Thursday, December 29, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - January Blog Hop

The Guys                                                                                 Temp:  10F
January 2017
The Rush Ranch, Oregon



Snow falls heavy and drifts across the roads, hills and valleys.  Everything is bathed in the white brilliance of cold crystals.  The sound of everyday activity in this neighborhood is now silenced by the heavy blanket of snow, snow and more snow.  We wait.  For sunlight, for warmth, for the snowplow.  We wait.  I have soup in the crockpot, and bread rising on the kitchen counter.  The winter calls for warm kitchens and plenty of comfort food for the family. I offer hot tea flavored with cinnamon honey.  I think about our eldest son, and how he and his love are leaving today for the Caribbean.  I think of our Grandson teaching English to children in the jungles of Viet Nam.  I think of my friend Terri, in the warmth of South Africa.  Blue skies and sunny beaches are hard to imagine, when standing in knee-deep snow shoveling a path to the front door.  I am happy for them, and look forward to photos of suntans and smiles. 

I hope you have had a delightful and blessed holiday season.  I hope that you were able to gather with family and/or friends and take the opportunity to tell them how much you love them. I hope your dinner table was set with favorite recipes, and that laughter and joy was ever present.  I live in a part of my country that has snow at this time of year.  It is easy to imagine Santa and his reindeer racing across the night sky, fulfilling the dreams of children the world over.  There was a time, many years ago, when even savage wars were put on hold for Christmas night so that all could imagine for a moment, peace on earth, goodwill toward men. I wish that future for us all: peace on earth, goodwill toward all. 


And the reason why you are here, it's another blog hop, this time for January.  It has been a long time since we've had a strong masculine theme at Pixelscrapper, so this one is for the boys. The colors were a combination of browns, greens, and blues.  I'm excited to see the other designer kits because we don't coordinate before hand.  It is always a delight to see how different designs and ideas emerge.  The palette of greens and browns made me think of camo, the great outdoors, fishing and camping, etc., so I went in that direction.  I did drop in a few garage tools, just in case.  I guess the truth of it is that I have a scattered mind flowing in too many directions to harness a single theme.  


Thanks for putting up with that.  Here we go - all of these items are free to you for use in your personal or commercial endeavors, as my "random act of kindness".  Please pass along the good intentions to others as you can.  It's up to us, each individual, to try and make a difference no matter how small.  My TOU is at the bottom of this post.  You'll find all of the other designs for this bloghop, here.







                                                                

I'll have another download for you in a matter of days, so if you have not subscribed for notification of downloads, check back here on January 4th.  Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny
Photo of our Lab, Murphy



Thursday, December 15, 2016

Digital Scrapbook Free Download - Baby It's Cold Outside

Baby, It's Cold Outside                                                     Temp:   25F 
December 15, 2016
Cove, Oregon


We are scheduled for a really cold weekend, down in the minus numbers.  Living in farming country, I worry about all of the animals that live outdoors - the birds, the cattle, horses, etc.  I don't know how they maintain their calm in such weather.  I, on the other hand, resort to flannel, bunny slippers, and mugs of hot cocoa.  I read somewhere that horses have 12 layers of hair/fur that they are able to fluff up as the temperature drops, to insulate them from the cold.  I hope that it is true.  Our horses have a barn to go into when they want to, but they are usually too busy socializing with the neighbor's horses.  Our horses have a social routine, in fact:  During the day, they hang out with the horses east of us across the street.  They call to each other across the road from their respective fenced pastures.  Around 5:00, they walk over to the north to visit with the neighbor's horses (Neighbors are named Whinny and Scratchy).  They are only separated by a fence.  Whinny is a tall, white Arabian - just gorgeous.  And Scratchy is a very short Shetland.  Very funny to see them together. My husband usually gives all four of them apple treats, so it's a routine that they love.

The Pixelscrapper Designer Challenge theme is "Baby, It's Cold Outside", with a specific set of colors.  I hope that you will find something that you can use in my small kit.  Feedback welcome on any aspect of the kit, packaging, etc.  As always, these are free to you to use commercially, etc.  No need for credit.  My "Good Karma" TOU is at the end of this post.  You can also subscribe to this blog to get notifications of new downloads.





Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny!

Friday, December 2, 2016

Digital Scrapbook Free Download - Christmas Things

Christmas Things
December 3rd, 2016
Cove, Oregon

December roars in and there is no way to tame it all.  Best to just sit back with a nice cup of hot cocoa, sip slowly, and contemplate how lovely the Christmas decorations are.  Even if you celebrate another holiday or not at all, it's refreshing to slow down for a moment and remember WHY you are blessed in so many ways......Clean water to drink?  A roof over your head?  Kids wearing shoes?  The little things we might take for granted are sorely lacking in darker parts of the world.  Surely HIS grace and mercy wash over me like a river, one I drink from but don't deserve.

We've had colder weather lately, with a bit of snow.  Today was in the mid 30's F. Even though the house is warm, I just felt like taking a nap today, and curled up with my favorite blanket. My cat joined me, and purred us both to sleep.  He's a real character.  His name is Oscar, after "Oscar The Grouch" on Sesame Street.  He always seems to have a scowl on his furry face.  

The Grouch
The Pixelscrapper folks have been putting us through our paces in designing TEMPLATE bits for the holidays.  I thought that I would post them here for those of you that don't go to the Pixelscrapper website to download the various free goodies there.   Templates, remember, are PSD files that are grayed out so that you can color them yourselves.  They are not the normal colored graphics in a scrapbooking kit.  They are more for designers that want to color in their own way.  PSD files are larger than the standard PNG files, and the PSD files have more parts, such as the elf's hat, shoes, coat, stockings, mittens, etc. are all separate.  Forgive any imperfections.

The first set of items were "Santas and Snowmen".  I used my Photoshop shapes and maneuvered them about to make a few things for you.  My favorite of these is the elf - he was the most fun to make.
Then we were tasked with designing word art.  That always seems to be a challenge for me, because I am a rather quiet person, I keep to myself and have little to say.  A typical introvert.  Well - not so typical I guess - I am rather an extreme introvert.  Give me a good book, and I could disappear for days on end (because I would read it twice.)

One of my designs really didn't work, but I left it in the bunch, anyway.  I was going for one of those scraggly "Charlie Brown" trees, and it didn't quite hit the mark.  And then, I have no idea why I made a sad puppy - He reminds me of my Dachshund "Beezer", with those floppy ears and big brown eyes.  Beezer is over the rainbow bridge now, after a long and happy life.  But I miss him still.




12/2/2016:
Postscript

I took creative license when designing the "Wonderful Year" piece.  The correct words to the song are:  "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." and I took out the word "The" to make my version.  I received feedback on that - messing with Christmas Song verbiage is apparently a touchy subject, so I apologize for that.  I have prepared an additional download with the word "The" in the new design.
No worries.


As always these are free for commercial use, no strings, no need to give credit, etc.  Just pass on the goodness you receive in any way you can.  And thank you for your kind words to me - you all have been very thoughtful in expressing your thanks for my downloads.  I am very lucky to have such sweet people to interact with.   If you subscribe to my blog, you can be alerted by email when I have new downloads.  My official TOU is below:
Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny

Monday, November 28, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Dec Blog Hop

At The Table
December 1, 2016
Oregon

Did you have a terrific Thanksgiving, those of you in the USA?  I sure did.  It was wonderful to be with family, and we also had two people that had no place to go.  It was great to serve as their family, too.  I can't believe how the months are flying by. I could have sworn I was just looking out the winter window a few days ago, looking for spring and summer.  Now they are behind me, growing smaller in the distance.  Next year I need to do something different.  At least once a week I'm going to take a blanket and lay out in the field to watch the clouds drift by.  I'll let the day fill me up inside with sounds of the birds, sounds of the breeze blowing across the faces of wheat stalks, and the sound of bees taking pollen back to the hive. I'll watch the evening sky fall into night, and gaze upon the velvet darkness scattered with the magnificent ribbon of stars.  Come back to me, warm days of summer.

I live on a hillside, above the world's second largest valley.  Some days are magnificent, and other days are like today, as the winter wind races across the face of this mountain like a zephyr.  But somehow, even the quail manager to waddle about, eating sunflower seeds along the patio that have blown out of the bird feeders.  I'm surprised that they haven't been blown over into the next county, but I suppose that is the blessing of being a bird, knowing how to maneuver through the storms.

I just ate an apple called a "Pacific Rose".  Wow, they are good.  Sweet, juicy and crunchy, like a Honeycrisp, but only better and less expensive.  I hope you look for a few at your local grocery store.  I didn't even know about them, but the produce fella was putting out new fruit and told me that he thought that they were the best apple ever.  They are big with a delicate pink and white color. They are now my "Go To" apple.  The produce guy was greatly disappointed when I grabbed a bag of the less expensive apples to feed the horses.  Apparently, he doesn't like his precious fruit going to animals, and I don't blame him.  But our two horses get a treat every morning, and they are more like children than horses, anyway.


Now that it is December let me just say, I am SO GLAD that the election is over.  No matter who you were voting for, the anxiety and tensions were tantamount to a mad house.  I don't think I have ever seen such a tidal wave of emotions grasping our nation than during this particular election. I hope that things soon settle down and that we all can find common ground.  We all need to come together in harmony somehow, and be kind to one other.

I hope that you have wonderful plans for the holidays, no matter if you celebrate or not - we are going to visit my daughter's family for the holidays.  They live in another state, so it's a long drive.  I don't get to see them as often as I would like, but my husband makes the occasion very special for me. 

December means another Blog Hop. The assigned subject is "At The Table".  I went for a theme that had more kitchen gadgets and word art about gathering together at the table - But guess what - I took a look at the preliminary work of the other members on Pixelscrapper, and realized that the majority were putting together Christmas decorations - and they sure looked beautiful!  So, just to balance my own kit, I made a few Christmas things for you.  I made a snowman, a moose, and a mouse, as well as some other designs.  I'm just learning how to use my shape tools to make my funky animals, so I need to improve.  I'm thinking about buying a graphics table for drawing, but haven't made up my mind if I would use it often enough. If you want to see the other kits in the blog hop, you can find the final list in the Pixelscrapper forum, under "Pixelscrapper Blog Hops".  It's free to join.  It's free to download the blog hop kits. 

Here are my previews of my December Kit, and once again, I had trouble with choosing what papers to package up for you.  But I whittled it down to just 32 papers so that the downloads would be more manageable. (I received a complaint about the size of my paper downloads....)   I also have more elements than displayed - I just didn't have the space in the display.  All of these are under my "Good Karma" Terms of Use, which is supplied at the end of this post.  To be clear, you may use these for commercial use, no strings attached.  I simply ask that you do a kindness for others, no matter how small. When you receive a kindness, please pass a new kindness on to another.  













Blessings and blue skies,

Sunny










     


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Snowflakes

SNOWFLAKES!
November 15, 2016
Rush Ranch, Oregon

A new designer challenge is taking place over at Pixelscrapper.  It's still a mystery as to what the final goal will be - it's like a treasure hunt.  We are provided one assignment, and then another, until we come to the final clue that pulls it all together.  So the first assignment is snowflakes, and since I really don't know what the focus of the entire kit will be, I made snowflake templates (They are black, and you color them as you wish).  I also included in my download, three colors of centers, a pearl, a red glass bead, and a green glass bead.  That should keep things tied together in some manner.

You should really come join us over at Pixelscrapper and participate in the designer challenges.  They are free and open to all levels of designing.  Even if you have never designed anything before, you will find lots of support and terrific information - just ask.  And the tutorials that are posted are very helpful, too.  I've really enjoyed the generous and helpful community there.

As always, these are free to you to use as you wish, including for commercial use. My "Good Karma" terms of use is at the bottom of this post.




Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - The Subject is Pie

The Subject is Pie
November 9, 2016

Sometimes the thing that most troubles you, is the most rewarding.  I can put this latest Pixelscrapper design challenge on the topic of Pie into that category.  We also design within the framework of an assigned color scheme, to increase the level of designing difficulty.  I really couldn't get into the swing of things, on the subject of pie.  I like pie.  I think that pie has a place at the table before or after dinner - it brings back memories of grandmothers and everything good about their wonderful recipes.   But I couldn't figure out how to design something on the topic of pie that people would find useful in their scrapping.  I gave it a go and came up with the designs below - but I don't see them as being particularly useful to you in your projects, especially the elements.  They challenged my brain somewhat, and I designed several pies.  That was new to me.  But I didn't find a pleasant rhythm or direction to the theme, so forgive my poor commitment to the subject of pie.

I have a scattered brain you see, and I work hard at keeping organized.  I have TWO calendars on my refrigerator door, several journals and notebooks full of notes.  My bible is full of little scraps of paper where I have written some thought down.  If you are familiar with Myers-Briggs personality types, I am an INFP.  I pay attention to how others design, hoping to improve my work habits.   They seem to have the majority of their designs established within the framework of an original idea. I, on the other hand, open my design program and start looking at shapes and colors until ideas come to me.  For example, my papers have an average number of five different layers in which are a number of textures, colors, and patterns.  But I get there by accident.  The majority of my designs are the result of happy accidents, or "what-ifs".  Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

I have happy memories of pie - My husband and I, when we were just new to each other and dating, loved to go down to the beach at Ninikchik, Alaska, and have homemade pie at the small cafe there.  It was a rustic place that was built on stilts above the icy blue waters of the Cook Inlet, and was only open during the summer months.  We had the most amazing views sitting there eating our pie.  Strawberry-Rhubarb for me, and Cherry for him.  We could look out across the inlet and see four of the 52 volcanoes of Alaska - Augustine, Iliamna, Redoubt and Spurr.  The wind was usually blowing and and polar fleece jackets were the norm.  But how marvelous, to sit there watching the eagles dance and dive among the waves, capturing fresh salmon for their dinner?  And every so often I would see the most sweetest sea otter floating by, tummy up as he/she cracked clams open on that furry belly, for their dinner.  I loved that area so much, I even thought that I would retire there. But alas, it was not to be.  

So here it is, those humble scrapping items designed with the theme of "pie" in mind.  I need to mention to you that I have made 91 papers for this project in an effort to hit the target.  Only 12 of them are displayed in the preview below.  I have a question for you, if you are interested in commenting - Do you prefer one big download on papers, or do you prefer several smaller downloads?




(These items are included in the "Elements" download)

      
Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Giving Thanks

I have two free downloads for you in the same week, so this may be confusing for you.  The November Blog Hop called "Enchanting Autumn" can be found in the archives on the right of this page.  (I have another one called "Pie", that is due out on Nov. 9th, so look for that here).

This download is for a November Designer Challenge called "Giving Thanks".  Perhaps there will be something you might be able to utilize from either one or both of these kits.

Both are a result of being a member of The PixelScrapper group.  Stop by and say Hello.  It's free to all.

These can be downloaded from my dropbox account.  Just click on the link under each preview.

















Blessings and blue skies,

Sunny




Friday, October 28, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - November 2016 Blog Hop

November?!  Gads.  The days pass by so swiftly.  It's already time for another Monthly Blog Hop with the PixelScrapper members.  The group sure has some amazing talent, so I encourage you to go to the website and check out the free offerings there.

With each new blog hop, I find myself learning more, as well as experimenting more.  When I see something in someone else's kit that is really cool, I will try to learn how to make something similar. The theme for this month's blog hop is "Enchanted Autumn", lending itself to all things magical.  A few members made kits with faeries and other mythical creatures.  I tried to make some faeries - "tried" being the operative word here - but I was not happy with them.  So I made a fox, instead.  Don't ask me how those two things connect - but I think I was trying to keep to a "forest" theme.

Anyway, as always the below items are free to you.  You are familiar with the "Pay It Forward" philosophy, and this is my small part in that movement.  Please consider doing something special for someone in your life every single day.  It doesn't have to be a big thing, in fact, the smaller things mean so much more, don't they?  In our family, we have dry markers in our bathroom, and we write love notes to each other on the bathroom mirror.  It can be that easy!

My designs are not pixel perfect, but were created at 300 ppi.  I know that there are scrappers out there that love to work with pixel/gamut perfect pieces, and I applaud those designers that take the extra time to quality check every item in their inventory.  (If you are familiar with the Meyers-Briggs personality type, I am an INFP).  My moto is "keep it real, keep it casual, keep it calm".

Just click on the download link beneath each preview.  Additionally, there are more elements and papers than what is being displayed in the preview.  I get carried away sometimes, especially with designing the papers - I haven't yet found my rhythm with paper design. My last few kits have a heavy presence of corduroy - perhaps that is the fall and winter season impacting my creative flow.    Each blank page is a new journey, and sometimes I can really feel the creative energy filling the paper.  Other times I just need to hit the "delete" key. I try not to stress about it, because we are all artists in our own way, and the way we express ourselves is unique.  Not better or worse, simply......beautifully unique.  And I just wanted to say a sincere "Thank You" for your kind and thoughtful comments left here - my goodness, how they have touched my heart!  Those comments are such an inspiration to me in so many ways.
















As always, if you are looking for prior downloads, they are listed on the right side of this blog, under Archives.

I wish you blessings and blue skies,

Sunny


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Digital Scrapbooking Free Download - Special Halloween Kit

The designers and forum moderators at Pixel Scrapper are among the best.  Talented, helpful, encouraging and motivating.  Always there to support you 100%.  The latest Designer Challenge theme is Halloween, but with a challenging color pallet of pink, turquoise, grape, and navy.  Wow!

Even though I was out of my comfort zone with the colors, I enjoyed discovering how to make some of the Halloween elements such as the cats, owls, witches boots and hats.  Using my shape tools in Photoshop, I was able to come up with several basic items that I hope that you can use in your scrapbooking projects.

Here are the previews - just click on the link underneath each preview to download from my dropbox account.  These items are under my "Good Karma" terms of use (TOU). You can read the TOU at the end of this post.














Remember, if you are looking for previous posts and downloads, just look to your right under the blog archive.  Blessings and Blue Skies,

Sunny