January 2022 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Happy New Year!  I have no idea what this year will hold, but I'm putting my best foot forward and hoping for the best.  Top of my list is to get more painting time in.  I also want to thank you for all the nice comments.  I sincerely appreciate each and every one. 

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Fan Freebie --

The frames and border match the Blog Train kit.  The spatters and paint drops are found in the kit above.  

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The Boo Update --

Shhhh....Boo is sound asleep on the stool by the kitchen island.  I think Christmas and the week following really tired him out.  Me, too!

See you next month!

December Blog Train and Fan Freebie

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!  

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Fan Freebie

I was thinking of Boo when I designed this kit.  He noses around all the decorations throughout the house, but he especially likes the tree.  Great place to take naps!  I don't have a dog right now, but chances are good that at least some of you do, so I added Jasper to this mix :) 

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The Boo Update 

Boo decided it would be a good time to practice his unwrapping skills for Christmas morning while we were packing away all of our camping gear for the winter.  That boy loves string, paper, ribbons and bows, Christmas trees and an occasional ornament or two. 

See ya back here next month to ring in the New Year!

November Blog Train and Fan Freebie

I really love the deep, rich tones for this month's blog train.  Now, I realize that Thanksgiving isn't a world-wide holiday, but it's one of our favorite days for family, friends and food.  And, it means a 4-day weekend, too!

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Fan Freebie --

Hope you all have a wonderful Fall :)  Take lots of pictures and spend your free time happily scrapping!   

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The Boo Update --

"But, I don't want to come upstairs.  Instead, let's play Chase....you're it..."

How...and I sincerely mean this...HOW did Boo know he had a veterinary appointment???  Needless to say, we were a bit late.  BUT...he gave the vet and her assistant a merry chase around the examining room when they were finished with him and needed to get him back in his carrier.  I  think Boo thought it was great fun!  

Boo just celebrated his 3rd birthday.  We got him a remote controlled mouse to chase around the house.  It's a riot watching him tear after that thing !!  It's like watching a "Tom & Jerry" cartoon....hahahaa!!  He loves it.

Happy Thanksgiving!   See ya next month!

October Blog Train and Fan Freebie

The days are warm, the evenings are so pleasant, and the leaves are starting to turn color.  I really love this fall weather.  

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Fan Freebie --

The pumpkins and gourds at the farmer's market are really beautiful this year.  

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The Boo Update --

"So Mom....if I'm a Halloween kitty, what exactly does that make you?"

Happy Halloween everybody!  See ya next month!

September Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Last winter was horrible and I could hardly wait for summer.  Then summer hit hot and humid and stayed that way....until today.  Well, hello September!  We can finally walk outside without melting :)  And it's not just us.  My horses woke up happy and bursting with energy in this cooler, dry weather, too.

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Fan Freebie --

There are two clusters in this set -- one with a shadow and one without.  Enjoy!

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The Boo Update --

Keep in mind that I brought Boo in from the horse stable when he was only 3 weeks old.  He wouldn't have made it otherwise.  Because he was nurtured by people instead of with other cats, Boo often tries to imitate people.  He sleeps on his back all stretched out, usually with his front paws stretched out above his head and he sits like this with his hind legs stretched out like a baby and his front legs on the floor supporting his upper body into a sitting position.  Needless to say, he keeps us entertained :)

See ya next month!

August Blog Train and Fan Freebie

 Can you believe it's August already?  This has been one busy summer.  I got my chair reupholstered.  About the time I got the chair taken apart, major apprehension set in.  When I was young, our neighbors, Ed and Elvera, reupholstered furniture to supplement their retirement.  I must have paid attention because as soon as I started thinking about them, it all started falling into place.  I sanded all the wood down and painted it a dark Charcoal Grey.  Looks great in our entry way!

This month's blog train colors were fun to work with.  I tried to put in elements that you could use for any occasion that you might be celebrating -- birthdays, anniversaries, family gatherings for no reason in particular...

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Fan Freebie --

I love our two oceans and the Gulf of Mexico.  I lived in California for several years and spent a lot of time walking the beaches. Vacations in Florida have been great.  But, I'm a Midwest girl.  I need lots of space where animals outnumber people, rain storms that come out of nowhere and snow in the winter (even though I complain about it every year).  This month's Fan Freebie features the "Tropical Fish" I designed years ago for a painting pattern project.  

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The Boo Update --

Drink water from a cat bowl?  Surely you jest!  Boo has always preferred to drink water direct from the kitchen faucet and from a coffee cup setting on the bathroom counter.  The Kitty Water Fountain was a good solution to make sure he's getting enough fresh water.  It has a filter and a calcium tab, AND...if he's not drinking water, it's so much fun to just watch the water bubble up non-stop :) 

See you next month!

July Blog Train and Fan Freebie

 I finally got to spend a few days with my son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren in Minnesota a couple weeks ago.  I was afraid the kids would be a little stand-off-ish after not seeing us for so long because of the Covid lockdown, but they had smiles and hugs for us from the moment we got there.  Oh, how I missed them!  

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Fan Freebie --

I loved the colors for this month's Blog Train so much, I used them for the Fan Freebie as well, adding more papers and elements to use with the kit above :) 

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The Boo Update --

And, this was Boo's reaction when we got home from our trip to Minnesota.  There's nothing worse than getting "the cold shoulder" from your cat when he's upset that he didn't get to go along with you on a road trip.  (He is soooo spoiled!!)

June Blog Train and Fan Freebie

 It took almost a month, but I finally got internet service again.  Comes in handy, but I found that I really didn't miss it all that much either after the first week.  We got so much done around here while we were "unwired".  Spring roundup went off without a hitch, our Veterinary spent a day here to give each horse its annual checkup and that all turned out good, too.  Looks like we're going to have a really good summer!  And, I have a much better internet system in place now for house and shop.

I don't usually do this, but I really have to.  I got a catalog from Bluestone Perennials earlier this year and had to give their plants a try.  They send live plants in biodegradable pots that you just plant the whole thing.  They're packaged in such a way, that UPS can't destroy them in route, and they look like plants you have just picked up at a greenhouse and brought them home. Within a couple days, they were already growing, and a few of them had already started flowering.  I am so impressed with this company, I wanted to share it with you.  If you're into gardening, be sure to check them out.  

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Fan Freebie --

Here are a few papers and some rosettes made from the flowers found in the kit above.  Enjoy!

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The Boo Update --

When I can't find Boo, I usually find him here between the ferns and palm plant.  He feels right at home with the "Garden Cats" I painted hanging by the front door.  I'll soon be adding a chair in this area that I'm refinishing and reupholstering.  Never reupholstered furniture before, so it should be an adventure!  I just keep telling myself -- "I can do this!"

See ya next month!

May Blog Train and Fan Freebie

 As I write this, I am going through "internet withdrawal".  Just out of the blue, my modem/router stopped working on a Saturday afternoon.  I worked with Tech Services for two days trying to revive it to no avail.  So, while I waited for the new system to get here, I had to drive 6 miles down the road every day to borrow internet time from others.  The new router came and it won't connect to the internet at all.  Their tech service people are working on it, BUT I am now going on 2 weeks without internet.  Fortunately, I had everything already uploaded to the server so that you can get your downloads.  The Fan Freebie page on my website will be updated when I have a working system again.  I'm really bummed.

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Fan Freebie --

Here is the Easter Kit I promised you last month.  A little late, but I'm sure you'll be able to use it for all the wonderful pictures you took.

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The Boo Update --

This is NOT a happy cat.  Poor Boo.  With these internet woes, I have to leave him everyday.  The minute I put on my coat, he starts giving me the "evil eye".  Makes it really hard to get out the door without feeling guilty. 

April Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Ann from New Zealand helped me figure out part of the download problem some of you have been experiencing.  I set up links on my website, and asked her to try downloading there.  It worked.  Thank you, Ann!  She was able to pick up all the downloads since the first of the year.  I will put blog train and freebie kits on that page.  You can pick up all the ones you may have missed starting from January of this year, but all the new links are below as well.

I also added SSL on this blog for extra security and carefree downloading.  Hopefully this will help with download problems for those of you who just use Google Chrome (I'm not a fan myself).  When I work on computers or websites, my husband tells me I sound like I'm talking a foreign language.  Well, ya...I guess it sort of is.  After working with computers since the mid-70s, I don't think about it much.

Anyway, at this point, you should no longer have any downloading problems, but if you do, download directly from my website.  The link will be the second link below each picture or press the Fan Freebie icon on the right side of this page.  

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Fan Freebie --

Matching tags are always good to add for dates or names, or other words that might add to your layout.

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The Boo Update --

A favorite game on sunny mornings is to "Chase Sunshine".  I have a crystal hanging in the kitchen window.  If I move it around, the "sunshine" dances across the floor and Boo likes to chase it.  Sometimes, he'll pounce on it and then carefully lift his paw to see his "catch".  When he lifts his paw and "sunshine" is gone, the look on his face is total bewilderment :)

Happy Easter!

A new Easter kit will be hopping onto this site next month!

March Blog Train and Fan Freebie

 Just 3 weeks ago, we were dealing with a major snow storm and wind that created 3 and 4-foot snow drifts.  The temperature was minus-5 with a windchill of minus-18.  Exactly how cold is that?  Well, if you sneeze, you won't hear the "ker-choo" until spring thaw.  Of course, my husband was out of town.  I wonder if he plans it that way?  While Mike, our snowplow driver, was cleaning out my driveway, I had to take the snowblower out to clear a path to the horse stables.  Jump ahead to this week....it's 45 degrees out, and the snow is well into a major meltdown.  I can't wait until spring.

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Fan Freebie --

Just a little add-on that goes with the blooms above.

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The Boo Update --

Boo is waiting for the water to come out of the faucet.  He has no idea how that works.  All he knows is that if he waits there long enough, presto-chango!  The water turns on.  Happy day!

 We want to start off with a huge thank you to Diane for letting us visit and share a little about who we are and we do over at Pixel Scrapper. :)

Pixel Scrapper is a graphics and community site oriented primarily towards digital scrapbookers. (But we're not exclusively for digital scrapbookers! Our graphics are great for many purposes, and we have a wide range of digital artists, and even teachers and other professions represented among our members).

We were founded on values of creativity, community, and generosity. And the site was designed to foster those things. We believe that creativity is important to life and to a life richly lived, and that the best and most satisfying creativity happens in community.

To that end the site was built with a forums, private messaging capabilities, and even a live chat room so that people can communicate with others on whatever level best fits them and their desires. We also have a gallery (and an open gallery - enjoy showing off layouts you've made with designs from anywhere!) where people can show off the great projects they've been working on and get likes and encouraging comments.

But going even beyond that, we have a monthly blog train that welcomes any and everyone to design around a specific theme and then share those designs with the community. It's one of our most popular aspects of the site, and every month we have a great showing.

We even have a Commons that can be applied for - a place where designers of any level (even total beginners are welcome!) can upload graphics and hone their craft, getting and giving feedback on designs so that we can all benefit from what each other brings to the tables.

These features aren't even all the different elements that Pixel Scrapper has and that foster community on the site.

But it would be amiss to not talk about the core aspect of the site, the graphics! We have thousands and thousands of graphics. They're available not only in themed collections called kits or bundles, but they're also available for individual download as well (an anomaly among digital scrapbooking sites!).

These graphics are all of the highest quality, designed by incredibly talented artists. And we do completely believe we are the best place on the web for getting digital scrapbooking freebies. Because all you have to do is sign up with a free account, and you get 5 free graphic downloads every single day. For personal, or even commercial use (and we have one of the most generous commercial use licenses around).

We give away these graphics because we believe that generosity is important, and that there is enough to go around and that each of us can afford to give something into enrichening the lives of others.

And if you want more than 5 a day, we also have great subscription plans. We are the Netflix of digital scrapbooking - we make affordable and streamline your digital scrapbooking hobby (or profession). For an affordable, flat-rate you can get one of these subscriptions and get totally unlimited individual graphic downloads, and up to 150 kits a month. 150. And once you become a patron (subscribed for six months, or on a yearly payment plan) you get completely unlimited kit and bundle downloads as well.

The value of that is pretty crazy.

But we wanted to maintain that core value of generosity, especially for paying community members. That would hopefully spur on their creative endeavors like never before.

All of these things are just a few aspects of what makes Pixel Scrapper Pixel Scrapper. But you should really come on over and visit the site and see for yourself what it's like. It's super low-stakes, and we think you'll love it.