I might do sometime so if I want I can print them into books.

I've been thinking about this for a while now...just hadn't totally decided to do it, till just lately. I really would have liked to scrap all my yearly photos, but time runs out around here and I take to many photos to make that possible with little time. I enjoy taking photos, so can't make myself slow down on that aspect...so I'll just have to live with them in plain books, instead of on pretty pages. It's important to me, to get my photos into books with info, so they don't get lost forever...or the info doesn't get forgotten. My Uncle taught me to do that, and I've not been able to comfortably forget that lesson. LOL

I will of course, continue to scrap pages for my CT teams...even using my yearly photos if they are ones that would look good with the kit. Speaking of that...I really have to get back to using Blushbutter's & Dusty Bear's kits, thankfully they are really understanding and haven't been upset that I've been so busy...but I gotta get back to scrapping with their new kits. I can't believe how little I've managed to scrap this year, who knew I'd get busier so I couldn't as much. LOL

So, hopefully you will start seeing a few pages now and then, least once winter hits, for my "special" projects...maybe that way I can actually start getting back into scrapping. I think getting so behind on my photos was making me not even want to do to much of it, because they just aren't as fun as one of the other projects I want to do...or have done in the past. LOL I still love to scrap...just don't want to feel I'm getting behind in my scrapping, so we will try this. :)

Feta Cheese

Ohhhh I'm in trouble now!!! I introduced a new homemade cheese to our house, and DH LOVES it! *giggle*

Since the last two cheese recipes I've tried that I found on a blog from a lady that chats in one of the cow boards was so yummy, I finally got around to trying her Feta Cheese recipe this weekend. Usually Feta is made from Goats milk, but since most of our milk is Cows...that's what I used. The goats milk would probably make it tangier, but it's pretty good from cows milk to. :)

This recipe is yet another winner and before it was even finished my DH was tasting it and pronounced it the best cheese I've made yet! LOL I can't say I agree...cause I used to much salt this time around on it, but I'm sure if I manage to get the right amount the next time I will think it's wonderful too...cause under all that salt I could tell it was really good.

I'm loving having a little more raw milk now that Daisy had her baby, so I can try new cheeses, and still keep making the old favorites. This also keeps good snacks around that won't up DH's blood sugar, which is always a good thing. :) Course some of the cheese is giving me fits now and then, but I'll figure out what changed eventually...or figure out how to change to accommodate whatever changed. (you confused now? I almost am after typing that last sentence! *giggle*)

A friend told me she loves Feta on Salad with a Greek dressing, so I'll have to try that sometime (cause I really like cheese on salad too), and I read about putting it on pizza...which naturally I'll have to try too, since we are big on homemade pizza here now that we have homemade cheese. Those are the only two idea's I've come up with so far, on how to use it...other than just plain eating it, which is probably going to be the biggest way it disappears...so if anyone has some other ones let me know!!! :)

I've got to get some beets canned this week (I think) so hopefully I can get to that tomorrow...if not then Tuesday. I also have to finish the soap project I started last week by grating up one of the bricks and putting it in a fresh batch of natural colored soap...and also cutting all of them into bars. There is of course the usual things like processing milk (into butter and cheese) making meals, cleaning and anything else that comes up...so it could be another busy week!

I have GOT to get some scrapping done too, because both Dusty Bear and Blushbutter have a new girly kit out, both of which would probably work perfectly with some of our nieces photos! :) Blushbutter's just came out today I saw...I just haven't had time to do anything but take a quick look at it and drool. LOL I've got to get to my CT duties, so I can have fun with them!!! :)

Dusty Bear's kit has been out for a little while, but if you missed it you can find it here for the elements and here for the papers...and Blushbutter's new kit is here! See if you can beat me to them! *giggle*

Have a great week!! :)

Store Closing Sale!

The time has come to close the shop, so I have put a 40% off sale up from now till I close it (around) August 10th. I know I said I was planning on waiting till fall, but I just don't seem to find the time to do everything I need and/or want to do, so I decided to do it now, before I get really busy with canning season. (Least I'm hoping to have more canning this year, if our garden continues to do better like it has been.) :-))

All of my digital Scrapbooking supplies are 40% off, including my CU Stock Photos, so hurry in and take advantage of the sale, before they are gone forever!!

Celebration Sale!

I made time to go outside today to see the wild flowers that are popping up in our hay field. The little tiny ones that I've taken to calling tiny petals (since I don't know the real name LOL) are out in full force now dotting the waves of grass with some color. This year for the first time I saw some that were purplish or blueish in color, not just the usual white. I'm thinking that might be because DH sowed some new grasses and wildflowers out there earlier this spring. I've always loved seeing the white ones, but having other colors is great too.

With all the things we have to be thankful for, the beautiful spring weather that is back after a week of cool and dreary weather...the grasses growing tall enough in the hayfield to start waving in the breezes that always seem to flow across our hill...the wild flowers lifting up their faces to the sun...not to mention the fact that my 40th birthday is coming up (and yes I'm even thankful for turning 40...the alternative isn't something I'm ready for yet LOL), I thought I'd celebrate with putting everything but DH's e-books on sale in my store!!

Granted I haven't added anything to the store for the longest time, and that could mean that you all have already gotten what you want out of it, but on the off chance that you haven't, this is the perfect time to do so. Since the store is back online finally...after the mess of the last week which ended up having a new hosting company buy out my old one, or least that's the story I've gotten so far, I thought I'd test everything out by having a sale, since I'm in the mood to celebrate. LOL

So starting tomorrow my store will be on sale for 30% off through next weekend the 23rd of May. The 30% is because I'm leaving my 30's behind...but for my newsletter subscribers I'm going to be sending out a 10% off coupon that will be good ONLY on my birthday (the 19th) so on that day they will be able to get 40% off my items. 40% for the fact that I'm turning 40!! If you are a subscriber and don't receive the coupon this weekend and want it, feel free to contact me and let me know and I will resend it to you! :)

As far as keeping the store open with the new hosting company...that is still up in the air, since I don't know if things will change with them or not. Since it seems that I keep busier here on the farm, with the cows giving us milk that needs processed into cheese, yogurt and butter, and everything else I sometimes get around to doing...even if I seem to be slower than I think I should be at everything, I decided (as I mentioned in a post earlier this week on my blog) that I would be closing down this fall or early winter.

However, should it not work out with the new hosting company, I will close sooner than that, as it's not worth finding a new host, and setting up a site, just to close it again a few months down the road. I would hope to have another sale before closing, but...on the off chance that I don't have time to do so, I have to warn you, this could be the last one before I close my doors and all my things retire. Lets just hope they don't get it into their heads to change anything before the sale is over! LOL

So if you are wanting any of my kits, or needing any of the stock photos now is the time to get them, to be sure you can...least if you want them at a sale price it may be. LOL

Special Thanks to all of my customers, I've enjoyed sharing my life with you through my kits and stock photos. Even once my store is closed, I'll still share my life on my blog, with my photos and layouts, so don't be a stranger! :)


I'll shut up now and get this posted, but I just wanted to share a photo of another wildflower I took a photo of, that had some bees enjoying it. This is a new one in the field too...but kinda pretty, although I always have trouble getting the yellow to have much definition in my photos...not sure how to fix that, but it's pretty none the less, and the bee is neat...as long as it stays on the flower and doesn't come after me! *giggle* As usual there are more flower photos on flicker. :)

Have a great weekend!!

The New Kids & Store Down

I managed to get outside for a little bit today and get a couple photos of the new kids. These two photos are Rompers baby girls, they sure are adorable! :)

I didn't have time to spend to long out there, but had to go see them with my camera, since it wasn't raining. It's been rather cool and dreary lately, which doesn't make it so I want to go out with my camera much.


I don't know if it's because of the dreariness or what, but I just can't get any scrapping done this week so far. I tried this morning but nothing was coming together for me, after getting several done last week, I was sure hoping it would continue this week...but it doesn't appear like it's going to. So much for getting caught up on this years photos by my birthday. LOL

Also (if anyone is interested) it seems that my hosting company for my site is having troubles and a lot of sites are down, including mine. So if by chance you have been trying to get to it and can't...that's why. Not sure what is going on for sure, as they haven't exactly keep us up to date, but eventually it may be back up...unless somehow they lost our info, then...well....kinda doubt I'll bother redoing it, as I was kinda planning on closing it by the end of the year anyway, since I've not had time to really do much to put into it.

DH's e-books will go back on his blog, but my stuff will be retired. With cows and having milk to process into cheese and butter and other things I've gotten into, as well as just not being motivated to make kits because I'd rather catch up on getting my photos scrapped, I've decided it's not worth keeping it around past this year...probably not much past fall (if that long).

Soooo now you know...I'm pretty much back to just being a scrapper, not a designer (although I was going to do one last kit, but...it's not working for me so far, so don't know if I will or not). LOL I will however still be sharing LO's and photos on my blog, like I have been...so if you are still interested in that, stick around! :)

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Beautiful Weekend!

It was really a beautiful weekend here! Sunshine, green grass and peaceful lazy days. Gotta love it!! It was a little warm in the sun, but nice to be able to go out and enjoy our animals and the beautiful farm God has placed us on. :)

This morning I sat down and played with a kit I won a couple weeks ago from Mystique Designs. I hadn't had a chance to play before now, and just HAD to see what I could do with it. I love how these LO's turned out, and the kit has a lot more elements in it, that I haven't used yet...so hopefully I can get around to playing with the kit more later. :)

The first layout has a photo of Tractor Buddy as she was coming to see me one afternoon late last fall, when I went out to get some sunshine one weekend. She just LOVES to come get attention, and give us Love. The 2nd layout are three of our cats enjoying the sunshine with DH & I. :)

Kit Credit: Thanks for the memories by Mystique Designs. I LOVED playing with the kit, thanks for letting me Brydka! :)

Well gotta run, have some things I need to get done this week...some of them outside, and it's suppose to rain some, so need to get started. Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Remembering Summer

I applied to another one kit call a while back, and was chosen!! As I'm sure you have been able to figure out, I LOVE purple, so when I saw this kit I fell in love with it and had to go see if I could use it with any of the photos I really need to get scrapped. As soon as I saw these photos of a butterfly that I took last year, I knew they were perfect for it, and hoped I would be able to use it. I was thrilled when I got the notice that I could. :)


After I did the LO's even my DH said it was the perfect kit for the photos, and I have to say I just LOVE how the layouts turned out. I LOVE the colors in the kit and how well they matched the flower colors. I'm so thankful that I was chosen to play with it!!

Kit Credit: Romantic Purple by Lilas. Thanks so much Lilas for letting me play, it's a really beautiful kit and I had LOTS of fun with it!! :)


I even put the first one onto a wider background, (actually I did both, but chose the first one to use) so I could use it as my desktop photo for a while, on my laptop. I did change one of the lavender papers to a pale yellow to go with the butterfly, to kind of tie it all together for my desktop. I really liked one of the desktop photos that came on the computer, but I really prefer using something that I can call my own, so usually pick a layout that I really like, for my desktop. Course that means I have to add to it, so it fits, and doesn't get stretched to much, but that can be fun too.

Well I better get going, got some things I need to get done today, along with posting these layouts around, so need to get started on them. I hope everyone has a great day!

Another OKC

Here are a couple pages for another "one kit call"! I know I should really stop going to look at the call thread at dst, but when I'm wanting to get caught up on photos, I can't help but look...and apply when I see something I wouldn't mind using. I have some other things I need to do too, but I'll get back to some of my other projects soon.


The first LO is of course a photo of the puppies sleeping. I just LOVE the alpha she has in this kit, I am not good at using alphas, but sometimes I just have to...and this was one of them. The 2nd LO is our newest goats.

Kit Credit: Lots of Love by Pat.

Well I have to get busy, the day will be over before I know it, and I want to get a few other things done. I hope everyone is having a good week so far. Take Care!

Am I Blue?

Ok, no I don't guess I'm blue, but I'm sure loving the blue in this kit. I saw it on one of the designers blogs, and commented and won the kit!! Yippee!! LOL I just had to play today and grabed these photos to use in it. It's a New Year kit, but with no new year photos to scrap, I thought I'd use some of our pet photos. :)

The first LO is of Rascal. I just love these photos of him, although the one I did kinda blend in so you can't see it all (but then I'm sure you all know how much I LOVE blending LOL). The 2nd LO is a photo of two of our cats. It's a real plain LO, but as usual I guess I'm in a plain mood. :)

I love that lacy flower in the 2nd LO...the background...the stars in the first one....ok the whole kit. There is still a lot I didn't use, so I have plenty to play with when I get around to it again!!! :)

Kit Credit: Happy New Year by Rena Designs and Black Cat Designs Thanks so much for the Rak, I really enjoyed playing with the kit!!! :)

Well not much else going on, I stayed in where it as warm today, cause it's COLD outside. I don't think it got out of the single digits today, after a below 0 night. Thankfully tomorrow it is suppose to warm up into the 30's (F.)...hopefully it actually does.

Have a great week! :)

Blush ~n~ Dusty Layout Challenge - Late

Well here I am, finally getting the challenge I take care of on Blush ~n~ Dusty posted. Blushbutter has had trouble getting me the mini kit this month, because of taking care of her growing family as well as trying to deal with headaches from allergies, so I got a little behind. I pray that she starts feeling better soon!! I know it's hard to deal with headaches, whatever the cause...thankfully I don't have them as much as I did there for a while!

I think this mini is just beautiful, love the soft pinks and the adorable teddy bears and the beautiful flowers. And that REALLY cool multi frame is really neat too.

This month is all about family traditions. I'm sure most of you have a tradition, either one that has been around for years, or one you started with your own family. I'd love to hear about one of them, so come join us for the challenge on Blush ~n~ Dusty this month, and tell us about it!

My LO shows the two fruit salads I make every Thanksgiving. I LOVE fruit, yet usually only make these at thanksgiving, and it started with my grandmother making them for Thanksgiving Dinner when I was growing up. Least that's when I think it started, sad to say I never asked her if her Mom made them when she was little, so I don't know if they go back further than that. I always loved them, so I make them now for our meal, even though we don't have a big family to help eat them. I did recolor some of the pieces I used from the kit, to go with Fall and Thanksgiving better.

I then had to go ahead and use the kit as it was, with that beautiful pink, for some of my 2009 photos! I picked out some from when our nieces visited us. This first one "Pretty in Pink" is so cool with that neat frame, and I love how the pink works with her dress so well. I blended one of the pink roses she put in the kit into the background, for added interest.

The last layout shows both nieces with their Grandma and a kitty.

Kit Credit for ALL: Softness by Blushbutter

We got 3-4 inches of snow on Sunday (really our first snow of the season that stuck for longer than a few hours) and then more last night and most of the day today it's been coming down. I think we have to be getting close to a foot on the ground so far, who knows how much more we will have before it's finally over. It sure is pretty when it's coming down...although it could stop anytime. LOL We are in a Blizzard warning here now too, so once the wind picks up tonight, we could get some big drifts. It will be interesting to see what it looks like in the morning when it gets light. :)

Other than that, not much going on, the animals are all staying in their shelters as much as possible, and so are we. LOL Maybe that's why I was able to scrap several pages today...cause it's the perfect kind of day to do it. I made some yummy homemade chicken noodle soup for Supper tonight at DH's request. He thought that sounded good for a snow storm, he wanted that or chili, and so I figured I'd make the soup now and maybe the chili for the weekend. That should make him happy, getting both of them in the same week. LOL I love the chicken noodle soup myself. :)

Ok, better get going, have to post my LO's to a few galleries and groups before bed. Hope everyone is staying safe in the snow storm, if you are having one too. Have a great week!!

New Sunset/Sunrise Stock Photos

I just added 17 more sunrise and sunset photos to the stock photos in my store! Hope you enjoy them if you are in the market for that kind of a photo. :)

We also just received another deer, and since today was the last day of deer season I'm assuming that will be the last one we get this year. We will wait till tomorrow to process it, since we don't want to start it this late in the day...or evening. That means we will be busy tomorrow...and the next two days after that I'll be doing some extra cooking so I'm ready for Thanksgiving! It will be a busy week, least for the first part of it around here...and then the end of the week we will be trying to eat up all that wonderful food I just HAVE to make...since it's tradition. Course it will be nice to not have to cook all weekend! *giggle* I LOVE THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Stay safe if you are traveling this week! :)

Another one kit call's LO's.

These LO's are some I did for another one kit call I found at dst, one of those I tried for this weekend and won! Looking in the calls thread at DST is not something I spend a lot of time doing, because I just don't think about it usually, but I thought it would pass some time and who knew I'd actually win them anyway.

I happened upon a thread with a kit called Serenity and liked it, so answered the call...and got the job!! Yippee!! *giggle* It's not often anymore I get a kit (besides the ones from my ct teams of course...which I still LOVE), that isn't free...with all the farm related expenses we seem to have now with so many different animals, so I was in hog heaven having an extra kit to play with...before it even got into her store.

I got a couple LO's done with some photos we took, when we were driving around the countryside this last spring. There are a lot of elements I haven't used even, so will be able to do more with the kit, if I ever get the chance to. I just love those Lanterns in the kit, and had so much fun playing with it!! Thanks so much for letting me Rena! :)

Kit Credit: Serenity by Rena Designs You can find her blog here if you would like to keep up with her new kits. :)

In other news if you would like to read a funny farm story you should go read my DH's blog post from yesterday. I was laughing so hard I was crying when I read it...he does have a way with words. You can read it here if you are interested. :)

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. It's been nice and warm here, although today was kinda windy and less sun. From what I saw out my window this morning...I'd say Yani may be having puppies in a couple months so that should be interesting! I adore puppies and can't wait to watch them grow!! We used to have puppies every once in a while when Crystal was younger, and sure miss them, cause growing up we would have them now and then too. It's been far to long since I've been able to watch a brood grow up, Autumn & Rascal only ever had one brood several years ago one of which you can see here. I'm sure I'll share photos if we have some from Yani, although they won't be as tiny and cute as doxie puppies would be! :)

An Illustrator "Painting"

I finished my Illustrator class yesterday...unless she puts out another one and I have enough extra pennies saved up to be able to take it. I wanted to get it done this week, because of maybe being kinda busy the next couple weeks. I had done a little bit with live trace, but only to make line art better...and had never thought to put a photo in there and try it out. That was one of the lesson's I worked on yesterday and just loved the "painted" look! It may be kinda hard to see on the butterfly, until you zoom in closer, but it's got it too.

This is the photo I started out with. I cut the background out in ps, because I didn't want it in there and then took it into Illustrator and let it work it's magic. The cool thing about it is, I could go in and change colors if I was patient...cause it would take awhile to do, with all the little color changes there are on that butterfly.

As I said, it's hard to see that the butterfly looks painted...this close up may make it a little easier. Each different spot of color was changed to a separate path in Illustrator. Course I know a lot of you probably don't know all that much about paths and using the pen tool...but trust me it would take you forever to do it all by hand...cause they are a million little paths in that butterfly alone. (Ok a million may be a slight exaggeration! *giggle*)

The cool thing is, once it does it's thing, you can go in and mess with each separate path if you want, change colors, even change the shape if you want. Course as I said, with something like this, that has a "million" little paths, it would take you a LONG time to mess with each little path, but if that's what you wanted to do...more power to you. Another great thing about changing it like this is you can enlarge it if you want, without getting lots of jagged edges...although for a butterfly it was plenty big enough for anything I would want it for as it was. :)


I even took it back into ps and put a canvas texture on it (although I think I could do this in Illustrator too...just not sure how at this point)...just to see what it would look like...it was hard to see it on the full size picture till I zoomed in on it...but it doesn't look to bad. Think I'd like to try a "brush stroke" texture but I don't have one of those right now...so had to make do with the canvas.

I think I'll love the flowers I could make this way too...although this one could use a little tweaking, I was in a hurry so didn't mess with it. LOL I just have a small problem I'm trying to figure out, and I'm sure I can get help in my class with it, it's a exporting as a png problem. Anyway I do love this painted look...for now anyway...and I may have to do some pages with it, if I ever get around to it. :)

Well better go work on the dough I have raising for rolls, and find something for lunch. It's another beautiful day here, so I'm going to have to get outside soon too! Enjoy the rest of the day!

I answered a one kit call...and got it!

Oh boy, yesterday was a busy day for me...here on the computer anyway. I didn't realize how much I've not been ON the computer lately, till I had to spend pretty much all day on it, and got stiff from not getting up and down much. Between a problem with my shop & domain e-mail (if you e-mailed me yesterday and haven't heard from me....please try again!), and some other things I had to get done yesterday on the computer, I didn't have time for anything around the house that would get me moving a little. I was hoping to have time to go outside a little in the afternoon, since it was nice out...but that didn't happen.

I did however manage to get these two LO's done!! Hey I had to play a little didn't I? *giggle*

This weekend I was wanting something to do (silly me) besides homework, so went to look at the one kit calls at DST. (For those who don't know, a one kit call is where designers ask for someone to do some layouts with just that one kit of theirs...instead of being on their team and getting to work with all their kits. It gives people a chance to do some layout design work but not be tied down to a team.) I answered a couple, not actually expecting to get them, since there are SO many others out there who scrap prettier pages than I do (in my opinion *giggle*) but guess what....I won the job!! Thursday I'll share a couple pages from another kit I got to play with. Today's Lo's are also from one of those kits. I have to say I'm happy to have been able to play with some new kits and get some of this years photos scrapped!

These LO's show some of the photos I took through the car window on our way home from picking up Mabel. It was so pretty up there in northern Nebraska!!

Kit Credit: Dreamy Island kit by Ikscraps - I enjoyed this kit, the elements are so cool because they are hand painted. I love that painted look, it works for modern photos but would also work just as well for those older photos. :) Ikscrap has a freebie cluster frame to go with the kit on her blog here if you are interested. I had a lot of fun with this kit! Thanks for letting me play with it Ingeborg!! :)

One reason I haven't really thought about doing one kit calls before (besides of course forgetting to go look at them) was because I thought a lot of designers really liked (and wanted) the "fantasy" style of layouts, which I really am NOT good at. Least that's the kind that I see being made the most in these designers teams. However when I sent Ingeborg the links she was pleased to get Layouts that weren't fantasy, to show that the kit can be used for something other than that, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my style of LO is still wanted by some...who knew! *giggle* I may have to check out the Calls threads at DST a little more often...if I remember to & think I'll have the time to work with them, because I had fun and it made me get busy and scrap some. :)

Well I gotta run, have several things I want to get finished today, plus hope to go outside some so I better get this posted and get busy! Hope everyones week is going good so far. :)