Paris Designs Contest

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Do you want to win a free kit?
Head on over to Paris Designs blog...check out the layout that is posted there and get the details!
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The 13th and a Layout: Lilacs

Friday the 13th....are you superstitious? I am not normally but I have to say this hasn't been a very good week for us. And, because it is depressing to think about I'm not going to write about it.....instead I will just move right along and show you a layout I made recently.
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I made this layout for the Stone Accent Studio Freestyle Challenge. The challenge was to make a layout using flowers....but the catch was that it had to be about flowers that were your favorite as a child.
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Journaling: I love lilacs. Lilac trees lined the property that I grew up in and I would play in them for hours. I would pretend that they were my house. Two of the trees had branches that came together to form an ‘arch’ and that was my front door. The paths and gaps between the trees were the various other rooms. Now when I smell them I think I associate it with a simpler time and the innocence of my youth. When my husband and I bought our home one of the first purchases we made was a small lilac tree. We planted it outside our bedroom window. My favorite time of year is when the lilacs are in bloom and I can open my window and smell them.
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Credits: Digital scrapbook page created in Microsoft Digital Image Suite. Background: Circus Brights Kit by Kate Hill. Elements: prong from Electric Urban Kit by Brittney Ferguson Designs; x stitches from Love and Life Kit by Melany Violette; charm from Sunshine Sweets for Easter by Shawn; purple brad from Darcy from the Ninety Nine Names Collection by Phreyfall; bow cluster from Sunshine Sweets for Easter by Adriane Richardson; ribbon (color altered) from How She Shines Kit by Ellie Lash; staple from Garden Party by Kathie Woolery; ring from Well Dressed Man Kit by Paris Designs; bow from Country Potpourri Kit by Paris Designs. Font: PT Diploma (title) and PT Opals Hand (journaling)
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Home

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Well....we came home yesterday. And, I swear it was the hottest day of the year so far....the thermometer in the truck read 97 degrees. Needless to say, by the time we had unhooked the trailer we were hot and sticky. A shower sounded like a great idea until we discovered we didn't have any hot water. The house smelled musty from being closed up for 3 weeks. And, while eating supper I managed to break a tooth (thankfully it was a back one) so I visit to the dentist is probably in my near future.
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I hate going to the dentist.
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Layout: Renovations

I made this layout using Brittney Ferguson Designs Home Sweet Home Kit. Be sure to go to Studio Style Designs and check out this and some of her other great kits!

Journaling: We bought the house knowing that we would be doing a few renovations. We planned on starting by remodeling the upstairs apartment.....updating the heating system, buying new appliances for the kitchen, repairing the plumbing and replacing the bathtub & sink. It wasn’t until after the tenant moved out and we got a closer look at things that we realized that there was no insulation in the walls, the windows all had to be replaced and the lathe & plaster walls needed to be torn out. After that it became almost a daily occurrence to find something else that had to be replaced or repaired...the roof needed to be reshingled, the stove in the downstairs apartment was condemned by the gas company, the furnace failed an inspection because it was emitting carbon monoxide and was shut down until we could have it serviced.....and the list went on. For two and a half years we stuck with it...we worked almost every free moment remodeling, repairing and renovating until we finally ran out of money and patience. We put the house up for sale and within two weeks it was sold. We found another house...it had sat empty for almost a year so it needed a few small repairs....or at least that is what we thought. But that’s another story....
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Credits: Digital scrapbook page created in Microsoft Digital Image Suite using Home Sweet Home by Brittney Ferguson Designs. Font: Segoe Print

Layout: Female Baltimore Oriole

In the three weeks we have been camping I have taken a picture or two.....haha! I managed to get a few good photos of this female Baltimore Oriole.

Journaling: It was fascinating to watch this female Baltimore Oriole try to unravel our rug to get some string for her nest. She eventually got frustrated and flew away. We cut a few strings and left them next to the rug in case she decided to come back. The next day they were gone so we assumed she had come back and found them.

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Credits: Background: Booland Designs Color Challenge Starter Kit. Elements: ribbon with eyelet from Booland Designs Color Challenge Starter Kit; embossed stamp (color altered) from April Surprise by Deb Ammerman; button from I Dig My Garden by Brittney Ferguson Designs; bow from Country Potpourri by Paris Designs. Font: Blue Highway Linocut