Bon Scrapatit Designs: *HEARTFULLY YOURS* COMING MONDAY AND A FREEBIE TODAY!

Do you remember the time … when I used to blog nearly every day? He, he …

HI Y’ALL!!!

How is everybody? I’m doing GOOD, just been busier than a little ‘ol worker bee! LOL! I can’t even count how many times I’ve tried to get a post together so y’all wouldn’t think something had happened to me, but then I do pop up on Twitter, Facebook and update my scrolling marquee from time-to-time! I’ve also done a bit of blog-hopping when time has afforded me to as I miss visiting some of my favorite places! I don’t make promises, generally speaking, however, I do promise that if I am NOT ever coming back to Scrapland, you will be the first to know, although, God willing, I do not see that happening any time soon! You can always catch a glimpse of what I might or might not be up to on my marquee and below that in my Twitter updates. However, I actually punished myself by abstaining from ALL social media for nearly three weeks! HA, HA! Would that be considered, self-abuse? LOL! Just kidding. I had to do it as I can find myself lost in my Tweet Deck for hours and before I know it, it’s time to start dinner! I was also needing to give attention to myself and the fact that I was having a HORRIBLE time trying to stay focused on any one particular thing. Overwhelmed comes to mind! You know, when the brain lets you know that if YOU can’t manage things then it’s taking a vacation and will see you some time in the, hopefully, near future! ROFL! I think this sums up my past two months rather well. My brain has returned and is giving me another go at it! LOL! I’d better be good now, right? Uh, huh!

A VERY special “thank you” to those of you who have stopped by leaving me well-wishes here on my blog or via email. Your words are uplifting to my spirit, endearing to my heart and help to keep me making my way back to Scrapland! MWAH!

I’ve decided that trying to play “catch up” on my blog is like trying to catch up on sleep and we all know that just never happens! So, I shall start anew and would like to wish you all a VERY happy, healthy and humorous new year! I am resolved to the fact that if we just keep on laughing no matter what our situation might be at any given time, we shall be just fine!

My last post was on December 9th (ACK, I cannot believe this!) and I was just preparing to work on additional Christmas goodies when I received a phone call from daughter number one, April, who was ready for me to start on her wedding invitations ala postcard! I liked this idea for several reasons, one being that they are VERY “green”! LOL! See, look at all that green behind the love birds!!! *wink* Very simple and not requiring a lot of paper and/or money! Now don’t laugh, but you would think something this simple would have taken less than a day, right? No way! Not with this girl! LOL!

We started out with a 4X6 and once I posted the script on the back, April was concerned about recipients being able to read it. I told her that I could with my reading glasses on! She informed me that most of those invited were in my age group! ROFL! Now the girl has got some humor going on too! Too funny! So, I suggested we bump it up to a 5X7 and this is what we got. I, painstakingly, worked and reworked to make sure that nothing important fell victim to the cutting machine! Yes, I used their templates, however, being the first time for either of us to use a printer, I just wished to make sure there were no regrets once my baby girl received them in her hands! I was SO excited when I answered the phone and April had just received them and she said they were PERFECT! All the way down the to opacity on the reverse side, which was my main concern! WOOT!

These photos were taken by April’s dear friend, Rebecca, of Rebecca McLachlan Photography,

located in Vancouver, Washington! Yes, the same young lady who photographed my daughter,

Joan’s wedding a year and a half ago! She had them pose in places they visited on their first date!

If you click on the link, you will see April and Ethan and if you click on their photo, you will see other

engagement photos which include Joan and her husband, Travis!

The image of April and Ethan is actually darker on the printed product and the background is

more defined. Better contrast. You can see my dilemma as I did not really like the way this

looked as a .jpg, which makes the background look washed out. Files were sent PDF.

If you are looking for a printer, Next Day Flyer ROCKS!

From this point on, everything else is pretty much a blur as we went right into Christmas, having Robert’s two youngest boys with us, babysitting my precious grandson, my boys popping in AND out needing me to do this-and-that, and an out-of-town adventure just this past week as Robert attended some training classes for work, along with the usual busyness in a woman’s life! Come on y’all, you KNOW what I’m talking about!

I am also still diligently working on my health issues, which I get more and more excited about daily! I’ve spent months doing research and keep stumbling into the SAME information from a variety of trusted sources so, I do believe that I am onto something and must just be patient as I begin the process of healing one step at a time. I’m not talking a temporary fix either. I’m looking at long-term results and with my new found knowledge, hopefully, the ability to prevent myself from ever traveling down this same road again! I mean, I LOVE road trips, but this one has had me begging for an alternate route for quite some time know! ROFL!

Okay, so now you KNOW I’m still alive, that I’ve missed the dickens out of you and am still MADLY passionate about designing and sharing with y’all! If nothing else, I snag Kim B’s monthly colour challenge palette and tuck it away in a special file until I’m ready to start playing. I am ALWAYS challenged and my end results are never what I would have thought them to be, so I guess that is a GOOD thing, eh? :D

Today, I have a set of greeting cards for you that have been created using items from my new scrapkit, *Heartfully Yours*! The name came to me as I was pondering on a title that would convey the fact that these creations are from my heart to y’all!

I will start posting the papers tomorrow, Monday, and then the embellishments will follow. I forgot to copy my working files for the journaling strips to take with us last week so I need to finish them up before posting and I will post them last. There are three sets of about 55 words that you can use as titles and/or journaling to make your own greeting cards or layouts! I’ve left two of the included cards blank for you to add your own title or sentiment. You will find the selection of journaling strips versatile and for all ages!

Wishing you all a SCRAP-HAPPY weekend!

Much love and BIG squishy hugs,

Linda :D