Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone and please add me to the greeting above. (Credit's go to Nini's Notions - You can find her kits at Digitals.) It's one I made for my daughter, son-in-law and grandson to send out this year. As usual I've been so busy scrapping for others that I haven't gotten around to doing any cards for myself.

Christmas this year has been different. Usually I've got tons of gifts, tons of sweets & candies, and tons of traditions. We normally have a tree trimming party, a cookie party, big Christmas Eve get together with extended family, Christmas morning with Santa, Christmas Brunch and Christmas Supper with immediate family. This year the tree trimming party was abbreviated. Since Bryce is at the age where he can't resist pulling the ornaments off the tree, I only put up one tree with only shatterproof ornaments on it - it looks pretty sad compared to Christmas past but the old stuff will come out when he is older. No cookie party either - Bryce is too young to enjoy it and I simply couldn't mustard the energy for the mess it makes. As Christmas Eve was out this year. My mom and Uncle are fighting cancer and although they are doing really good, it's not good for them to be around a lot of people. One cousin had call at the hospital and most have little ones now of their own and it's just easier for them to be home with them on Christmas Eve. I miss this get together but hopefully we will find a way to renew it next year - maybe on another night. Christmas morning is still on - of course - but Brunch will be replaced with a pancake breakfast - much easier to cook.

I've also replaced the tons of gifts with one or two that are really wanted or needed. My grandson will still get lots of stuff but I'm really feeling a need to focus more on the reason for the season than the commercial aspect of the season. I mean we are celebrating CHRISTmas - the birth of Jesus. God's only son sent to Earth in the form of a human baby so that He would be the perfect sacrifice for our sins so that we would not be doomed to Hell's fire but could be forgiven of our sins and life forever in Heaven with out Lord. Amen.

It is my sincere wish that all of you enjoy a wonderful Christmas season, are surrounded by your loved ones, and enjoy a year full of health and happiness. I have also left you a Christmas gift of a QP from my newest kit.

Download QP here: http://www.4shared.com/file/77475364/d3860610/JoniV_AngelQP.html

You can get the kit this QP came from by following this link to RAKScraps and downloading it from their site. The Kit is free but since it is part of their Member's Mega Kit, they ask that you only download it through their site. There are tons of other freebie kits there too. So enjoy.

Link to RAKScraps download site: http://www.rakscraps.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19008&page=2

Merry Christmas & Happy New Years

I just gotta Brag

My Very Merry Christmas QP was just awarded the Layout of the Day at Digitals. I'm so excited.

Here's a Sunday QP for you

What started off as a template ended up a QP for you. Whenever I start off a template, I go ahead and scrap the page for myself to see if I like the end result. Well since I was using only my kit to scrap it with and I liked the end result I decided to give it as a QP instead of just a template. So here it is.

This page was made with the help of The Scrappin Cop (some elements). Her link in on the side. My inspiration for this page was our Tree Trimming Party last weekend. Hope you like it and as always leave some love.

Download Expired

A Very Merry Christmas Kit is HERE!!!

It's here. After a couple of weeks of work it's here and bigger than I ever thought it would be. 22 papers, a full Alpha, 12 ribbons, 4 bows, snowflakes, ornaments, stickers, Santa, reindeer, nutcracker, and so much more. Preview only show a small portion of what you get. Hope you like. It's only my second kit and first one that is this big. Please if you download let me know what you think of it, suggestion of ways to make it better, anything at all. I'm sharing these because so many of my scrapbooking friends have shared their work with me and felt this is a way of giving back the love.

This is a pretty big file so I've broke it down to three downloads to hopefully speed it up for you. Here's the papers : http://www.4shared.com/file/75733965/68f629cb/A_Very_Merry_Christmas_papers.html

Elements: http://www.4shared.com/file/75734972/725eb590/A_Very_Merry_Christmas_elements.html
Alpha: http://www.4shared.com/file/75731913/64ddd2b2/A_Very_Merry_Christmas_Alpha.html

New Freebie For You

Gosh this week has be cram packed. Christmas shopping (Yes I did just start), working on Christmas kit, Christmas Concert at daughter's school, work, Santa pictures, Christmas Tree decorating party and just doing all the things being a mom and grandmother incur. How did my mom do it all? My Christmas mini kit has turned into a mega kit. I got to working on it Thursday night and before I knew it was 3AM and I had made 20+ pages and several elements including a full alpha. Every time I get on my computer I think of another paper or element or word art I want to include. I'm not sure yet if everything I made will go into the kit as I want to make sure it's top quality but we will see as things come together more. I'm having so much fun with this. I made a template for you again this week, along with a preview from with products from the kit that I will be posting next Sunday. All this designing is making it hard for me to focus on my own scrapping so it will definitely be only one kit a month and more than likely not as much as this month. Christmas is just my favorite time of the year. It makes me feel like a kid again. I love it.


Here's the previews with the link to the freebie to template to follow. Thanks go out to The Scrappin Cop for her tip on how to make striped paper. She is a Godsend and I can't wait for you see the kit. I've also included a file with the png layers in it for those of you who can't use a psd.

Here's the link: http://www.4shared.com/file/75101511/1230d337/joniv_ChristmasBallTemplate.html

Hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave some love if you like it.

New Layout and Sunday Freebie

Downloaded a pics from camera today and as promised here's a layout with a few pics of their cookie celebration at their dance competition. This is page one of a two page spread I'm making. I made this layout with the Sunday Freebie I'm posting at the end.

This page was made with the November Member's kit Treasured Time from the Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild. You can find the kit here http://www.digitalscrapbookartisanguild.com/guild/index.shtml . Papers and elements were made by Debb Cozzi, an awesome designer.

I'm hoping to be able to post one template a week on Sundays and at least one page kit each month. I'm hoping that as I get more into designing I will be able to put up more kits for you. I'm also designing one member's kit and some quick pages each month at RAK Scraps. These you will have to pick up at their site due to their rules but they are free if to members (free membership too). I will post a preview on my site when these are done each month along with a link to their site. Now for what you've all been waiting for.

Download zip file at http://www.4shared.com/file/73901968/a234b367/Window_Pane_Square_Template.html

Hope you like and please leave a comment if you download it.

Happy Thanksgiving

I know that I'm a little late but I've been so busy this week. First, we went to Orlando for a Dance Competition last weekend. It was great and can't wait to post some pics of it. I'm also working on a template freebie that I will most likely post tomorrow. I've been working on tons of challenges at Digitals and have started a Christmas mini kit freebie that I will post in December. Thanksgiving was great. My parents, daughter, SIL, and grandson were here. I've had my grandson since then until today so not much scrapping got done until today. So here's what I've been working on today. Like so many of you this month, I have so many things to be thankful for. So this month's challenge left me struggling for exactly what pics to use. Then the idea came to me to do an ATC tag for the Scripture Challenge this month at Digitals. http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6368 Something I could use later on a layout, add to a card, gift, etc. Credits are Katie Mann's Give Thanks Mini. http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/digitals/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=11984



For Sharon's All in the Family Challenge I did a heritage page of my parents. This pic was made last year before my mom found out she has cancer but she is such a trooper, insisting on cooking the Thanksgiving turkey this year and helping in anyway she could. All the items from this page come from Sharon and are freebies when you do her challenge. Check it out http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6365

My last page for the day is a page for my grandson's album. Since I didn't start when he was born I'm scrapping now and then. This is for his Ultrasound page. I used Diana Burton's Moody Blues kit for it. Get it here http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/digitals/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=11645 The word art is a freebie from Kathryn Estry when you do her It's Only Words Challenge at Digitals. You will find her challenge here http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6372 . Pretty good work for one afternoon. Hope you like and check back tomorrow for a freebie.

Some Week So Far

OMG, this week has been something else. It started Sunday when my daughter had an Open Dress Rehearsal for her dance competition team. This is something special because it's the first time anyone outside of the company gets to see their dances. On the way to the PAC, we stopped to get extra batteries for the camera. You can't ever be too careful and the batteries were getting weak so we pop in the new and good to go. We get there and I'm all set up, Video Camera on the tripod, camera in hand. I turn on the camera and nothing happens. I take the batteries out turn them over, still nothing. I work on it for a few minutes and still nothing. Oh well now no great pics to share. Video is working so when I get time I can go frame by frame and get pics from that but I wanted instant pics to share. Well, I pushed that aside and ended up having a great day. Their dances looked awesome and I'm pumped for this weekend in Orlando.

Then on the way home I started feeling a little bad. Stomach hurting but I'm not going to let that get me down. Pop some Pepto and away we go. Monday, my stomach was still weak but off to work. Gosh it was freezing, over night the temperature here dropped 40 degrees. By the end of the day I've got the sniffles but still going. Tuesday my throat is hurting every time I swallow, Wednesday, I'm sick, bad cold, throat swollen almost shut, ear ache, body ache, hummm sounds like the flu to me. And I'm still going to Orlando this weekend.

As for scrapping I haven't felt much like doing much this week. I did work on a couple of Digital challenges and I'm working on a RAKscraps member's mega kit RAK on their site. I'm just learning the ins and outs of designing but I will be glad to share what I make when it's finished. Although it's a freebie, I can't give it away on my blog but I can give you the link to their site and you can get it there along with the QP's once they are posted. Please let me know what you think of my work.

Here's the layouts I've done at Digitals this week. You can see all my stuff at http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/galleria/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/12013

This layout is of Bryce and his mom at beach at 6 weeks of age. I made this layout for the Ad challenge. You can find the challenge here along with the great posting gift you will receive when your finish. http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6371&page=3 I used The Gift of Love by Handmaid Designs from Digitals. This was a posting gift and is currently unavailable for purchase.

This was made the Change it up Challenge, a Hybrid challenge. The layout is for the cover of one of those date planners you can buy for about a $1 most places and with this cover it's a great Christmas present. You can find the challenge here, http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6370&page=2

along with the template and posting gift. Get busy on your own. Here I used the DSD mini kit given out by Amanda Thorderson on her blog. http://flamingo-amanda.blogspot.com/ I just love her work and she gives away tons of freebies too. You need to check her out.

This layout came courtesy of Kathryn Estry A-Ark QB with the Monkey Girl element from the BBB4 blog train. Add a pic of my cute baby boy and you get a great layout. Here's Kathryn's blog http://kathrynsdigitaldesigns.blogspot.com/ and here's were to get the QP http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/digitals/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=&products_id=10245

This page was really fun to make. I used color fills for the background and frames. The Pep Rally Font from the Font Free 4 All Challenge at Digitals. http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6394&page=3 Add some pics and viola, a great sports page of my daughter a few years back.

And finally a simple layout of Bryce for the Designer Elements Challenge. Here you get a free mini kit for the layout. Pop in a pic pic of Bryce at the beach (I love his eyes) and you have it. This was made with Katie Mann's Memories mini kit. http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6376&page=6

Hope you like these shares. Leave me a comment. I love to hear from you guys.

Here I Am

Hi all,


I've thought about starting this blog for a while now and have finally decided to jump in to it. I've done My Space and Cafe Mom in the past, so this shouldn't be that much different. I'm a mother to a beautiful daughter and grandmother to a great little boy. He calls me Moo, so the blogs named for him. I work by day as the editor of a small local newspaper and at night I scrap and scrap and scrap. I love scraping my family and found digital scrapping to be my therapy. I'm just getting into designing so you guys will be my Guinea pigs. But for now I'm just going to put up a few of my latest layouts. Let me know what you think.


I've been playing around with backgrounds recently. Taking pics and using different blending modes and textures to make awesome backgrounds. I made this one yesterday for Katherine Estry's Digitals He said, She said challenge. You can find it in my gallery there by clicking on
http://digitalscrapbookpages.com/galleria/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/12013 .

Credits for Christmas page go to Beth Rimmer's Fruitcake Therapy kit available at Digitals.