Summer's Splendor Clusters Freebie

I have an extra special bonus for you again this month! Arlene has graced me with some amazing clusters made from my latest kit, Summer's Splendor, and of course I had to share them with all of you. They are simply darling!

Check them out...

Clusters

Special thank you to Arlene for sharing her amazing talent with us and for allowing me to share it with you!

Happy Scrappin'!!!

Summer's Splendor Freebie

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a splendorous summer. Summer finally came around here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota. Last week we even had two days when it was over 100°. Being from Texas I am used to those sort of temps, but most Minnesotans are not. Everywhere I went that day it was the topic of conversation. These people do not like the heat. I actually had to wait in line to get my daily cola slurpee fix. Suddenly everyone and their Momma wanted a frozen beverage. :-P

In honor of summer finally arriving I decided to do a kit full of birds, flowers, butterflies, and cute little things you might find in your summer garden. The color challenge at DSO had the perfect colors for a splash of summer beauty. Thanks to Kristine for hosting this month's challenge!

Without further ado, I give you Summer Splendor.

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As always I would love to see any and all of your fabulous creations using my kits. Thanks and happy scrappin' to all!

Amazing Clusters Freebie

One of my followers, Arlene, contacted me to let me know she had created some clusters with my kits and she thought I might like to have them. Like them? I love them! Oh my... they are simply gorgeous! So gorgeous I had to get her permission to package them up and share them with all my readers. There was no way I could do them justice with a single preview so I've grouped them by theme.

First off we have these amazing wedding clusters. Most of the elements are from my Two Hearts, One Love kit.


Next up are some amazing clusters done with my most recent kit, Vintage Verde. These clusters are tagger sized.


Next is some amazing garden themed clusters. Most of these elements are from my kit, Yesterday's Garden.


Next we have some amazing fantasy type clusters from my Unicorn Dreams kit.


Last but not least, my favorite set is some vintage themed clusters with most of the elements coming from my Vintage Grace kit. I am so in love with the cluster she created around the vintage light.


Aren't they all just amazing?

Special, special thank you to Arlene for sharing her gorgeous clusters with me and for allowing me to share them with all of you!

Clusters

Vintage Verde Freebie

Can you believe it? It is only the 6th of the month and here I am with my DSO Color Challenge kit. Just in time for National Scrapbooking Day! Moniaguirre is hosting this month and I promised her I would not be procrastinating this month. With the absolutely stunning color palette she chose it was so easy to get my kit done. This was one of those kits where I neglected the housework, neglected the laundry, and even neglected the hubby. I kept saying I'll take a break after this paper or this element and then I'd get lost in creating and the time just flew.

I am so in love with this kit. It is OK to be in love with your own kit, right? Ha! I can't wait to get started creating some layouts with these gorgeous colors. I hope you feel the same way. I'd love to see what all you talented people can come up with!

Without further ado I present Vintage Verde...

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Happy Scrappin'!

Beach Babe Freebie

Here I am at the last possible moment with my contribution to the DSO Color Challenge hosted by Dhariana. I procrastinated and procrastinated this month because there were just too many colors to choose from and it totally confused my wee little brain.


Look at all those colors! First I thought of something "sunny" with the orange, yellow, and bronze. Nah, not in the mood for sunny. So I put it away for a week or so and then started looking at it again. Finally it dawned on me what the silver, navy, and dark pink reminded me of. Those are the colors in Ms. Jewel's bikini from last summer!

Beach Babe was born!


Isn't she the cutest little Beach Babe you've ever seen? Now I can scrap all of her pictures from last summer with a kit custom designed to match her bikini. I am the best Mimi ever! :-)

I hope you enjoy Beach Babe!

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Happy Scrappin'!

Spring Fling Freebie

Hi, everyone!

First I wanted to thank everyone for their support on the piracy issue with Friendly Scrap. It is beyond frustrating, especially since she continues to post multiple kits daily, refuses to even acknowledge that numerous people are on to her thievery, and is still using my items in her kits. But, I refuse to let the likes of her get me down. I'll continue to enjoy designing and taking joy in seeing all the lovely creations people come up with using my designs. The downright fantastic people in scrap booking far outweigh the scumbags like her.

I'm also sliding in at the last minute here with this month's DSO Color Challenge. Jen chose this gorgeous color palette that simply screamed Spring! I kept hoping it would translate into the outdoors here in Minnesota, but so far no luck. We still have snow on the ground and they are actually predicting snow and rain mix for the next few days. Hey Minnesota... It is Spring!!! Get with the program and warm up already!

I hope you enjoy my Spring Fling... even if it is only in my digital dreams at this time! :-)

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Love Letters Freebie

Another month, another DSO Color Challenge complete!

To tell the whole truth here... I almost didn't do a kit this month. I was just not feeling the colors. Then I decided that is the whole point of a challenge! So I stepped outside my comfort zone and started going through my CU stash to find some inspiration with those colors. When I came across my own Vintage Valentine CU kit I knew what I was doing... Valentines! The paper heart included in this kit is from a Valentine card my Grandpa gave my Grandmother. I'm not sure of the date of the cards but I know my Grandpa passed away in the 40s... so some time before that. In the end... I love how the kit turned out so I'm so glad I forced myself to work with the colors. I hope you love it too!

Enjoy my "Love Letters" to you.

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Christmas Freebie

I instantly knew the direction I would take when I saw this months colors for the DSO Color Challenge hosted by Jen C Designs. The soft "country" red and green made me think of my Texas related Christmas ornaments... so "A Texas Christmas" it was! That Texas Hold 'Em Santa is one of my very favorite ornaments. Of course the kit isn't just for Texans! There are lots of goodies in there for everyone, so I hope everyone enjoys the kit. I'd love to see your layouts!

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Merry Christmas, Y'all!!!

Majestic Autumn QP & Card Freebie

This month DSO has a "Card Challenge" hosted by Christine Smith. I thought this was a great idea and would be great to e-mail to all of my family in Texas for Thanksgiving. Plus, the posting bonus is amazing! Since I just finished up my "Majestic Autumn" kit I decided to use my own kit to create the card.



I loved it so much I decided to make a layout as well...



That is my beautiful daughter, Christina and my equally beautiful granddaughter, Jewel during our fall trip to Minnehaha Falls. Aren't they gorgeous?

Since I am certainly thankful for all of you who offer praise and encouragement on my designs, I thought I'd zip these up as an extra little goodie for you this month. The card is created as a 4" x 6" at 300 dpi for printing, but you can easily resize it for emailing. The QP is a standard 12" x 12" at 300 dpi.

Enjoy!

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Majestic Autumn Freebie

I spent the first 40 years of my life in Texas where we really don't have seasons, unless hot and hotter are considered seasons. So one of my favorite things about living in Minnesota is the amazing colors of autumn. We get to see beautiful sights like this...

This gorgeous place is Minnehaha Falls and one of my very favorite places in Minneapolis, especially during the changing of the leaves. I also love to go there in the winter. The falls freeze over and create the most amazing ice formations. Yes... rushing water does freeze when it is ten below zero. BRRRRRR!!! If you are ever in the Minneapolis area I strongly recommend a trip to the Minnehaha Falls, no matter what time of year.

So I was so excited when I saw the gorgeous colors for this months DSO Color Challenge hosted by Jen C Designs. Perfect for an autumn themed kit! Since I absolutely love autumn/fall I have loads of decorations around the house... gourds, nuts, leaves, and my cute little scarecrows. By the time I photographed and extracted everything... this kit was huge. There is no way I could put it all in the preview, so there are lots of surprises in there for you. Loads of goodies for scrapping those gorgeous fall photographs.

Hope you enjoy "Majestic Autumn".

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A Touch of Class Freebie

Once again we have an amazing palette to work with for Kim B's Color Challenge over at DSO. I've been wanting to do a kit with an art deco flair and these colors were perfect. Then when I was working on the kit the colors made me start thinking of my favorite show... True Blood. I think Eric Northman would look great in this kit. But then of course Eric Northman would look great in anything. Yum!

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I hope you enjoy "A Touch of Class" and I'd love to see anything you create with my kit!

Happy Scrappin'!

Blogoversary Freebie

I know I already did my "boy" kit for this month's DSO Color Challenge, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with the purples since purple is my very favorite color! I had meant to have this ready yesterday in celebration of my first "Blogoversary", but alas, as always I make plans and God laughs at me.

My inspiration for this kit is my favorite thing... unicorns! All of the unicorns in the kit are from my personal collection.

I hope you enjoy "Unicorn Dreams".

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All Boy Freebie

Another month, another DSO Color Challenge from Kim B!

Since several people were feeling shorted on "boy" colors, I decided to pull the greens & the blue out of this month's challenge and create my first "boy" kit. I don't have any little boys to scrap so I never think of doing boy stuff. This kit came together so easy for me so I will definitely have to do some more "boy" stuff.

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I hope you enjoy "All Boy"!

Birthday Girl Freebie

It's that time again! Time for another great DSO Colour Challenge from KimB. This month's colors are bright and cheery so I decided to do a bright & cheery birthday kit. As usual I couldn't resist adding an extra color to the mix. Hope you like it!

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Yesterday's Garden Freebie

I love the colors Kim B chose for the DSO Color Challenge this month! So soft and beautiful. I didn't know where I was going with these colors though. They brought to mind vintage for me, but I've already done that. Then I was playing around with some shots I had taken of my clematis in bloom. They grow on a set of wrought iron trellises placed to hide my giant, ugly, yet highly energy efficient air conditioning unit. A few tweeks with color and saturation and I saw the challenge colors right in front of me. So a gardening theme it was. I realized how much of the stuff in my own garden is wrought iron so I decided to add some charcoal and black to the mix. I love the way it turned out.

Here is a shot of Ms. Jewel helping me plant some annuals to give you an idea of where I went this month. She is a born gardener and just like her MiMi she doesn't like to wear gloves. She likes to "feel the dirt". *lol*


Isn't she the cutest? Now that everything is blooming she likes to help pick off the wilted blooms. We just need to work on what she thinks is wilted. :-P

Now for a peek at the full kit...

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Enjoy "Yesterday's Garden" and as always I'd love to see anything you create with my kits.

Happy Scrappin'!

Red, White, and Blue Freebie

Bet you thought it was going to be Patriotic! *lol*

At the first of the year we had Ms. J's pics made to commemorate her 3rd birthday and of course they came out so darn cute I wanted to create layouts with several of them. However, all of the red, white, and blue I came across was full of stars and stripes. I needed flowers and polka dots! So what is any good MiMi to do but create the perfect kit to match Ms. Jewel's dress?

I've been working on this kit off and on for months and Ms. J now recognizes whenever I'm working in PSP and she asks me every time, "Are you working on my kit, MiMi?" Great emphasis and drama on the "my" here. This one was born to be a Diva. *lol*

Look at these layouts I've done so far with the kit...




Isn't she the cutest thing ever? She has MiMi wrapped so tight around those little fingers it is not even funny!

Here is a look at the kit. I even whipped up a little matching alpha for you.

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I hope you enjoy using the kit and as always I would love to see anything you create with "Jewel's Dress".

Happy Scrappin'!

Beachy Keen Freebie

It's that time again! Time for another terrific DSO Color Challenge from KimB. This month the colors brought to mind the beach for me. I added a touch of Caribbean blue to the challenge colors and it was definitely beach time!

I also tried something new for me this month... scenic papers. When I upgraded to PSP X2 it came bundled with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and I have been dying to play with it. I love the look... even if I do say so myself. *lol* I always see such lovely layouts with scenic papers. I just never seem to come up with great ones myself. Sooooo... if you use the scenic papers or any of the kit for that matter, I'd love to see your layouts!

I hope you enjoy Beachy Keen!

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Fabulous Fifties Freebie

I love the colors for this month's DSO Color Challenge. It instantly brought to mind the fabulous 50s! I love that era. Rock & Roll, poodle skirts, fast cars, and yummy malts. Peachy keen!!! Note: I was seriously born in the wrong era.

Since I have a little extra time on my hands this month, I also came up with a cute little matching felt pennant alpha for you.

My Mom is suppose to be looking for me a picture of her in her poodle skirt since this was her era, but so far... no luck. :-( So I'd love to see your creations with this kit! Put on your poodle skirt, bobby socks, & saddle shoes... it is time for the Fabulous Fifties!

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Coffee Time - Freebie Time

Kim's Color Challenge colors are so warm and rich this month, I instantly thought of coffee for some reason.

I do love my coffee! Folgers with a touch of cream on a daily basis. "Nips", a little coffee flavored candy my Grandmother Grace got me addicted to as a child. (aren't Grandmas great?) A heavenly flavored coffee, Chocolate Nirvana, that I treat myself with at least twice a week. Coffee ice cream. Of course I can't forget the extra special treat of a Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks. I love them all!!!

Hope you all love the kit.

It's Coffee Time!

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Vintage Grace Freebie

I was so excited when I saw this month's colors for the DSO Color Challenge. I've been wanting to do a heritage type kit and the blues and browns were perfect! Here is a little peek at "Vintage Grace", but then you have to bear with me and let me tell you about the history in this kit.


This kit is so special to me. My Grandmother Grace left me her beautiful cedar chest full of old treasures and I knew the contents were begging to become a scrap kit. I was telling my Mother about this kit and I told her looking into this file is like looking into my Grandma's cedar chest, without the lovely smell. *lol* I couldn't believe how well everything fit into the color scheme even! Most of the items are in the kit "as is". I didn't have to alter the colors at all. There are so many special pieces in this kit I don't know where to start.

Almost every element in this kit that is "antique" belonged to my Great Grandmother or Grandmother. Most of the items come from my Great Grandmother Nora who was born in 1891 and passed away in 1991 at the age of 100. My Grandma would say they are just "costume" jewelry, but the cameo and pearls are my favorite. One picture frame is made from my husband's Father's tie clip. The paper frame is from one of the many ancient pictures I have. The journaling block is from the cover of a 1896 photograph that is in a folder type thing. Remember I told you about all the lovely old cards I came across? Well there was one post card that exactly matched this kit! It had never been mailed, so I included the front and the back for you. The doilies in the kit were made by my Great Grandmother. She made some of the most beautiful things by hand. I have several poke bonnets that she made by hand. They wore them in the fields when they were picking cotton. Most of them are natty and sweat stained, but I love them. She knew how much I loved those old bonnets, so when my daughter was born she made her a tiny little poke bonnet... by hand... at 96 years of age. Talk about a treasure! I couldn't figure out a way to photograph them and add them to the kit though. So no bonnets. :-(

I even did an alpha for this kit inspired by an old embroidered sampler. My first alpha! The fan in this kit is my favorite "creation" to date though, so I have to give you some history on it. When I was browsing WikiCommons I came across a set of public domain drawings that were done to showcase a furrier's work at the Exposition Universal Paris 1900. I love the way they dressed, especially the fancy hats. The colors were even perfect for my kit, but what to do with them? I saved them all hoping I would come up with something. Then when I was going through all my Grandma's treasures I came across this fan. It is a souvenir fan from The Alamo in San Antonio, TX. Each blade has a picture from the history of the Alamo and is actually rather garish in colors. *lol* But the fan part was so pretty! I instantly knew I was going to chop that thing to bits in PSP and put my lovely Edwardian ladies in place of the brightly colored Alamo pictures. It took me forever, but I love, love, love it!!!

Now, I have to introduce you to the ladies that made this kit possible.

The little baby on the Dad's knee is my Great Grandmother Nora. She was born in June of 1891 so I figure this picture was taken sometime in 1892.


Don't they look so serious? Why didn't they smile in pictures back then?

Now this pretty little girl is the namesake for the kit, my Grandmother Grace at 3. She was born in 1913, so this picture is from 1916.

Wasn't she cute?

I hope you enjoy Vintage Grace as much as I do. It was so much fun to create and I'm thrilled to share it and a little bit of my family history with you.

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