I've Had a Good Run...

I'm making this announcement with a little tinge of sadness and some anticipation as well. The last day that you'll be able to find my designs for sale at Digitals will be Thursday, May 31. Until then, all of my products are on sale for 50% off. After that time, they will no longer be for sale anywhere. So if there is something that you've been planning to get, you'd better get it while you can. I do not currently have plans to sell at another store, but that may change in the future. For the present, I am discontinuing with design (except for my own personal use), and will be changing roles at Digitals. I'll be joining the CT there effective June 1st. For the forseeable future I'll be sharing my layouts on here, and I may even share the ocassional freebie, so be sure to check back.

Sneak Peek

The sneak peek is running a little late this week, but I don't think you'll be sorry that you had to wait. It's almost time for the May C.A.K.E. (Create a Kit Event) at Digitals again. We'll be releasing our new C.A.K.E. offerings on Saturday, but I thought I'd offer you all a sneak peek. I was really inspired by the colors this month, and made a set of pattern papers, solid papers, an alphabet, and a set of elements. The solid papers feature a texture with a small amount of grunge and are in great shades of blues, white, and greens.

The pattern papers feature some of my new favorite patterns like the herringbone print, as well as some of my old favorites like a madras-style plaid, a design that wouldn't be out of place on a pair of board shorts, and the classic argyle pattern. These papers have the same grunge effect as the solid papers so that they coordinate perfectly.

 
 
 
 

Next up is the element pack. I've included twig frames in two sizes, a cheerful yellow dandelion, a dandelion puff that's just waiting to be wished over, a dandelion on it's stem, a sunny daisy, 2 paper frames, and a sprig of leaves. This element pack is full of fun.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Last but certainly not least is a fun polka-dotted alphabet. I love polka-dots, and I love big alphabets that really make a statement on your layout. If this is too much of a statement for you, the alphabet can easily be resized to whatever size you desire. Best of all... all of these packs are on sale this weekend at an introductory price of just $1.50 per pack!

~Katie

Tuesday Treats

Judith has been busy creating with Katie's new Fleur kit. The mix of pinks and yellows speaks of spring, of flowers and of girls. What ideas do you have for a kit with these colors?  This week's treat is a quick page that Judith created using Fleur.

                                                        download here

We'd love to see what you create with this page as a base. Lorilee

Sum it up Saturday

Can you believe that it's Saturday again already? This week has mostly flown by. I was on pins and needles most of the week waiting to find out if I'd get the job I applied for (I didn't), and trying to do schoolwork, housework, and still find time for family and scrapping. I introduced a new kit, which was inspired by my mom's love of her garden. Mother's Day is always a mixed blessing for me. I miss my mom. I'm so blessed to have my own son, Austin and be a mom myself, and I'm sad that my mom never got to experience being a grandmother.

I introduced a new kit, which was inspired by my mom's love of her garden. Mother's Day is always a mixed blessing for me. I miss my mom. I'm so blessed to have my own son, Austin and be a mom myself, and I'm sad that my mom never got to experience being a grandmother. Be sure to check out Fleur if you haven't already done so. If there's some particular theme that you'd like to see in a kit, let me know. I have a few generic kits that I'm currently working on, but love it when you offer me up some inspiration. Happy Mother's Day everyone. I hope your day is filled with family and love.

~Katie

Mother's Day Ideas

Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.

 I am preparing to honor my Mother this Sunday. I have a page in progress. The journaling is giving me difficulty. How do I condense the things my Mom has done for me to fit on one page? I think I have found the pictures I want to use. I know pictures exist of just her, more common are the ones with a grandchild on her knee or leaned in beside her.As I looked through the photos, I found more stories to tell.

Instead of a page, I should have planned a whole album!

Another way to honor Mother's is with cards. My husband would rather a card I make because I have to choose the words inside. The idea makes sense. Since he told me that, I try to make all my cards. I assume others like the hand chosen sentiments as well. Often times, I will design the front of the card on the computer and then use my hand-writting to fill the inside. It ads that extra personalisation.

I haven't started the card for Mom. I have been browsing through Katie's kits and found a few that would make nice cards. I've shown a few here. The various pink and green hues of the Shabby + Chic kit and the Fleur kit are obvious choices for Mother's Day. However, some moms just aren't that into pink. My girls would know to look for a nice red like in the Alisa kit. Whatever your Mom's preference, there is sure to be a kit that works.

How do you plan to honor your Mom this Sunday? How would you like to be honored?












Lorilee

In Celebration of...

Here in North America, we are preparing to celebrate our Mother's. My Mom introduced me to scrapbooking. She is a writer and storyteller. She has encouraged me to tell my stories as well. Many of my stories focus on my girls. I have learned much from them over the years.

This week, Stephanie has created a quick page that can be used to honor mothers or daughters. One of the things I like about this page from Stephanie is the variety of ways it can be used. She created it as a base to build upon. You can put your photos where they work for your story. Do you have a group of photos to honor a group of friends? Do you have one large photo you want to highlight? Either will work with this page.

If you like the colors in this page and want more, be sure to check out The Greatest of These is Love in the store. Find the download here or click the preview above.


Do you like the gift? Let Stephanie know in the comments. How do you plan to use this page? We'd love to see what you do with it.

Lorilee

New Release Sunday

Well it's the start of another week, and I think I'm almost ready for it. This past Friday marked the 12th annversary of my mom's loss, and I sure did miss her this year. Some years I can get by with just a wistful wish that I still had her with me, but this wasn't one of those years. I know that it's tough on my family when I miss her this badly.

I have a job interview tomorrow for a part time job with my company. The hours are good, not quite as many as I'd like, but good hours that work well with my family's schedule. Well between missing my mom and worrying (I know God is going to come through) about my job, I had time to finish a new kit that was inspired by my mom's love of her garden. I call it Fleur, and I hope you like it as much as I do.

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So what do you do when you're stressed or worried? Drop me a line and let me know. I wish you all a blessed week! Don't forget to check back on Tuesday for a new Treats on Tuesday release.

~Katie

Sum It Up - Saturday

Hey y'all - it has been one very long week, and I'm glad that the work part of it is over. I've been praying for more time to create, and it looks like God is answering my prayers. Has anyone else noticed that you may get what you pray for, but not exactly in the way that you had hoped? My "real" job is work at home telephone customer service. It's a good job, and most of the time I really enjoy it, but lately I've been wishing that I could cut my hours a bit so that I'd have more time to focus on designing. Well, I may be able to do that in the very near future. My current contract is ending unexpectedly, and the only available openings are part time. I may find myself working part time very soon.

On a brighter note, I really wanted to share a layout done by Judith this week. She used Decorator Series Shabby & Chic, and I love the layering she did down the side. You can leave her some love in the Digitals gallery by clicking on the image.



Don't forget that we still have the Tuesday Treat up until the next one comes along, so if you like it and you didn't get it yet, time is running out. I have a new Sampler up in the store. Its based on my newest kit, Fleur. You won't want to miss this Sampler, it includes a special element created by Creative Team Member, Judith Blanchard and I know you're going to love it!

Are you glad when the end of the week comes along, or do you wish there was a little more time left? Drop me a note and let me know.

~Katie

Take a Picture

I should be creating my own pages. Instead, I've been gallery surfing. There are some wonderful pages there. Today I found a page I just couldn't resist. Take a Picture Momma features a photo of sisters. I am always looking for ideas to scrap photos of sisters since I have two sisters and two daughters.

 The blocking on this page and the vibrant colors lend themselves to a variety of different types of pages. I just love the energy that bright colors give. Stephanie used Katie's Alisa kit to create this fun page.

Stephanie also used Alisa for the page Baby. This is a scraplift that uses clustering to draw the focus to the adorable photo.

What ideas can you think of to use a bright, cheery kit like Alisa? I am thinking I'd like to use it for a garden page. It would be great for kids at the playground as well. Share your ideas in the comments and we can all be inspired by each other.  We'd love to see your pages as well. Create a page inspired by either of these pages or the kit let us know in the comments so we can come by for more inspiration.



Lorilee

Treats on Tuesday

Can you believe that it's May 1st already? It's so hard to believe that winter has come and gone and we're almost halfway through the year. I used to think my Mama was not quite right in the head when she'd say how quickly time flies, but these days I know exactly what she was talking about.

I think being aware of how quickly time flies and how important it is to capture all those moments in our lives before they're gone is what makes today's freebie so important to me. The talented Yvonne made a beautiful quick page from Memories. Here's a look at the kit. You can purchase this and other Katie Mann designs, by clicking on the image.



Here's a preview of the quick page.


Download no longer available.

Yvonne and I hope that you enjoy this quick page. Be sure to leave a comment letting Yvonne know what you think!

~Katie