Layered Template 46

I had such sweet comments with my last post. THANK YOU! I'm absolutely shocked that anyone stuck around because I was MIA so long. I literally longed for road trips, because I'd bring my laptop and scrap as my husband drove. That was the only time I had for scrapping. I love those car plug-in adapters!

I wish I could say I'm officially back. However, the pace of life hasn't slowed, so I'm not. However, I also have come to realize just how essential my scrap outlet is to my stress relief. So I'm going to make an attempt to get in a little bit of scrapping each week. When the layout is conducive to a template, then I'll have an update to share.

Even if it's 1:30 in the morning. Ugh! I'm going to pay for this one! :)

"Rexy" is the product of my late night desire to scrap a bit. Guess it was a stressful week. :) OK, it wasn't so bad, but sometimes scrapping late on a Friday night just feels good. Since everyone's asleep, I don't feel guilty... but in the morning, I better get my tail out of bed, so the guilties don't catch up with me!

I'm on a kick lately of using the photos as the background (as I mentioned with my last post). So I'm looking for new or different ways to do that. And my other priority is always journaling, so I've got to make room for that. Sometimes that's VERY challenging to do when the background is a photo.

I hope that you find this template to be very versatile. While I did put the title on the left, you could easily move it. And even though I journaled in the lower right box, it certainly could be a photo instead. I can also picture a really cool screened background photo in the top right. Maybe the journaling could go there, too. Like I said, I hope you're able to tweak this template so that it suits your style and photos!

You can download the template HERE.

Layered Template 45a and 45b

Wow!

It has been AN ETERNITY!

Life has been a whirlwind for the past year and a half. It hasn't changed -- it's still a whirlwind. However, I recently carved out some time to scrap. And when I carve out time to scrap, I usually end up with a couple templates out of the deal.

So I have a couple templates for you!

Now I'm going to warn you about two things in advance...
1) They're all going to be 8x8 (300dpi) because that's how I scrap. And when my templates come as a result of the pages I'm creating, then that's the output.
2) I'm in the "hurry up and scrap" mode, because I dread getting one year behind! I was a month away from doing that, so I had to boogie! Now I'm caught up through November 1 -- so I've got just a tiny bit of breathing room. Not much though! Where I'm going with this -- the templates are a little bit "simple" -- which will provide you with a solid base to which you can add all sorts of fun elements and really twist it to make it your own!

These particular LOs are my favorite kind...

I love to use a big main photo as the background image, then position smaller photos around it to accent it. It's my favorite way to catch up! :) It's also my favorite way to not skimp on sharing pictures or focus on paper and elements more than the photo.

So the resulting template allows you to do the same. I'm even including the overlay I used (a photo of concrete with layer styles added to it) -- feel free to use it yourself to "tone down" the outer edges of your main photo. The overlay is a layer within each template and not a file of it's own.

So... you know the drill. Here's the pages. They're available in ONE zip file (about 35MB total) at 4Shared.

You can download Templates 45a-b HERE.

Layered Template #44 (5 Photo)

Wow! It has been a LONG time since I've done a template. I've been using too many templates and quick pages myself, just to get caught up. But I had an afternoon where the rest of my family is sleeping, so I'm sitting in front of the football game and scrapping a little bit. Talk about the perfect Sunday afternoon! :)

Unfortunately, I must also add, "Don't get used to it." I'd love to tell you that my schedule has let up and that I have more time for scrapping. That would be completely untrue! I do have a lot of catching up to do though, so as the opportunities present themselves, I'll share the templates that come as a result of my own page designs.

So about this template... it is designed at 8x8 and 300 dpi. It will print just fine at 12x12, but I worried about enlarging it to 12x12 after I had created it at 8x8. Sometimes the upsizing digitally doesn't work as well as I'd like. So here you have it.... you may go HERE to download it. Enjoy! ;)

FREEBIE: Christmas Cards

Did you think I had fallen off the face of the earth? :) No fear, I am here. I appreciate those of you have reached out in concern to ask about me. It has been quite a crazy year! I really can't complain, because it has been a GOOD year. I just haven't had any time to myself to do any hobbies. And what little time I did have, I'll admit, I was selfish and created for myself, but didn't get to the freebies.

The background, for those who don't know. In January we moved. In my real job, I'm a sales rep. In the past, I've always had an office in my home, because I was the only one of me in a given region. Well, the move we took in January put me in an office instead of home based. So now I've got a 20 minute commute each morning and evening, which isn't too horrible. But... what it really means working out of an office is that I've got basically 2-3 hours each night to play with the kids, cook dinner, and keep the house reasonable. I'll admit, I struggle to keep the house reasonable, and we've eaten a LOT more processed food than I would like to (and my waistline is paying the price for that). I definitely LOVE my job, LOVE my company, and have no desire to change either of those... but hopefully the next move/position will put me back in a home-based office! We shall see what He has in store for us.

Anyway, so I just finished up and ordered my Christmas cards for this year. And I thought I'd wish you all a Merry Christmas by sharing with you some of the cards I've used in years past. The top 3 versions are the actual cards I sent out. The collage is how I've tweaked them for you. Because the '07 and '08 cards used someone else's papers, I obviously couldn't share them with you like that.

This is our Christmas card for 2006. My son was 6 months old and my daughter was 28 months old. She needed to be bribed with a sucker to smile, which I Photoshopped out in that center photo! These photos were taken at the top of our stairs with a white bedsheet draped over the railing. I used Virtual Photographer to "glow" them a bit. I also bolded the "Christ" in Christmas, as a subtle reminder of just why we're celebrating. There are 4 PNG files available in the download: black, green, red, and red/green polka dot. I have taken the year out, so you won't be stuck in 2006.

This is the card we used last year. I couldn't seem to get a good photo of all of us at the same time, so I used a picture of each of us throughout the year. Again, I made "Christ" slightly larger to give it some emphasis on the card. The verse I chose is, "May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace." I provided for you a PNG file as well as a layered template so you can choose your own background. I obviously took our names and year off of there. The font I used is Arriere Garde, which is a free download.

And this is the card I ordered for this year. I used Vista Print to print them. I got 250 cards for under $50!!! And that's with envelopes, too. AND they print on the back in B&W for free, so we added our address and contact info on the back. They printed our cards last year too, and they did a really great job. I did get the idea for the love, joy, peace, and the verse from someone who I saw on Two Peas a few years ago (it's been in my inspiration folder ever since). However, I couldn't find it again to give proper credit. If anyone recognizes the theme and can tell me who did it, I'd love to give her thanks for inspiring this years card. Hers is a 4x6 and includes another greeting/verse, so is different, but the theme idea came from her. Anyway... I've provided you with 3 PNG files for this card -- one with a black background, white background, or red background.

You can download all of these HERE.

Enjoy the cards, and have a blessed Christmas!

"Hold On To Jesus" Lyrics

I'm sorry I haven't had scrapping time to get some more freebies posted. I know that lyrics don't replace that, but I do hope they provide you some inspiration.

I discovered this song, by Erin O'Donnell, about a year and a half ago when I was working on putting all my layouts to video. It so beautifully puts to words and music the prayer I have for my kids. I heard it again on the radio this morning as I drove my kids do Day Care, and I actually had to choke back tears. I just love it! If you have a chance to listen to it, please do. (Here's a sample.)

"Hold On To Jesus" by Erin O'Donnell

You're a little piece of heaven

You're a golden ray of light

And I wish I could protect you

From the worries of this life

But if there's one thing I could tell you

It's no matter what you do

Hold to Jesus; He's holding on to you

The world will try to tell you

That might is more than right

That beauty's on the outside

And being good's a losing fight

But remember what I've told you

Because the world will make you choose

Hold to Jesus; He's holding on to you

CHORUS:

Hold on to Jesus

Cling to His love

Rest deep in His mercy

Whenever things get rough

Don't lose sight of His goodness

And don't ever doubt this truth

That when you hold on to Jesus

He's holding on to you

Hear me dear Jesus

Rock this little one to sleep

Keep her close when she's scared

And give her grace when she is weak

I know she'll stumble

But I know she'll make it through

If you hold on to her

Just like You said You'd do

Hold her Jesus

And she'll hold on tight to You

Give your kids an extra hug for me. I'll give mine some extra squeezes, too. They're precious miracles from God, and I'm sure you feel the same way I do -- completely humbled by the blessings and gifts that they are.