Janie's Jewels & Jems

Priceless cub sightings today!

2012-01-24T13:52:00.002-06:00

Jewel has given us MANY, MANY sightings of her precious cargo today. Here are a few of the snapshots I was able to snag from the live den cam (when I finally "remembered" ... hey! I need to take some photos!!). It's been SO fun just watching & listening today... these sweetlings were born on 1/22/2012. You can go to the bear.org website and watch archived videos of Jewel & her cub, in addition to the live cam. Today, the sightings that I wrote down were 11:34am, 11:40am, 12:34pm, 12:45pm, 12:52pm, 12:55pm -- but there were many more as well -- LOTS of action!!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

http://bear.org/livecams/jewel-den-cam.php

There's also lots of discussion, photos & video clips at Lily the Black Bear's FB page. I like to do the split screen and watch the video and keep up with other viewers.

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Isaiah 40:31

Absolute BEST distractor!!

2012-01-23T12:14:00.002-06:00

Jewel, a black bear up in Ely MN, had her cubs yesterday morning. Today she's been giving us several peeks at her precious cubs (2 confirmed at this point in time). Love listening to them squeek, slurp, squeel, and purr (called chittering... a sound they make when they're contentedly nursing). It's music to my ears. I'm hooked!! And it's only going to get more exciting as they grow!!

http://bear.org/livecams/jewel-den-cam.php

Here are a few pics snapped while watching the den cam at bear.org:

GROOMING TIME

NOT SURE WHAT TO THINK ABOUT THESE CONTRACTIONS!

MORE GROOMING

OH, SO TIRED... HOW MUCH LONGER?

1ST CUB BORN AT 7:22-24am CST!

JEWEL'S GIVING US PRIME VIEWING THIS AM!!

see if you can spot the cubs in the following photos??

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I've been a huge fan of bears for as long as I can remember. Then began collecting stuffed bears and some ceramics. When my latex allergy went bizerko I finally realized something about my bear collection... they were harboring all sorts of nasties! ... ie latex-cross-reactive pollens, airborne latex proteins (from several years of clowning and working with balloons, from the few years working in a medical setting with latex gloves, from airborne latex-cross-reactive foods)... from the ventilation system constantly recirculating, etc.... also chemically contaminated from the airborne contaminants coming in the house thru air vents, window cracks, etc... living right next door to a farm -- then add to that all the "normal" allergens that have plagued me over the years ... vacuuming my bear collection once a year (or even less!) was not enough. I needed to get rid of them. Once I made that decision, I went around and bagged up ALL the stuffed bears that were left (after I'd done a serious 'weeding' and given several garbage bags away). I felt a sense of urgency and didn't know why! But, I continued in my task... well past bedtime... until ALL were securely bagged and the bags were sealed. Then I went to bed.

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The very next day was the day of the microwave accident -- you can read about it here if you haven't already -- http://janieinmn.blogspot.com/2009/03/slowly-recovering.html -- The bagged/sealed stuffed bears were safe! They did NOT get latex-contaminated or chemical-contaminated... SO, I was able to give them away and donate many. Now, if it can't be 'rinsed' off or washed, it's not among my collectibles. My home is now a MUCH safer environment... due to many changes, not just the elimination of my stuffed bear collection.

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Now, it's the REAL thing! Last spring I was hooked to the Decorah Bald Eagle cam... this time it's Jewel's den cam -- the sound of those precious cubs is music to my ears :-) We have such an AWESOME creator!! Watching the miracle of life unfold right before our very eyes, no matter what the species, is riveting! How much more so, the miracle of human life?

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalms 139:14

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Isaiah 40:31

Scrapping Memories

2012-01-12T09:59:00.002-06:00

One of the verses that has had special meaning & comfort to me this last year was Romans 12:12—"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer." I decided to use it to create a WordArt using a really fun new font & digital stamp images ("transparencies") from Club Scrap digital kits (full credits below WA).

credits: Club Scrap kit transparencies - Surfs Up (2006July), Retro (2006Sept),

Centennial R (2007Oct); fonts - SU Heritage, Utsaah

you can get my Romans 12:12 WordArt free HERE

(personal use only—please read TOU)

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The worst thing about living in MN is that we're 10+ hrs drive away from our kids, grandsons & my parents. Therefore, I'm doubly thankful for today's technologies and the wonderful free software from SKYPE for video calls. I did this layout from photos snapped during our skyping in December. I call it:

Christmas Skypes

credits: Woodland Christmas kit by MagsGraphics

fonts - GlooGun, Tekton Pro

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Then, another thing about MN... the winters are usually harsh & bitterly cold. However, this year has been exceptionally mild—even breaking a few records for daily high temps!). Anyway, 2yrs ago (just before Christmas) we were hit with a record-breaking snowfall of OVER 2 feet (very reminiscent of our years living in Michigan! When we 1st moved to MI, we were welcomed by the Blizzard of 1999 which dropped over 3 feet of snow by the time it was done!)!!

These pictures were taken from the basement egret window. The snow had filled up all but a few inches of the window well and darling hubby had to "dig me out" :-)

It was fun using one of Amy's TEMPLATES for this particular layout. I thought it was a great idea to use her "Rain" kit to scrap "SNOW"! In warmer states this storm would've meant rain, but to us Minnesotans it was ALL SNOW! and LOTS of it!! It was the "Blizzard of 2010"... and we got a LOT more than the forecasters had predicted!! Roger & I called it a TSNOWNAMI... it was a doozy!!

"Tsnownami" 2010!

credits: Stand In the Rain (retired kit) & November Grab Bag Templates (Not Just One, #1)

by 3 Li'l Monsters Designs

fonts - Elephants in Cherry Trees, Tekton Pro

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Isaiah 40:31

Here she is again!

2012-01-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

credits: Woodland Christmas kit by MagsGraphics

fonts - BD Cartoon Shout, LuzSans-Book

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Isaiah 40:31

Beach Fun!

2012-01-04T14:43:00.000-06:00

It doesn't matter whether it's the ocean or a lake or a river -- wherever there is sand, fun will be found for all ages. These collage layouts speak for themselves... grandsons at a lake... Abigail at the beach (of Lake Michigan)... been a LONG time since I've been to an ocean beach—just have to make do with what's available. And where there's sand... there's MORE sand!! YIPEE!!!!

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Beach Fun - Abigail

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Beach Fun - Grandsons

credits: Beachy Fun kit by Binty Designs, fonts - SU Jodyola, SU Favero Wide

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Isaiah 40:31

Clownin' Around!

2012-01-02T12:46:00.000-06:00

1995 was the year our whole family joined the Mexico Missions Trip at our church. We were on work teams (manual labor) by day, and gospel program by night. Guess who was part of the clown team? Yep! ME!! I had oodles of fun clowning with the best! Our director/teacher was FABULOUS!! The musical/dancing skits we did all portrayed an short object lesson as well as just being a lot of fun (and took a lot of practice!!). Our ministry was to draw the crowds. We were followed by mime skits that were then connected to the gospel message. Afterwards, we'd hang around and do balloon animals for the kids and talk to people.

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Clownin' Around!

credits: Bring On The Clowns kit by Milly Dee Designs

fonts - SU Favero Wide, SU Girly Girl

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Isaiah 40:31

Ringing in the New Year!

2011-12-31T15:23:00.003-06:00

Little Abigail once again provided lots of inspiration for digi-scrapping. I've been way behind in CT commitments since I ended up taking a 6 month "sabatical" from scrapping (NOT planned!). I'm enjoying being back in the saddle once again and had TONS of fun scrapping today while dear hubby was shopping. Even managed a skype call with grandsons imbetween... YIPEE!!

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Princess Abby

credits: It's A Party kit by 3Li'l Monsters Designs

fonts - SF Alexa and SU Carefree

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Abigail Brushes Teeth

credits: All Done by 3Li'l Monsters Designs, fonts - SU Carefree

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Isaiah 40:31

Isn't She a SWEETY?!!!

2011-12-28T15:05:00.002-06:00

This 1st LO is using just the solid papers (cuz there was a slight delay in access to the patterned papers and my instant inspiration needed an outlet IMMEDIATELY!!)...

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

...then, I added the patterned papers (clipping them to the solids) to add further texture and give the LO that little extra hmmmph :-)

credits: Snuggle Bug by 3Li'l Monsters Designs, font - SU Heritage

available at STS January 1st (thru February 2012 only!)

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Merry CHRISTmas!!

2011-12-24T13:21:00.000-06:00

2011 was a pretty eventful year for us. We were able to visit the kids & grandkids in MI in early Spring and Summer. Then we had quite an adventure with Roger being emergently hospitalized for epiglotitis over the July 4th weekend. Throw in a week long vacation to the Black Hills, visits from family & friends AND a new puppy ... whew! ... it's no wonder the year just flew by lickity-split!!

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Our newest member is Keiko Dakota (japanese for "blessing" & native american for "friend"). She's now almost 5 months old, weighs 7 lbs and is currently in basic training to be my service dog (I like to think of it as "boot camp", hehe). She's doing really well with basic commands (even "come", which is typically hard for Schipperke's!). So far, she alerts me to sounds AND their locations (which is "huge" for me cuz of my hearing loss)... already knows how to "FIND mommy's epi" & will bring it to me on command. Now just have to get her to understand it's for ME and not her, that it's not a toy!! Eventually, she'll be trained to recognize when I'm in early stage of a reaction and fetch my emergency meds on her own. I'm really excited about it. In addition to her "workload", she's a wonderful companion and is living up to her name :-)

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We hope & pray you'll have a Merry Christmas, as we celebrate the birthday of our Lord & Savior, Jesus, & a very Happy New Year!!

credits: Winter Traditions kit by MagsGraphics

fonts: SU Heritage, Yard Sale

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Isaiah 40:31

local town ignores ADA!!

2011-12-22T10:50:00.001-06:00

The ADA made recent revisions, some VERY specific regarding service animals. The town of Aurelia IA has attempted 'trumping' the ADA by using a breed ban ordinance to force Jim Sak, a disabled man, to remove his service dog from his home AND the town!! This is absolutely outrageous!! PLEASE voice your protest!

Here's a document from the ADA regarding Service Animals: http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

You can find contacts for the town of Aurelia IA here: http://www.aureliaia.com/City_Government-Services.htm

********** what i wrote to the town of Aurelia IA *********

ATTN: Mayor & City Council Members, Aurelia IA

I'm writing to you because of an outrage that has happened. Per this article, http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/9566024-418/retired-chicago-cops-service-dog-not-welcome-in-iowa-town.html, I learned that you have forced Jim Sak to remove his service dog from his home and out of your town.

This is against the ADA, Ameican Disability Act (Federal Law which overrides your 2008 city ordinance!). Strongly suggest you contact the Department of Justice, to get your facts straight. Because the LAW is firmly on Jim Sak's side.

one of the changes, made July 23, 2010 and effective March 15, 2011, says Service animals are exempt from breed bans as well as size & weight limitations.
http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleIII_2010/reg3_2010.html

"Conversely, if an individual uses a breed of dog that is perceived to be aggressive because of breed reputation, stereotype, or the history or experience the observer may have with other dogs, but the dog is under the control of the individual with a disability and does not exhibit aggressive behavior, the public accommodation cannot exclude the individual or the animal from the place of public accommodation. The animal can only be removed if it engages in the behaviors mentioned in § 36.302(c) (as revised in the final rule) or if the presence of the animal constitutes a fundamental alteration to the nature of the goods, services, facilities, and activities of the place of public accommodation."

"The Department does not believe that it is either appropriate or consistent with the ADA to defer to local laws that prohibit certain breeds of dogs based on local concerns that these breeds may have a history of unprovoked aggression or attacks. Such deference would have the effect of limiting the rights of persons with disabilities under the ADA who use certain service animals based on where they live rather than on whether the use of a particular animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Breed restrictions differ significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions have no breed restrictions. Others have restrictions that, while well-meaning, have the unintended effect of screening out the very breeds of dogs that have successfully served as service animals for decades without a history of the type of unprovoked aggression or attacks that would pose a direct threat, e.g., German Shepherds. Other jurisdictions prohibit animals over a certain weight, thereby restricting breeds without invoking an express breed ban. In addition, deference to breed restrictions contained in local laws would have the unacceptable consequence of restricting travel by an individual with a disability who uses a breed that is acceptable and poses no safety hazards in the individual´s home jurisdiction but is nonetheless banned by other jurisdictions. Public accommodations have the ability to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether a particular service animal can be excluded based on that particular animal´s actual behavior or history--not based on fears or generalizations about how an animal or breed might behave. This ability to exclude an animal whose behavior or history evidences a direct threat is sufficient to protect health and safety."

If Jim Sak is disabled and Snicker's is his service dog, the breed is irrelevant. The owner/handler has certain responsibilities (ie keeping service dog under control, on restraint in public, etc) and if those have been followed, you cannot legally stop him from entering any area/building that is normally open to the public. You certainly cannot order him to remove his service dog from his home OR the town!!

Very Sincerely,
janie

disabled
owner/handler of service dog "in training"

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Isaiah 40:31

Janie's Jewels & Jems
Art & Jewelry designed for the Jem in your life!
Retailer for Heel, Inc USA—healthcare designed by nature
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Minnesota USA

A Day at the Park

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

A spring visit to Michigan and time to play with grandsons. Grampa & Uncle Pete enjoyed some "park play" with Ethan. There were SO many fun, Fun, FUN photos that I did my 1st-ever QUAD-layout. Then using a 12x12 fixed crop setting, separated them into individual LOs. It was TONS of fun!!!

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Ethan-PARK PLAY

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Then, some extra fun playing around and creating a WA to go along with Amy's kit.

WordArt by janieinMN

credits: A Day At The Park & Monkeying Around by 3 Li’l Monsters Designs

font - Croobie, ErasLight ITC

fonts for janieinMN wordart - Scramble, NoodleScript, NoodleShade

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Isaiah 40:31

Caught Napping!

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Baby Face

credits: Wee Dolly Molly by Milly Dee Designs

Photomask #28 by Carley's Digi Scraps

Word Art (swap 30) by Jennifer at Word Art World

font - Monotype Corsiva

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Love the awesome effect of this photomask by Carley's Digi Scraps that really makes this adorable photo of my great-nephew Ray just POP! Jennifer's Word Art was absolutely perfect AND Milly's baby kit was just right for scrapping this wee one caught napping :-)

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Isaiah 40:31

Charming, Precious, Adorable ABIGAIL!

2011-12-13T13:51:00.001-06:00

Here are some layouts I did back in June with one of my favorite subjects: Abigail~ she was a miracle baby (premie) of a young friend of ours. We got to meet her this summer and I hope to scrap our photos with her soon. They were staying at the Holland State Park and we met on the sandy beach... fun pics of her playing with the sand & us (different textures were part of her therapy so not only was it an adventure for her, it was also helping her development). Without further delay, here's...... charming, precious & adorable Abigail!

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CurlyLocks

credits: Fish Are Friends by 3 Li’l Monsters Designs

font - Monotype Corsiva

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Abigail -bunnyfingers

credits: My Boy by Milly Dee Designs

font - Monotype Corsiva

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Abigail -artistry

credits: Flutterflies by Binty Designs

font - Monotype Corsiva

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Isaiah 40:31

Monkey-ing Around!

2011-12-13T13:26:00.000-06:00

Cade & Kitty

My nephew Cade & his kitty -- thanks Virginia for the adorable photos!!

credits: Monkeying Around June 2011 BLOG TRAIN... CT designers...

3 li'l Monsters Designs, Milly Dee Designs and MagsGraphics

font - CK Tomfoolery

Stitches Brushes 2 by Aida Scraps

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Great Nephews 1st Birthday

credits: Monkeying-Around kits by Deliscraps by Min, Eyeinspire & Wyld Web Designs

font - CK Yonkers

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Isaiah 40:31

Where Did Time Go??

2011-11-22T10:15:00.002-06:00

I didn't realize it's been SO long since posting. I have a few layouts from June/July to upload, but time just got away from us. It was a busy summer and now it's even busier!!

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June -- job interview in IL, visited family in MI

July -- roger emergency hospitalization with epiglotitis (life-threatening emergency), recovery (MANY thanks to dear friend Melissa who immediately flew out to help me. major plumbing repair (ABS piping failed kitchen drain). started getting backyard fence estimates.

August -- 4-day weekend vacation to Ely MN. wall repair & painting from plumbing job.

September -- week vacation in the Black Hills of SD followed by pickup of NEW PUPPY!!

October -- birthday & anniversary, and busy, busy, BUSY potty-training puppy!! visit from Mom & Dad :-)

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KEIKO DAKOTA

born 7/30/11, joined our family 9/25/11-- here she is at 11 1/2 weeks

her name's meaning:

KEIKO (japanese for "blessing")

DAKOTA (native american for "friend")

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

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Isaiah 40:31

More Fun with Grandsons

2011-06-03T10:08:00.001-05:00

Boys Toys

credits: On the Move by Milly Dee Designs, font - CK Kolette

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Outdoor Discovery Center

credits: Forest Frenzy & Zoo kits by MagsGraphics

fonts - CK Postman, CK TrueType

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Isaiah 40:31

I SPY!

2011-06-03T10:01:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't remember the game played for hours at a time during road trips? "I SPY..." When we got back from a visit with our grandsons, these photos gave instant inspiration for a 'spy' page. Amy at 3 Li'l Monsters Designs had the PERFECT kit!!! My Dear Watson :-)

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I SPY

This LO won LOTD (layout of the day) at DSDI in April!!

credits: My Dear Watson by 3 Li'l Monsters Design, font - CK Kolette

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Minnesota Zoo!

2011-06-03T09:51:00.002-05:00

We really had fun taking photos at our Zoo trip in April... especially with the monkeys!! The following LOs using Animal Magic by Alison at Milly Dee Designs speak louder than any words could :-)

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Cats

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Camels & Bears

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Snow Monkeys

credits: Animal Magic by Milly Dee Designs, font - CK Kolette

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Winter to Spring Transition

2011-05-15T18:19:00.001-05:00

We attempted a trip to the zoo last month (got some FANTASTIC photos! will share digi LOs later). It wasn't easy trying to avoid the people with their stinky fragrances & chemicals (lotions, shampoos, deodorants, aftershaves, laundry detergents, fabric softener, ETC!). The hardest part was when parents grabbed their kids & pulled them away. I'M NOT CONTAGIOUS!! But, if the shoe were on the other foot, would I have done the same? I hope not, but what if I already did in past years and just don't remember?

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The isolation that comes with being disabled with SEVERE multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS) and SEVERE natural rubber latex allergy (NRLA) is real. It's only the grace of God & the support from a loving husband (and our kids & parents) that keep me going. When I do leave the house, we have to take tons of "stuff" with us... emergency battery operated air purifier (full hooded respirator), emergency change of clothing & medical supplies, emergency medications (epi-pens, inhaler, antihistimines, homeopathics, etc), all my food & snacks AND water for the day/outing. I wear HEPA/carbon nasal filters, surgical face mask, hat, gloves, long sleeves and long pants (even in the heat of summer)... have to protect my airway and cover as much skin as possible.

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With MCS, you don't have to breathe it to be affected by it (chemicals). Same goes for latex proteins. There are 4 main routes of exposure that I have to guard against: inhalation (breathing), absorption (skin & membranes (like eyes)), ingestion (eating, drinking contaminated food/drink), and injection (insect stings (several stinging insects are latex-cross-reactives... their venom has similar proteins to latex... making them an EXTREME double-whammy!! another form is any type of syringe/shots... have to make sure the syringes are latex-free and that there hasn't been any latex contamination of the serum).

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Even with keeping my guard up, there are bound to be surprises in addition to the known exposures. So a simple outing to walk in the park has the potential of a bad exposure & reaction. We do our best and enjoy what time we can spend outdoors in the midst of God's AWESOME creation! We have some WONDERFUL state & regional parks in MN & WI... and our own Lock & Dam on the Mississippi River gives us some great exercise and fantastic photographic moments (lots of wildlife, birds and such).

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I had a pretty tough & dangerous winter with neighboring snowmobilers that were cutting across our property and then polluting our backyard with their petrol/exhaust. Finally, the last snowmelt occurred and aaahhh, relief! THEN, the farmer sprayed his field with amonia sulfate (AWFUL stuff for EVERYbody!!!) and my body has been feeling the affects from that ever since (and more so when he came by a couple days ago and made 2 complete passes to turn the soil under - THAT was a HORRIBLY painful day). Thankfully, our neighbors give us advance warning when they're going to mow & that helps me establish a defense zone (air purifiers on high, avoid opening windows/doors, keep exhaust fans off). It doesn't prevent chem exposures, because the petrol/exhaust and grass pollens (latex-cross-reactives!!) come in thru intake & exhaust vents... I just do what we can to "minimize" the effect. Since we got our Oreck Air Purifiers, life has been much better in the house. When it gets bad outside (from petrol/exhaust, neighborhood fabric softener, farm chems), I also turn on our Hunter HEPA air filters as backup to the Orecks. Sometimes though, the best thing to do is just crawl into bed for the duration & beyond.

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If you have any questions about MCS or NRLA, please feel free to write a comment to this post with your email addy & I'll pass on what I've learned. Here are a couple great websites to get some info. For MCS: www.mcs-america.org. For NRLA, go here: www.latexallergyresources.org.

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Well, that's all for now. I've got 6 LOs to share with you another day (zoo trip and visit with grandsons!). Meanwhile, PLEASE focus on PREVENTION so you don't end up with MCS or NRLA. Remember, ANYone can develop these health conditions at ANYtime. They get worse with EACH exposure! I'm now disabled because I didn't know hardly anything "about" them until it was too late. For starters, use safe unscented AND fragrance-free cleaners and personal care products. AVOID perfumes (200+ chemicals!!), AVOID fabric softeners (ALL types!!), AVOID latex gloves & latex balloons. AND do the research! learn as much as you can about the chemicals you have in your home and work hard & diligently to make your home safe for your loved ones & you!!

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For those of you that find yourself in my shoes with either MCS or NRLA (or both!), I hope the links I've included for some of the "stuff", that helps me participate in life, is of help to you.

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Isaiah 40:31

So VERY Scrabable!!

2011-04-20T08:24:00.000-05:00

Of course we're going to scrap our precious grandsons. They are my most useful subjects, second only to OUR sons! Then there are special events, my hubby, and friends/relatives. and THEN, there are the photos that just BEG to be scrapped. The oh so darling & delightful Abigail, premie daughter of a young friend of ours... who is a camera HAM -- she absolutely LOVES to have her picture taken!! and really hams it up in front of the camera. Both her and our grandsons are featured in these four layouts.

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Critter Farm

credits: Farm Daze, Animal Crackers Base and Zoo kits by MagsGraphics, font - CK Kolette

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Grampa & Boys

credits: Treasured kit and PhotoMask#1 by Binty Designs, font - CK Kolette

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Cutie-Pie

Happy-Girl

credits: Easter Grab Bag by Binty Designs, font - CK Kolette

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Isaiah 40:31

Family Heritage

2011-04-14T09:09:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful vacation in March visiting family. You'll be seeing alot of layouts with our grandsons! Meanwhile, here are a couple using Red Ivy Design's kits. My mom was excited about finding an OLD family photo online of the Mincemoyer Clan (my gramma around 3yo & Great Gram & beyond!). She also had a framed oldie of my Great Gram and all her kids (my Gramma before she married & my great aunts & uncles). This inspired my 1st real "vintage" scrapbook layout.

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Gramma & Great Gram

credits: Blue Eyes AddOn & PhotoMask Vol3 by Red Ivy Designs

font - CK True Type

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And then, our morning out at Big Red to watch the sunrise. Still a bit nippy, but spring is in the air!! Thought it was kinda cool how we ended up matching the lighthouse. I've had tons of fun using the panorama (auto-stitching!!) feature in my new Sony Cybershot HX5V & really liked the results of the harbor. Got a great one of the sunrise (not shown here).

Holland MI - Big Red

credits: Cheery kit by Alice at Red Ivy Designs

font - TypoUpright BT

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Isaiah 40:31

my avatar

2011-04-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

just uploading here so i can link to some forums. i don't belong to a photo sharing site yet.

credits: Inspire & You're So Lovely kits by Alice at Red Ivy Designs

Heart Brushes by Hawksmont; fonts - Bradley Hand ITC, French Script MT, Algerian & Times New Roman

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Isaiah 40:31

Snapshots in Time

2011-04-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

Father-Son look-a-likes!

credits: Tranquil Moments by Milly Dee Designs

fonts - AR Carter, Albertus Medium

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Isaiah 40:31

Tres Amigos

2011-04-02T08:00:00.013-05:00

Used a DARLING kit by Amy at 3 L'il Monsters for this layout (OKC). And of course, her scrapping name immediately prompted memories of MY little monsters (3 of them!) and I was off on a picture hunt. Then, I had the great idea of making MY memories "their" memories. I remembered downloading some bubble art for comics-text... couldn't find it... so did an internet search and learned that PSE has these in their shapes library! Yipee!! So I had fun tweaking them to fit the photos and taking chunks of backgrounds from the pics for the smaller bubbles. This was a FUN layout of our 3 sons who are 3 brothers and friends for life!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

3 Brothers

credits: What A Wonderful World by Amy at 3 L'il Monsters

and Swap24 wordart package by Word Art World

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Isaiah 40:31

Journal Cover Art

2011-03-25T13:19:00.000-05:00

Journies

This was alot of fun! Made a journal cover for a challenge over at Enchanted Studio Scraps using a very artsy kit, Art Journaling Starter Kit, by Amanda at Circle of Life Scraps.

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Isaiah 40:31

oh the plans of mice & men... ?

2011-03-22T13:19:00.000-05:00

I have grand plans of beefing up my blog... designing the background... creating decorative tabs, etc. And then I hit a snag that requires more thought and then.... I FORGET about it!! yikes! I thought that was just supposed to be for the Rotisserie Oven (just set it & forget it! HA!!). Eventually, I need to get paypal links setup and upload info about the homeopathics by Heel Inc (for which I'm a retailer) and an outlet for my jewelry (since I can no longer do art shows or open houses due to my health situation with NRLA (natural rubber latex allergy) & MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities)). Some of those long-term goals "still under construction"??

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Meanwhile, the digi-scrapping bug has struck again and I have some exciting layouts to share. Memories of my brother Gary, who is now with the Lord... Then vs Now with our 3 sons—when they were wee wigwams and pics of them with their lovely wives... Snow Day for our eldest... and another LO of an adorable miracle baby (Abigail), this time in her dutch costume!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

I had fun with a PSE tutorial for curling "corner" edges... as well as frustrations! PSE8 crashed on me 3 times while I was working on the "3 sons" LO. Finally, after rebooting my PC, all went well. There was one method, that no matter how many times I replayed the tutorial video, it just wasn't happening for me. So, I went with an entire photo curl using distort/shear and gaussian blurs. Unfortunately, I can't find the link to the VIDEO tutorial I watched. If I can locate it, I'll come back & share the link :-}

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Sweet Little Dutch Girl

credits: French Tulips by Milly Dee Designs, font - SBC Jazzed

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Then vs Now - "3 Sons"

credits: Tranquil Moments by Milly Dee Designs, fonts - AR Carter, Albertus Medium

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Brother-Sister

Gary

credits: A Fun Snow Day kit & 7days-a-week Templates Vol2(#2&#4) by Binty Designs,

font - Albertus Medium

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Snow Day!!

credits: A Fun Snow Day kit by Binty Designs, font - Albertus Medium

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Catching Up 11 - Dasha

2011-03-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

Abigail - Sweet Princess

Abigail - Leaf Queen

Fiona - Piratess

credits: Gossip Girl by Dasha at Angelle Designs, font - Vianta

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 10 - just for fun!

2011-03-12T08:00:00.014-06:00

Phoenix 2006

OKC credits: Colors of the Wind kit by Monica at Random Inspirations, font - Amazone BT

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

ride 'em cowboy!

(cowboy ethan)

credits: Boy Attitude by ScrapAnges, font - TempusSansITC

Photomasks001 by Designs by Kristine (formerly WenchdGrafix)

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Anniversary#33 BlackHills SD

Love Birds

OKC credits: Come What May (her very 1st kit!) by Sarah at Diamond Ink Designs, fonts - Vianta & Vijaya

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Sisters

RAK (won this thru DST) credits: Frolic in the Flowers by Snuggle Berry Pie Designs, font - SU Steele Script

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 9 - Amanda

2011-03-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Grampa & Ethan 2008

roger-janie-2004 (Intro to MN)

credits: Christmas Whimsy by Amanda at Circle of Life Scraps, font - SU Steele Script

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 8 - Alison

2011-03-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Alison at Milly Dee Designs is one of my favorite designers. There's never a lack of pictures to scrap the memories that come to mind with her kits.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Abby's 1st Christmas

credits: Sugar Cookie Christmas by Milly Dee Designs, font - Viner Hand ITC

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Ahoy Matey!

credits: AHoy Matey by Milly Dee Designs, font - unicorn

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Turkey Babe!

credits: Forever Autumn by Milly Dee Designs, font - Viner Hand ITC

North Shore Beaches - Oct 2010

credits: Forever Autumn kit by Milly Dee Designs,font - SU CSS Hand

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 7 - Eirene

2011-03-06T08:00:00.003-06:00

Our Fall color tour to Duluth, Minnesota was awesome! We discovered a new State Park that we hadn't known about and had fun trying to find the observatory where on a clear day, with winds from the NW, you can see hundreds of hawks & other birds in the air. It was the right time of year for the sightings, but the wind wasn't cooperating and we saw more birds along the North Shore than we did at the observatory. Got a nifty souvenir plus lots of great photos from our day trip :-)

Jay Cooke State Park

HawkRidge Bird Observatory

credits: Flirty Fall by Eirene Designs, fonts - Lucinda Handwriting & Goudy Stout

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 6 - Nicole

2011-03-04T08:00:00.036-06:00

A Boy's Life by Nicole at Poetic Expressions Designs was perfect for these precious photos. Our oldest son is the little Indian. We were visiting my parents at the Alpine Camp & Conference Grounds... my dad was the current Indian Chief for their summer camp for 4th-6th graders. Andrew was 21 months old here... such a cutey-pie!!

Little Red Chief

credits: A Boys Life kit by Nicole at Poetic Expressions Designs, font - Giddyup Std

This is our 2nd son, Jonathan, and our oldest grandson... Ethan. His dad has just as much fun with the toys as Ethan does (sometimes I think "more so"!).

Boys 'n Toys

credits: A Boys Life kit by Nicole at Poetic Expressions Designs, font - Hero of Fools

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 5 - SCHOOL DAYS

2011-03-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

English Tea by Alice (Red Ivy Designs) was all I needed to scrap my school days from K-college, with the final being a "then vs now" page :-)

Elementary 1969

Junior High 1972

Senior High 1975

College 1977

Then vs Now

credits: English Tea kit by Red Ivy Designs, font - Giddyup Std

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

We homeschooled our 3 boys from K-12. Here are a couple fun layouts preserving those memories.

Science Project 1991 - HAMSTERS!!!

credits: Back to Class / Hooray for Homeschoolers kit by Circle of Life Scraps, font - Agency FB

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Pioneer Days

credits: Back to School (Shabby) by Scrappers Guide, font - CK Bowlarama

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Then, a fun layout of my brother & I for the year we attended a private school, uniforms ... bus rides... and all.

Private School

credits: Back to School kit by Eirene Designs, font - Amazone BT

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Isaiah 40:31

A Week of SCRAPPIN' FUN!

2011-02-28T14:57:00.001-06:00

Imagine my delight at having 4 whole days of uninterrupted scrapping! Tagged along with hubby on his business trip and while staying in a studio suite... NO laundry... NO cleaning (except few dishes)... NO phone calls... I had a plan!! Had digital kits from 4 fabulous designers and oodles of time for the creativity ball to get rolling... and it did!!! So, here they all are -- CT layouts for Alison (Milly Dee Designs), Binty (Binty Designs), Mags (MagsGraphics), and Eirene (Eirene Designs).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Jaden - FARMin

Ethan & Jade - Apple PICKin

credits: Old McDonald Farm by Milly Dee Designs, fonts - Myriad Pro

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Ethan - reading

credits: Pocket-Sized Rascals by Milly Dee Designs, fonts - SU Casual

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Jaden - dec2010

Carter - Halloween 2010

credits: All About You by Binty Designs, fonts - Parchment

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Valentines - 2011

credits: Serendipity by Binty Designs, Heart Frames-2009June by Binty and Wooden Alpha by Binty

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Ethan - Bug Hunting!

credits: Bugs-n-Kisses by MagsGraphics, fonts - SU Marker J Low

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Dear Heart

credits: Dear Heart by Eirene Designs, fonts - SU CSS Hand

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 4 - Alice

2011-02-05T08:00:00.031-06:00

More of the treasured OLD slides yielded these wonderful finds. My Great Gram's birthday celebration! Apparently I got to help "prep" the candles :-)

I have warm, cuddly memories of my Great Gram... she loved doing cross-word puzzles and spent many hours sitting next to the window in the dining room with book & pencil in hand. An enjoyably repeated task was the daily brushing of her hair and putting it up in "pin-curls"... I don't remember my arms ever getting tired (like they do now!). Ah... the memories! Alice's "Let's Celebrate" kit was perfect for preserving & showcasing this particular event.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Great Gram's Birthday!

credits: Let's Celebrate kit by Alice at Red Ivy Designs

font - Amazone BT

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 3 - Binty

2011-02-03T08:00:00.084-06:00

Binty designed this awesome, fun & tender kit, "Backyard Romance". A fitting title for scrapping the "love of my life!" After graduating early from high school, we moved further south and... well, I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

The BOY next door...

is the MAN I married...

credits: Backyard Romance kit by Binty Designs

fonts - Amazone BT & CK Buckaroo

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

We were privileged to vacation in the Black Hills last October. Such wonderfully CLEAN air (until they did a prescribed burn, but that's another story!), hiking trails all to ourselves, wildlife & mountain views to photograph... we had an absolutely WONDERFUL time!! A day trip to the Wild Horse Sanctuary was an exciting part of our adventures!

We had many opportunities to worship our Lord Jesus in the midst of the beauty of His creation -- How great is our God, how AWESOME is His name!

1 Sing to the Lord a new song; Sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. 9 Worship the Lord in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, " The Lord reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity." 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; 12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 Before the Lord, for He is coming; For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, And the peoples in His faithfulness. Psalms 96 NASB

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Wild Horse Sanctuary

credits: Smile Everyday kit & photomasks by Binty Designs

font - Vianta

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Isaiah 40:31

Baseball Memories!

2011-02-02T13:24:00.000-06:00

Batter UP!

MagsGraphics did another fantastic redo -- this time with the kit "Tear Bear Baseball". Lots of fun & memories putting this page together (read the journaling :-)

credits: Tear Bear Baseball by MagsGraphics

fonts - Subway & Tunga

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 2 - Bianca

2011-02-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

I had a complete blast converting OLD slides that had been lurking in hidden places at my mom's house. What memories they brought to mind!! Exploring the Tide Pools with our Sunday School Class, Church Picnics, Summer Indian Camp at Alpine... and VERY timely was Bianca's kit, Explore... did these layouts as part of a OKC (one-kit-call).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Tide Pools

Indian Chief

credits: Explore kit by Bianca at ProjectB Designs

font - Tubular

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Isaiah 40:31

Catching Up 1 - challenges

2011-01-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

Challenges from Oct-Dec 2010

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

I'm not Sleepy!

Isn't our grandson, Jaden, simply adorable?? We sure think so!!

credits: Dream A Little Dream kit from Scrapper's Guide

font - SU Little Lamb

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: WA challenge at theStudio

kits by MagsGraphics - Jack & Sunshine Beach

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: WA challenge at theStudio

kits by MagsGraphics - Zoo Spirit, Sunflower Patch & Summer Garden Seeds

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: WA challenge at theStudio

Good Times kit by Red Ivy Designs

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Isaiah 40:31

from Christmas to Valentines

2011-01-28T10:55:00.000-06:00

MagsGraphics is an awesome digital scrapping designer. She's got a fun & down to earth style that is extremely versitile and OH SO FUN to work with!! She reworked her Chocolate Cherry kit from the ADSD blog train that was a couple of years ago, making it even more wonderful to use. You'll understand why when you see the LO titles & subjects!

MY guys!

MY honeybun!

credits: Chocolate-Covered Cherry! by MagsGraphics

font - Space Toaster

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

This Christmas, I volunteered to help my neighbor with a Christmas Photo Card. The ADSD Blog Train "O Holy Night" ended up being the perfect fit. Then, I thought to myself... why can't I do this for our Christmas? The following are the results (last name removed for privacy).

credits: O Holy Night by Mags Graphics (elements)
O Holy Night by Moo's Scrap Designs aka Joni Vickers (background paper)

fonts - Tekton Pro, SU Carefree

credits:

O Holy Night by Mags Graphics (elements)
O Holy Night by Moo's Scrap Designs aka Joni Vickers (background paper)

fonts - Tekton Pro, Harlow Solid Italic

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Isaiah 40:31

Kids Hope USA

2011-01-07T14:32:00.000-06:00

Vote now to help them win a 50K grant. Your votes can help get them into the top 10!

you can vote EVERY day between now & Jan 31 (even several times a day).

You can find out more about this fantastic ministry HERE

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Isaiah 40:31

Jeremy's Christmas Album

2010-11-19T10:34:00.000-06:00

A very dear old friend of mine, fellow-musician & pianist, just released his 1st album. You can listen to it here. I'd really like to encourage you to support him by going to itunes and downloading this beautiful & worshipful Christmas album by Jeremiah Whiteside (see link below).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~
itunes - Jeremiah Whiteside's Christmas Album

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Isaiah 40:31

Announcement

2010-10-10T14:33:00.000-05:00

JJJ now has a page on Facebook! This blog post is to test a new feature from RSS Graffiti, that will automatically put any blog posts on the JJJ page wall :-)

FACEBOOK - JANIE'S JEWELS & JEMS

have a great weekend!

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Isaiah 40:31

QP alert!

2010-10-07T12:11:00.005-05:00

Pumpkin Kids 2009

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

my very 1st QP!!

credits:Halloween Torn Bear Pumpkin mini-kit by MagsGraphics, Farmer's Market Collab by Mags & 88dbm (flower),
Spookies addon by Eirene Designs (owl), font - Times New Roman

MagsGraphics is having a Halloween QP contest this month (deadline Oct 15). You get to choose one (from several different halloween tear bear mini-kits) to work with. This was my very 1st attempt at making a QP—Mags was a great encourager! Click on the preview to get the free download or download HERE.

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Isaiah 40:31

Ancient Memories

2010-07-30T11:54:00.001-05:00

Sebastian 1975

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits:Ocean kit by Rainbow Scrapbook Designs, font - CK True Type

Katalin also has this blog: http://7szindizajn.hu/

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Isaiah 40:31

Grandsons & Traveling Hardships

2010-07-28T14:56:00.001-05:00

Holidays 2009

Babes 2009

credits: Jack build-a-kit by MagsGraphics, fonts - SBC Preschool & CK True Type

Mags has several packs/sets of papers, frames, ribbons & hold-em-ups to choose from. It really is a fun "build-a-kit". She also has one called "Luke" and another "Madeline". You can see them all here in her store.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

One of the hardest things about living so far from family, is not getting to spend time with our grandsons. Family viisits are rare because it's so difficult to travel that far because of my severe NRLA (natural rubber latex allergy) & MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities). There are many things I have to remain ever watchful for... avoidance is the ONLY treatment for latex allergy as it gets worse with EACH exposure. Traveling has all kinds of dangers... both chemical and latex (road dust, exhaust, road construction, fresh asphalt, industry waste that's airborne (ie refineries & power plants), gas stations, latex glove use &/or cleaning chemicals in public bathrooms, latex glove use in restaurants, PEOPLE in all these places with all the chemicals & fragrances they have on their person & in their clothing, the "unexpected" surprises (car or house fire along the freeway, blown tires on the road, etc).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Because of the latex contamination of food & drink (thru use of latex gloves in the restaurant &/or the food manufacturers facility), we have to prepare and bring travel food with us AND enough food for me for the duration of our stay. Then, where are we going? where will we stay? who will be coming to see us? and there's a whole 'nother round of preparations... sometimes so very overwhelming that it's just easier (and of course, MUCH SAFER) to just stay home (especially if encountered "major" exposures/reactions during the last trip)!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

In addition to restaurants & food manufacturers, HOTELS are notorious for using latex gloves. Mostly, because they don't know anything about latex allergy and their suppliers promote the latex gloves (they've lost business as the hospitals are going latex-free and are pushing their gloves into every mode of business). NIOSH issued an alert way back in 1997 -- 13 years ago!! -- that to avoid latex allergy in the workplace, to use NON-LATEX gloves for routine cleaning, housekeeping, food service, hair/beauty salons, etc. Yet, SO MANY BUSINESSES are still using latex gloves... and we, the consumer pay the heavy price -- ANYone at ANYtime can become latex allergic... you don't have to be in the medical profession! it's everywhere -- we've been exposed with the food we eat, the places we shop, the places we eat, the places we sleep!! -- the danger is that not everyone who is latex allergic "knows" they are... and therefore they're not avoiding it and are getting worse with every exposure... AVOIDANCE IS THE ONLY TREATMENT!!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Then, who are we going to see? I can't go into their homes, so they have to come see us (whether we stay in a hotel or room at my parents that has been made relatively safe)... this means advance preps on their part -- special steps in laundering their clothing, avoiding use of all fragrances & chemicals, making sure airborne latex isn't piggy-backing into our 'safe zone' with them (latex gloves &/or balloons will contaminate their clothing, hair, skin, house, car, etc -- they pick it up in the stores, restaurants, workplace, etc), no elastic in their clothing, etc. -- the list goes on & on & on.... it's practically impossible to have a completely safe environment under those conditions. We've found that family & friend visits are MUCH SAFER when they travel to come see us in our home... because "we" can control what comes in... houseguests (family AND friends) coming to see us go thru a strict regime when they arrive -- strip out of travel clothes & bag them in plastic, shower (with soaps & shampoos that we provide) & put on 100% cotton clothing (scrubs or other) that is both latex-free and has never come in contact with fabric softener or other laundry chemicals (we now have all sizes on hand for them); thoroughly dry & cover any hair that has been treated with chemicals (ie perm, coloring, etc).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Then there's the matter of the water.... chlorine is a killer! I have to take with us enough filtered & boiled water for me to drink for the travel days and the time we're away from home. If where we stay has chlorinated water? it is airborne every time it's turned on or a toilet flushes... this affects me in 2 ways... immediate respiratory distress AND the multiple body systems affected because of my MCS.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Life-threatening & disabling latex allergy & multiple chemical sensitivities bring with it an isolation that most people just don't comprehend. Some who may be reading this and have NRLA themselves might be thinking, "i'm not that bad", "my latex allergy is very mild", etc. Well, so was mine at one time. Latex allergy is PROGRESSIVE. It gets worse with EACH exposure. The ONLY treatment is AVOIDANCE.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Please see www.latexallergyresources.org for more information on latex allergy. And www.mcs-america.org for more info on multiple chemical sensitivities.

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Isaiah 40:31

2010-07-27T10:01:00.002-05:00

Foxy Rusky

This is my favorite picture of my hubby, taken at a lighthouse in Michigan enroute to our 25th anniversary vacation in Charlevoix (5-day fishing trip!!).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: My Jake kit by Angelle Designs, font - Pristina

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Isaiah 40:31

Milestone Reached - Layout #100

2010-07-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Dad-boys CUDDLES

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Brother CUDDLES

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Ethan PLAYTIME

(layout #100!!)

These layouts speak for themselves... there's nothing more special than cuddling your loved ones & capturing those memories. This is one of our sons with our 2 grandsons. Binty's kit was perfect for the occassion... once I got started I couldn't stop... these 3 layouts were the result (and I have pics all ready for 2-3 more!).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: Boy Oh Boy kit by Binty Designs, font - SBC Preschool

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Military Days

2010-07-22T13:54:00.002-05:00

USN 1976-1984

I was inspired to do this layout when I first saw the kit "For Freedom" by Eirene Designs (and thrilled when she accepted me for a OKC). I ended up having to scan in a chopped up wallet size pic of my honey's boot camp grad because I "lost" the 8x10! I've searched high & low and without success—it's going to drive me absolutely crazy until I find it. Meanwhile, with the scanned photo and PSE5, the enlargement did the trick. The photo of the 2 of us was taken during Nuc School, just a couple of months before we got married. The TV show "The Mod Squad" was popular in our day... so I thought it was kinda cute that the 3 fellows in the lower right pic became known as "The 'God'-Squad" because of their practice of getting together for prayer on the fantail(?).

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: For Freedom kit by Eirene Designs, font - Poor Richard

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My Babies

2010-07-20T10:30:00.002-05:00

Found another designer thru DST and was accepted for her OKC (one kit call - guest CT) for her kit "It's All About the Belly". aaaahhhh.... what wonderful memories I've been blessed with... children are a heritage from the Lord... SO much fun searching for the pictures for these layouts -- these particular belly pics were taken the night before they were born (or within a couple days of delivery)...

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Baby #1

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Baby #2

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Baby #3

credits: It's All About the Belly kit by Snippets Inc, font - papyrus

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Isaiah 40:31

The Little Engine That Could -pt 1

2010-07-20T00:00:00.002-05:00

baby Carter

This was inspired by our neighbor's (and dear friends of ours) 1st grandson. He was a premie, born at 23 weeks. There were many, many struggles along the way... he's living proof of miracles and the grace of God! One of their friends wrote a song for Carter, along the lines of the Little Engine that Could... so that's the theme for all the layouts I'll be doing of his 1st year adventures.

credits: Chugga ChooChoo kit by Connie Prince /DigiDiva Designs

Holy Bible, New American Standard version,fonts - Cezanne & Amazone BT

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Isaiah 40:31

July DigiSB Challenges!

2010-07-18T15:55:00.003-05:00

Layouts I did for the July challenges over at Digitals.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Celebrate Friends

credits: Digitals Calendar Challenge

Sea 2 Sea kit by Amanda Thordersen

WA challenge (kimberkatt)

fonts - Callistroke & CK Lovenotes

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Abigail at Beach

credits: Digitals Ad Challenge

Sweet Summer Sun by Alessandra Designs

font - CK Jessica

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

r-j LOVE

credits: Digitals Designer Elements Challenge

Lavender Sweet Pea addon by Carena

I Cor 13:7 Wordart by Sally's Angelworks

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

r-j Michigan

credits: Digitals Sketchy Details Challenge

Remembering kit by Amanda Thordersen

font - CF Frankfort

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Isaiah 40:31

New Signature Standards at DST

2010-07-16T14:22:00.003-05:00

DST has posted new siggy standards for their forum. So today I worked at incorporating my new logo / business card into a "name tag"... hoping by posting it here, it'll link successfully to DST :-)

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Yipee, it worked!!

and oops! forgot the credits -- this was made using 2 gorgeous kits by Alice at Red Ivy Designs... Inspire & You're So Lovely. i also used heart brushes by hawksmont.

trying a smaller size

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Isaiah 40:31

i'm SO excited!

2010-07-15T14:58:00.002-05:00

Another favorite designer, Binty Designs (LOVE her photomasks!!) has accepted me for her guest CT. My layout of Fiona Elegante used one of her masks (Sept09). I'm looking forward to scrapping with more of her stuff. You can find her stores here & here.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

Thanks Binty!

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Isaiah 40:31

more OKC's

2010-07-15T07:53:00.004-05:00

The following layouts are for some OKC's over at DST. I know you'll HAVE to agree with me that these are some darling kits and were very fun to work with. This 1st set is a "blast from the past"!

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Bathtub FUN 1

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Bathtub FUN 2

credits: Little Sailor kit by Milly Dee Designs

fonts: Callistroke, CK Bedrock, Wendy Medium

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Here's part II of "great-nephews"... these adorable pics of the babies with their older sibling are priceless.

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Fiona & Falcon

credits: Kindy World kit by Rucola Designs

photomask vol 2 by Red Ivy Designs, font - CK Joannie

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Cade & Korbin

credits: Kindy World kit by Rucola Designs

font - CK Joannie

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Willow River State Park, MN

credits: Dandelions in the Spring kit by Vera Designs, font - Gigi

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Isaiah 40:31

OKC at DST!

2010-07-15T00:00:00.003-05:00

I recently discovered OKC (one kit calls) over at DST Forum. It's been great! I've found some great designers this way... one has graciously added me to her regular "guest CT". So, I'm going to begin with her. This is the 1st kit she's designed... isn't it great?!!

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Once A Gamer...

Video gaming is obviously multi-generational... especially with the Wii...

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I Wanna Play!

Ethan adores his uncle Pete and wants to do everything he does!

credits: Boyfriend Is A Gamer kit by Angelle Designs,

fonts - Borg-9 & Bradley Hand ITC

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Isaiah 40:31

MagsGraphics latest!

2010-07-14T13:57:00.001-05:00

My 1st "regular" CT was MagsGraphics -- I love her stuff... so fun to play with... and SO much in tune with the growing years of our 3 sons. Here are the layouts I did in May-July10 with her latest and some of my favorite kits.

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Tonka Christmas

This was a Christmas to remember. We celebrated the birthday of our Lord Jesus and then opened gifts. The boys were absolutely thrilled with their new tonka trucks and sleeping bags.

credits: Monster Truck Madness kit by MagsGraphics, fonts - Franklin Gothic Heavy

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Then came the picture that HAD to be scrapped... little Abigail in her sunflower dress... SO VERY adorable!!!!!!! Mags collaborated with 88DesignsByM for Farmer's Market. It was absolutely perfect for scrappin' this photo :-)

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Couch Potatoe

credits: Farmer's Market Collab by MagsGraphics & 88DesignsbyM,

Photo Mask by Anita Designs (You Are My Sunshine freebie),

font - Bradley Hand ITC

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Mags newest designs are a couple build-a-kits called Jack & Luke. The colors are deep & rich and are perfect for scrapping little boys!! (or big ones). I had tons of fun putting this one together using the 1st paper pack and a couple of frame clusters. I made more elements by experimenting with the distort/twirl layers and swirling and more... it was a very challenging layout to do with only the papers to work with this time 'round. If you have boys, be sure and add these fabulous versitile kits to your collection.

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JOY of Eating!

This precious little boy was the 2nd boy to join our growing family... and he became our JOYFUL eater (and continued to be into his adult years!).

credits: Jack build-a-kit by MagsGraphics,fonts - CK Postage Due & Agency FB

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Then, here's one of my favorite MagsGraphics kits... Freedom. We have many things to celebrate here in our country... freedom that is a very precious commodity in today's world, friendships that we hold dear, family and fellowship of believer's—those who share our faith in the risen Lord, Almighty God, my Saviour—the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Friends = FUN!

This layout came about as a "challenge" from a dear friend of ours. After emailing her the layout I did for one of the July challenges over at Digitals (and including a picture I had wanted to use but didn't fit the page), she said "Ha Ha HA, that deserves it's own page!"... and inspiration hit and wala! another layout celebrating our friendship.

credits: Freedom kit by MagsGraphics, font - CK Love Note

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Navy Dad

credits: Freedom kit by MagsGraphics, font - SF-Alexa,

photomask by janieinMN, PSE5 & 1207CSSparkle brushes

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Ethan's 3rd Birthday

Ethan loves Buzz Lightyear. During our visit to MI in Feb10, he had a grand 'ole time playing with a little buzz that we brought him and he shared his big buzz with his gramps... many fun photos of that duo romping in the living room of my parents house.

credits: Freedom kit by MagsGraphics, font - Callistroke

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Isaiah 40:31

VERY BUSY WEEK for nieces!!

2010-07-14T13:09:00.001-05:00

Great Nephews

Our nieces were quite busy the last week of May resulting in 3 precious great-nephews!! A truly scrapable occassion...

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits:

Ami kit by Red Ivy Designs, fonts - CK True Type Distressed & CK Shannon,

photomasks by janieinMN

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Isaiah 40:31

June DigiSB Challenges!

2010-07-14T12:58:00.003-05:00

I'm so far behind in blogging, that I'm going to lump many similar layouts together. This post is focusing on challenges from Digitals & theStudio. I hadn't participated in the challenges at Digitals since Oct09 (it was a very rough winter). If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know that I was very excited to discover a WordArt challenge over at theStudio (formerly Stone Accents Studio) that I look forward to every month since it began Feb10.

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In June, I had urgent incentive to do the challenges because I liked the bonus kit so much... had to get as many pieces to it as I could... loved the colors & theme! So, without further delay -- here are the layouts I did in June & July (broke my record for # layouts in a single month since I began digi-scrapping in Dec08!

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Sweet Abigail

This is the little sweetheart premie that was born at 26 weeks to some friends of ours. What a joy it's been to pray for her and see miracles happen! Be sure to watch for the layout of her 1st day at the beach!!!

credits:

Digitals Sketchy Challenge - dedesmith 6/10

Digitals Scripture Challenge - Word Art by Glenda Ketcham 6/10

Lewisham kit by Amanda Thorderson 5/10

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Summertime Bovines

Some fun pictures taken at a farm we passed on a scenic drive in Wisconsin.

credits:

Digitals Scrap Therapy Challenge - PhotoMask by Amanda Thorderson 6/10

Digitals Scripture Challenge - Wordart by Glenda Ketcham 6/10

theStudio Color Challenge - Summer Sunset kit by Monika Designs 6/10

Treasured Memories by Amanda Thorderson (flower)

Remembering by Amanda Thorderson (ribbon)

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Wild Feathers

Quite a story behind this one -- we were at our favorite nature walking trail and while I was taking pics of a mother duck & her ducklings, my hubby spotted the Eagle and shouted "did you see that?". We took photos as quickly as we could and between the two of us, I was able to recreate the story in this layout... using Blue Eyes addon by Alice at Red Ivy Designs.

credits:

Blue Eyes AddOn kit by Alice -Red Ivy Designs

fonts: SF Alexa, SU Carefree

original photography by rjs/janieinMN

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Engaged!

credits:

Digitals iChallenge - Vintagely Weathered by Juliana Gordon

Fonts - Signboard, SU Harry Paul

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Gooseberry Falls 2007

credits:

Digitals Designer Elements Challenge - kit by Silvia Romeo 6/10

Digitals It's Only Words Challenge - Wordart by Kathryn Estry 6/10

Font - ShelleyAllegro BT

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Ethan's 1st Birthday!

credits: Digitals Ad Challenge

America's Inauguration kit by Amanda Thorderson

Font - Grinched

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Grandsons' Skyping!!

Our 1st skyping adventure with our grandsons -- Ethan had just developed an ear infection so he was much quieter than usual... Jaden seemed facinated by the computer video :-)

credits:Citrus Crush by Amanda Thorderson

Digitals Calendar Challenge - June2010

Fonts - CK Shannon

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credits:

June10 WordArt challenge by Kimberkatt at theStudio

Mr Organizer kit by Kathryn Estry

and, that's all for now folks!

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Isaiah 40:31

May Flowers

2010-07-14T12:05:00.001-05:00

Sunshine Child

credits: Sunflower Patch by MagsGraphics, font - Sherwood

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Isaiah 40:31

More Space Case!

2010-07-14T11:56:00.002-05:00

Space Cadets (left)

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Space Cadets (right)

credits: Space Case kit by MagsGraphics, fonts - Tristan & SU Kelly,

Space Cadets WA by janieinMN

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Space Case kit by MagsGraphics

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Isaiah 40:31

long time away... what to say??

2010-06-23T06:53:00.000-05:00

well, i knew i was behind in posting on my blog... just didn't realize it'd been 2 months! it's all i can do to keep up with facebook!! my husband worked LONG outage hours for 6 weeks ... i've spent more time in the kitchen ... and have done several scrap layouts (will upload those in another post).

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i've had so much success with homeopathics for my severe allergies, that i signed up to be a retailer for Heel, Inc. they have fantastic (& SAFE!) products -- those combined with avoidance (ONLY treatment for latex allergy and #1 treatment for multiple chemical sensitivities) & following every possible precaution has really improved my health. the frequency of my reactions and the recovery time has greatly decreased. unfortunately, the downside is that when i'm doing well, i end up taking some risks that i shouldn't and then get into serious trouble. had a very bad reaction last sunday... but, it was after breaking my record of successive days not needing epinephrine or benadryl!

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family is coming to visit - yipee! my parents for 10 days and our oldest son & his sweet wife for the weekend. the hardest part about where we live is that family is so far away. our 2 grandsons are growing like weeds!! looking forward to our next skype call with them (did our 1st a couple of weeks ago -- it was awesome! we got to spend all our time chatting & just watching them (unlike yahoo messenger where most of our time is spent troubleshooting -- ym works during "tests", but when it counts, it's awful -- we actually thought it was our camera and were looking into getting a newer webcam... then we tried skype & video was great!)).

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one of these days (after get caught up with posting my recent CT layouts), i hope to post more info on homeopathy... along with a list of popular products and option for my interested readers to purchase (meanwhile, you can check the company out here at HEEL -Inc.-- i carry many of their products in my retail store. that goal is right next to the one for posting my custom-designed jewelry online. i really don't want to have to deal with an online "store", so not sure how i'll go about it. right now it's all via email, phone & word of mouth advertisting. need to put more thought into it :-)

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hoping to have digi-SB layouts uploaded soon, so be sure to check back here for updates. i've participated in a few OTC's (one-time-calls) for a few designers (2 brand new!) and am still enjoying the WordArt challenges over at theStudio. i also participated in Digitals challenges this month (just HAD to have the bonus mini-kits!!).

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Isaiah 40:31

more WordArt!

2010-04-14T07:56:00.002-05:00

Space Cadets by janieinMN

This has got to be my absolute favorite challenge -- it gets me into "gear" almost instantly -- inspiration hits and wala! a tutorial has turned into a creative WA to use on one of my scrapbook layouts (albums open and pics are selected to be scanned for this one). It's using a kit from MagsGraphics called "Space Case". As soon as it was released I knew I just ad to scrap it! We have pics of the boys at the Museum of Science & Industry with the space suits and pics from a trip to NASA (next to where my Air Force dad used to work). For this particular challenge I noticed others were changing the words to go with their layouts... inspiration struck.... use Mags kit!.... aha!! "Space Cadets"!

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Be sure to check out this wonderful tutorial challenge -- you'll learn various techniques (normally hidden to the average person using PSE for photo-editing) that are super cool... and if you print the challenge, you'll have a reference for the next time you want to do it (like I needed for the stroking which was from the 1st lesson). WordArt challenge at theStudio

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Here's the fun, fun, FUN kit I used...

other credits: fonts used -- Tristan & SU Kelly

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Isaiah 40:31

Abigail Marie

2010-03-20T11:16:00.003-05:00

Abigail 1 - birth

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This layout speaks for itself. Abigail is the daughter of a young dear friend of ours.

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: "Grungy Love" kit by Red Ivy Designs, font - Tristan

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Isaiah 40:31

Another WordArt Challenge

2010-03-17T16:16:00.011-05:00

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

with shadows

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The Studio has done it again -- this is the 2nd month in a new challenge called Decorate your Wordart. Kimberkatt provides awesome tutorials and tips. Last month was "how to color fill and add stroke for sticker effect". This month it was "how to clip paper to wordart" (similar to masking). SO MUCH FUN!!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

credits: "Cocktail Dress" kit by Red Ivy Design,
Kimberkatt's WA challenge & Heart Brushes by Hawksmont

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Isaiah 40:31

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-13T23:59:00.011-06:00

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

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Isaiah 40:31

Valentine Inspiration

2010-02-10T08:07:00.003-06:00

Afternoon Romance

What better inspiration than Valentine's Day approaching, desire to make special "card" for hubby and memories of our trips to the MN North Shore (Lake Superior) with its many waterfalls & lighthouses. This layout is obviously about the waterfalls :-)

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I joined a challenge over at SAS (Stone Accents Studio, newly named "Digital Scrapbooking Studio"... "theStudio" for short). It was a new WordArt challenge that provided the text/font stuff and gave tutorial (step-by-step instructions) on how to turn it into WA. This challenge began with learning how to turn it into a "sticker"... by using the stroke feature under editing. It was SO exciting to learn something new that did so much! Better yet, to be able to "remember" it and use it again in this layout with the alphabet title and the little hearts used as photo anchors.

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Well -- the card never got made... BUT, I completed 4 layouts in only 2 days! (two of them were double-pg spreads). Techniques used included: stroke, masking, layering, drop shadows (another NEW thing for me -- SO fun!!! makes those elements pop off the page, giving it a 3D look), designed an overlay!, varying opacity, etc.

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Not only did I have my sweetheart & Valentine's for inspiration, but I was working with some absolutely AWESOME kits from Alice. Then there was a very special layout of memories with the boys & video games. It was TONS of fun searching for those pictures of the "then" ... and of course, even though I had "recently" seen some... there were some key pics that couldn't be found this time around. But, you can see a distinctive difference between the video games of the past and the Wii games of now. When the layout was done, it was still crying out for something... I just wasn't sure whether it would make it too busy or not. So, I went for it -- calling my youngest son who was the game guru (saved his money to buy his 1st game machine, and the next, and the one after that... )... ended up getting a memory refresher on the names of our favorite games from both him & my honey. And off to the screen & PSE5 I went (the next day) to make a "game name overlay" which I then placed on the background layers. It added just the right touch for dimension AND personalized it. I'll show you the before & after pics.

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But, before I show you more layouts, here's the kit I used for the MN North Shore above:

credits: Afternoon Romance kit by Alice at Red Ivy Designs and font: SF-Alexa

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Happy Valentine's

This is my "card" to my hubby—as you can see, the card turned into a full digi-SB layout. And my 2nd attempt (the MN North Shore) ended up being a "double-page" layout! Oh well!!

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This Valentine themed kit was the color challenge over at "theStudio"—"Sending Love" kit by Monika Digital Designs. other credits: font - SF-Alexa & poem written by janieinMN.

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And here's the fun "then versus now" about video games. . .

Video-Wii?—Then vs Now!

and here's it before adding my "game name overlay"

and here's the SUPER FUN kit I used—"Game On" by MagsGraphics

other credits: game name Overlay by janieinMN & font: SU Pittipat

The links shown for both Alice & Mags will take you to their blogs—there you'll find the links to their stores!

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Isaiah 40:31

yipee - another CT!

2010-02-08T13:40:00.002-06:00

I was thrilled to discover Alice's Red Ivy Designs over at Scrappity-Doo-Dah's. She's the featured artist & her kit "Ami" is the current daily download. She's graciously added me to her CT (creative team). I love her artwork!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥

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Isaiah 40:31

New Discovery!

2010-02-08T10:45:00.001-06:00

Wishing for Summer

With more snow on the way, I couldn't help but think of summer... especially as I was organizing some photos we'd taken during our day trip to Banning & Moose Lake State Parks from July last year. So, I grabbed the photos I wanted to highlight (along with a "snow" pic) and began the layout "wishing for summer".

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I had perfect material to work with having just discovered another digi-SB designer, Alice at Red Ivy Designs. I fell in love with ALL her kits... hunted down her blog... and ended up using her kit "Thankful" for this layout. I used one of my own designs for the photomask (from a couple days of "experimental" designing -- i LOVE photomasks! and decided to try to make my own... came up with a set of 4). The font is SU Steel Script.

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Thankful kit by Red Ivy Designs

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Isaiah 40:31

Dinos, Dinos & more DINOS!

2010-02-05T11:18:00.001-06:00

1988 Clay Dinos

I don't know about your kids, but when my boys were growing up they were into all things dinosaur (plus bugs, video games, sci-fi, etc!). In my search for pics of the skeleton models they made (MANY!), I came across the pics of the clay dinos -- all three boys made dinos AND the staging area... watering hole, pathway/road. Many of our science studies centered around dinosaurs in those days. I thought the "hand" was cute -- not sure whose it was, but can you imagine what they were thinking? Was he trying to make sure they didn't run away? or that they'd stay still for the photo? mmm....

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1986 Museum Dinos

Then we have the museum pics -- many field trips to the Museum of Science & Industry and the Field Museum of History. Now I've got the names all mixed up & I think I put the wrong one in the layout title!! OOPS! Anyway, they had stuffed animal dinosaurs, skeleton models they assembled of dinosaurs, dino stickers, dino puzzles, dino songs, dino tracks, dinos EVERYWHERE!! Working on these layouts yesterday sure did bring back alot of fun, fun memories. Now they're busy with wives (and one has 2 sons of his own)... and I'm sure dinosaurs will once again roam the earth in their family activities.

credits: DinoMyte kit plus addons by MagsGraphics

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Isaiah 40:31

just checkin' in

2009-11-10T17:20:00.002-06:00

haven't had time/energy to scrap or work on photos this past month. have had a few exposures that knocked me down. most time has been spent keeping up with facebook (couple precious premies were born in Sept/Oct that we've been keeping tabs on & and an old friend's husband who's been suffering from SEVERE back problems (pain, surgeries, ETC!) for the last 12 yrs).

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have also been doing ALOT of research on vaccinations, focusing on the flu vaccine and the new H1N1 vaccine. it's absolutely horrible what our own govt has been doing... covering up the truth about the vaccines safety, over-hyping the flu/H1N1 and promoting mass vaccinations on populations that these vaccines have been contraindicated for!! (pregnant women & young children!!). more & more reports are being released of adverse reactions to the H1N1 vaccine, including deaths and many miscarriages -- the US sweeps it under the rug by declaring "just a coincidence", when in reality they're doing "real time data collection" for adverse reactions... entire countries of guinea pigs! but, with the internet, the news still gets out -- some other countries have begun banning further vaccines and are doing further studies.

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as i was getting more & more skeptical about getting the vaccine for myself and everything i found was supporting the NO vote, i checked with my dr to get his opinion. he agreed with me -- the vaccines would be too dangerous for me. here i've been working SO hard to eliminate the toxins from my body (chemicals, mercury, ETC!), why would i purposely inject more into my body?? it just didn't make sense.

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these vaccines contain mercury & formaldyhyde just to name a couple of ingredients -- those two in & of themselves is enough to make me say NO, a thousand times... NO!! i went thru thousands of dollars worth of dental work to get all the metal, amalgams & mercury out of my mouth... and am still working, slowly but surely, to detox the remaining mercury that's in me -- my initial injury took place as a child watching my dad use mercury to separate the gold flakes from his gold panning hobby. i was also exposed extensively to pesticides as a child (campgrounds & military housing). then i almost got killed off by the MWevent of Feb07 (see earliest posts) from the formaldyhyde that was emitted from the melted/burnt plastic dish.

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i would urge anyone reading this to PLEASE make an INFORMED decision as to whether you get the seasonal flu vaccine (which doubles your chance of getting H1N1) or H1N1 vaccine... and whether you allow your children to receive the infant/child vaccinations per the CDC schedule. all these vaccinations are designed to attack the immune system and have the high potential of inflicting permanent damage. the efficacy & safety of these vaccines are in question... studies are proving them dangerous... and our government is trying to shove them down our throats. it's a travesty!!

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PREVENTION is the route to go!!

Vitamin C & Vitamin D3

Exercise

washing hands frequently

keep your distance from someone who's sick

keep your distance from other's if you're sick (if able to, stay home if sick!)

Vitamin C & Vitamin D3 (repeated intentionally!)

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for more information, here are some websites and a video to get you started....

vaccines & their ingredients - FDA - questions about vaccines

http://preventdisease.com/news/09/092109_H1N1_package_inserts_warnings.shtml

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx

Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccines Composition and Lot Release

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Isaiah 40:31

Home-School Days

2009-10-11T09:23:00.026-05:00

Graduations 1997-1999

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Christmas Play & Spelling Bee

Well, before there was the inspiration for scrapbook layouts from grandbabies... there were our 3 sons. Our wild & crazy "zoo"! These layouts came to mind when I was working on school photos the other day of my brother & I when we were 1-3yrs old. Then, in searching for the school "event" pics, I saw our eldest's grad pic... so off I went to dig out the grad pics of the other two boys (that hadn't been scanned into digital form yet). And two individual pages were born versus just one.

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Both the corner element and the backdrop for the journaling were pages from Mags kit that I used in Kaleidoscope Kreator 3 to make interesting K.patterns. This is a computer program that I received from the Creative Home Arts Club as a test product. I love it!

♥~♥*♥~~♥*♥~♥
credits: "School Daze" kit with AddOns by MagsGraphics, font - CK Brownie