September 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

I've never been a big fan of September.  When I still had children at home, the house was just too quiet when they went back to school.  I would go for a long ride on my black gelding, Sammy, just to escape the quiet in the house. Outside, there's a whole lot of work to do to get ready for winter.  I'm not a big fan of winter either, so it's kind of like having to do something whether I want to or not.  Just get 'er done.  We did get the hay moved in though, so that's one big job out of the way. 

The colors this month are really quite elegant.  Now, if fall around here came in colors like this, maybe I wouldn't mind September so much :) 

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Fan Freebie --

Here are some graffiti to add that "little something extra" to your pages.  Enjoy!

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The Boo Update --

"A little more to the left please.  Ooooo....that feels so good :) "

Meet be back here in October!

August 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Well, this summer is sure flying by!  My granddaughter is spending weekdays here with me while Mom and Dad are working and her older siblings are either working or taking classes.  We're having so much fun.  I'm teaching her how to paint and we work on projects every day.  And, she's a talker, so we never run out of things to chat about.  I'm going to miss her company when she has to go back to school.

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Fan Freebie --

My flower gardens are so beautiful right now, but it won't be long and they'll kind of look like this "End of Summer" kit.  

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The Boo Update --

I got a box in the mail one day.  After I removed the goodies, Boo claimed the box as his.  He has been taking his afternoon nap in it every day.  SO . . . I decided we might as well spruce it up with little mice poking their heads out of holes.  What surprised me was when I put the decorated box back on the floor, Boo walked around the entire box to see all the new decorations.  He must have approved because he curled up in his box and went to sleep.  

I'll be back in September.  So will Boo!

July 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Working on this Blog Train kit was so much fun.  It rained all day and there wasn't much I could do outside. The colors were just perfect for creating a walk in the woods.  With all the rain we've had, everything is green and lush outside.  Somewhere in our woods, I've been hearing an owl, but I have yet to see it.  So, I'm not sure what kind of owl it is, but it has such a soothing sound in the evenings.

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Fan Freebie --

Here are some textured papers, stamps and graffiti in the same color scheme as the Blog Train so you can add a little extra flair to your pages.

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The Boo Update --

"Look!  I'm upside down!"  Sometimes I think he does stuff like this just to make me laugh.

Happy 4th of July!

June 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

A day with sun, sand and surf is usually a pretty good day.  Don't see much of that these days, but this color chart brought back memories of all the years I lived in Southern California.

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Fan Freebie --

What good is a big body of water without a sandy beach, right?!!  Better yet if that sandy beach has seashells :)  

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The Boo Update --

At least once a week, my husband sits on the floor with Boo for a good grooming.  You would not believe the amount of loose hair that comes off of that boy.  But, here's the catch -- if I try to groom him, I usually need a band-aid.  Sometimes two!  He's a "Daddy's Boy" for sure, unless it's meal time.  Then, he doesn't care who puts the food in his dish :)

Til next month . . .

May 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

I love this time of year when the perennials break ground and leafy bases start forming.  It's just a matter of time before the flowers start blooming.  And along with that, there will be bugs.  I don't even mind that so much.  I'm just so glad it's NOT winter.  

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Fan Freebie --

Couldn't forget my garden fairies and their "rides" :)  As a side note, I originally designed all the characters in these two kits as full size garden decorations.  The wood pieces add that mystical charm mixed in among the blooming flowers.  

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The Boo Update --

I stuck Boo in the kitchen sink when he was just a tiny little guy and let the water drip to keep him entertained until I could finish what I was doing in the kitchen.  From that day on, it became a daily thing.  This never gets old!  

Happy Mother's Day!

April 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

I, for one, am so glad that winter is almost over and spring is pretty much on its way!  The early spring flowers are coming up fast and some are already blooming.  The color palette this month was so much fun to work with. I used the same colors in the Fan Freebie so you have more papers and elements to create your pages.

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Fan Freebie --

Amazingly, bunnies don't bother my flowerbeds or garden.  I used to cut down all the dried stems before winter, but then I read about just leaving them until spring.  For whatever reason, the plants seem to come up stronger with nicer blooms.  I'm not sure why it would make a difference, but it does.

Click  HERE  to download

The Boo Update -

This isn't the type of photo I would usually share, but since all of you have been reading my blog since Boo joined our family, I thought you might like to see him at his annual veterinary visit.  No, he isn't hissing.  He's hyperventilating.  He knows we're going to the Vet when I pull his carrier out of the closet.  So, by the time we get into the examination room, he's breathing heavy on my husband's lap.  Our vet is so good with him, he really has nothing to worry about.  But, here he is . . . not one of his finer moments.  Poor boy!  The minute he's back in his carrier in my car and we're heading home, he's fine again.  

See you next month!

March 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

This has been a weird winter!  When I started this kit a week or so ago, it was snowing and cold.  Like, below zero cold.  This week, however, the sun is shining and warm so I don't need my heated jacket and gloves when I'm working with my horses each morning.  I could get used to this.  If only it stays this warm and rains instead of snow.  Works for me!

I love coffee.  There is no life until after I've had my first cup.  I'm testing out a few new flavors I picked up at the store last week.  One is just ok.  Two others are pretty good and the fourth flavor is a keeper for sure.  After a cup or two, sometimes three, everything is right with the world :)   

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Fan Freebie --

The colors this month were pretty fun to work with so I made some extra do-dads to go with the collection above.  Have fun creating your pages!

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The Boo Update --

Where the horses get kind of wild and crazy, snow has just the opposite effect on Boo.  Oh, he sat on the windowsill and watched the snow falling for a few minutes, then said "enough of this", jumped on the bed in the guest room and has been there pretty much all afternoon.  

Come back to see me next month!

February 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

A winter wedding sounds so romantic.  You know, with a light snow coming down on a starry night.  But, I honestly prefer summer weddings.  If I'm going to wear a dress, it better be warm.  We haven't gotten much snow yet, but it has been COLD!  My mode of dress this time of year includes a heated jacket, heated gloves, artic snow gear and boots rated to 80 below zero.  Sub-zero temperatures all around me, but under all that gear -- it's like a summer day :)  This year, as far as snow fall goes, Florida and New Orleans have had more snow than what we have.  Since there's still plenty of time yet for major snow and cold here, I'm knocking on wood.  At the moment, however, we're having 50 degree weather.  Feels more like April than February :)  

As a side note -- The flowers, leaves, the curly accents, the frame and the corners in this kit are actually carved from wood.  A little Photoshop presto-chango to add color and this is what you get --  Enjoy!

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Fan Freebie --

The thing I like most about Valentine's Day is that it comes right smack-dab in the middle of winter here, when we dearly need a distraction from the cold weather.  I usually make heart-shaped cookies and let the grandkids decorate them.  It's a fun way to spend an afternoon together.  They think I'm so cool :)  

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The Boo Update --

This is my husband's office.  I think it's like a total disaster, but he seems to be able to function quite well in clutter.  Don't ask me why or how.  I haven't a clue.  I just shake my head  and . . . NO, I do not clean that room.  It would mess up his system.  (That's a system????) Boo, however, thinks that it's a dandy place to catch a few rays and take a nap.  Men!  

See you in March

January 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve.  I rarely stay up to usher in a New Year.  My mornings start way too early as it is.  I have a stable full of hungry animals to take care of each morning, and that includes holidays as well.  

I started thinking about my kids when I was working on this Blog Train.  The year we moved from Southern California up to the Minnesota/Canadian border was memorable.  My kids had never seen snow except in movies and Christmas cards.  We moved in the summer so we could all have time to adapt to the weather change.  The first day it snowed, they ran outside without shoes and discovered it was COLD !!  But, they adapted over time, and found that winter was actually kind of fun.  They learned how to skate, ski and snowmobile, and were somewhat disappointed when the snow started melting each spring.  Good memories.  But, I have to admit that I like Southern Wisconsin better.  We still have snow, but it's always at least 30 degrees warmer here than up there and a whole lot less snow.

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Fan Freebie --

Oh, yes.  There's another memory here.  My brother used to pull me on a sled over to the ice skating pond to teach me how to skate.  We had so much fun.  Being the youngest in the family had its benefits. Good memories.  

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The Boo Update --

There is something about my black kitty slippers that attracts Boo to my feet when I wear them.  He wraps his front legs around my foot and starts rabbit-kicking with his back legs.  I'm not sure if he's trying to get those slippers off my feet or kill them.  In either case, he never ceases to entertain me.

See you next month!

November 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Where did October go?  I can't believe it's November already!  We just wrapped up fall roundup a couple weeks ago, a bit later than most years.  But, the weather had been nice, so why rush it.  My horses weren't complaining :)   The fall leaves are just so beautiful this year, so I decided to go in that direction with this blog train. 

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Fan Freebie --

I used the same color palette to create these, so you can combine the two kits into beautiful scrapbook pages.  Have fun!

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The Boo Update --

You know . . . most cats will find a quiet corner somewhere to take a nap, someplace where they won't be disturbed.  Not Boo.  I found him like this sleeping in the middle of the living room one afternoon.  This cat is not normal :)  

See you in December . . .

October 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

The greenhouse a few miles down the road from here have harvested their pumpkins and have them decoratively arranged around their property so people can take their children there to take Fall or Halloween pictures and pick up a pumpkin or two to take home.  Free donuts on Fridays, too!  I like Halloween.  It's just a sweet holiday and my grandkids have so much fun with all the different activities.  For just one day, they can get all dressed up in their costume and be someone or something else.  It's fun.  When I was designing for tole and decorative painters, Halloween was as popular as Christmas.  And, I have to admit, I have a thing for witches.  Ghosts and goblins, not so much.  Throughout my 30+ years of designing, everything has been upbeat and happy.  Everything smiles :) 

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Fan Freebie --

Bats, more pumpkins, a black cat (of course!!) and a funny little witch flying through the sky.  I'll bet flying on a broom would be a gas!!

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The Boo Update --

It's Boo's 6th birthday!  The picture on the left is Boo when he was just a few months old.  He was so tiny -- just 1/4 of an ounce when I brought him into the house from my horse barn at just 3 weeks old.  The picture on the right, of course, is today.  I have spent every day with him and still can't believe how big he has grown! 

See you back here next month!

September 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Homecoming.  That's how I feel every time I drive down our gorgeous country road and pull into our long driveway.  I love this place.  It's HOME.

What a wonderful blog train this has turned out to be.  You can find the rest of the train at Sept 2024 Blog Train - Final List | DigitalScrapbook.com Digital Scrapbooking Forums

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Fan Freebie --

I had so much fun with these colors, I made a whole bunch of extra pieces and paper for you to have fun with.  Lots of flowers and graffiti to really spruce up your pages. 

Click  HERE  to download

The Boo Update --

Ok, now this is getting a little crazy!  I have been so happy that Boo's collar grew back, but it still hasn't stopped growing.  He has those long hairs growing down below his chest area and behind his front legs.  I've pulled out pictures of him from before his allergies had started and it wasn't quite this fluffy.  Even his black fur has become thicker and longer.  I honestly have never seen anything like this before.  But, he's feeling good and that's all that really matters to me.

See you next month!

August 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Well, it's not the end of summer yet, but it's getting close.  July just flew by!  I had every intention of spending the month painting several canvases that I have sketched out.  Well...that didn't happen!  But I did spend a whole lot of time out in the stables with my horses and a whole bunch of new kittens.  They are so darn cute!  Kittens are little for such a short time.  The canvases will still be where I left them when the snow starts flying.  

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Fan Freebie --

I had so much fun working on the blog train kit, I used the same color palette to make more pieces for you to use.  The reason for all the birds in these kits is that for some reason, we have a whole lot of birds this year.  Some that I've not seen around here before.  Could be the weather, or they simply decided that this looked like a pretty good place to spend the summer :) 

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The Boo Update --

I had become so used to Boo looking like just a big black cat during the past couple years.  Since we have his allergies totally under control now and his collar has grown back -- and seems to just keep growing -- he looks like a totally different cat . . . right up until he starts playing with his toy mice.  Those poor little stuffed mice don't stand a chance!

See you next month!