Inspiration Avenue Challenge-"Gratitude" Show and Tell

With Thanksgiving keeping many Americans busy this week, we opted to invite readers to post something for a "Gratitude Show and Tell."  My digital collage was made just for fun this week.  I was loving the fall temperatures, the color of the leaves, and the overall beauty of autumn.

This collage is a summary of what I love about autumn.

Credits for image components:

 Pewter 7, Deep Girl Design, Shel Belle Scraps, Coffee Shop, Little Butterfly Wings, Raspberry Road, Mandy King, Rena Designs, Miriam Scraps, Brooke Gazarek, and Sky's the Limit Scraps.

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-Myths

Niina, our newest member, hosted the challenge this week.  She challenged us with creating an image about mythology.   In her introduction, she mentioned mermaids and the lost city of Atlantis, and that was all I needed! 

I played with the idea of a scuba diver coming upon the lost city of Atlantis.

Image components created by:

Eena's Creation-Beyond the Seashore, Finecrafted Designs-Mermaids, Mr. Whiskers-Sea

More Freebies-Diabetes Awareness Digi Blog Train

The Diabetes Awareness Blog Train is ready to go!

Not only do I have a close friend with diabetes, I also have a dog, Chester, who needs insulin injections every day.  It's not easy, monitoring my dog's medication and making sure he eats the right amount of his special diet at the right times of day.  At only 4 years old, Chester was diagnosed with diabetes.  He quickly developed cataracts in both eyes.  Doctors were able to perform surgery and remove the cataracts on one eye so Chester now has the ability to see again.  Sadly, one eye had a detached retina and couldn't be fixed.  Still, animals and people adapt very well to vision in one eye and Chester can keep up with the rest of the dogs.

Diabetes can be very difficult to deal with.  It's the kind of disease that is controlled rather than cured.  You can read about it here at the American Diabetes Association.

Pick up my part here

I always appreciate it when someone stops to leave a comment.  Your feedback is important to me, and I love to hear that you like my work.  I'm working on growing my blog, so I'd enjoy having you as a follower too! 

Here are the rest of the stops.

FB Queen JJ Creations
Lizzy QX Design
Marniejo’s House Of Scraps
Shuckclod’s Stuff
KJD Designs
Dea’s Design
Xelax Scrap Free
Ann’s Scrapbook Heaven
Caroline B.
Arte 4 Amore
Timber Scraps
Dezines2Amaze
Damsel Designs
Misplaced Mermaid
Becky’s Creations
Dakota Winds Graphics

Freebie-Digital Scrapbook Mini Kit

There was a designer challenge over at Pixel Scrapper that I just had to participate in.  The challenge was to create a mini-kit for digital scrapbooking that included 5 solid papers, 5 patterned papers, and 15 elements.  I decided to challenge myself even more by making a kit unlike any other I had made.  The idea of art journaling came to mind so I searched for inspiration.  You can read the story below the link if you're interested.

Grab my Kit Here

The color palette came from a great neon fractal I found in public domain images.  I used the image to create a palette of five colors plus the addition of black and white.

I usually like to include vintage pictures or clip art but did not allow myself to gravitate towards the familiar.  Instead, I tried to create some tools for people who want to do digital art journaling.  With a color palette I never would have made on my own and self-imposed restrictions on content, I got busy.  The result was a kit I feel would be fun for an art journaler to play with.  If you download this kit, I would truly appreciate comments or suggestions.  I'd also love to see what you create with it.  Mainly, I hope you have fun playing.

Inspiration Avenue Challenge-Houses

My friend Maggie challenged us with creating an image about houses.  My dream house would have lots of beautiful plants around it, like this cottage by the sea.

I love Victorian houses and this one would be wonderful.  (I'd like a gardener and a housekeeper to go with it.)  When I see an abandoned house, I feel so sorry for it.  

It always seems like such a waste to have abandoned houses when so many are homeless. (Houses from Publicdomainimages.com)

Of course, being a mermaid lover I couldn't resist creating an underwater scene showing a mermaid's house.  For the challenge this week, I am sharing my mermaid dream home.

It looks like these mermaids are having a party.  Why don't we go inside and join them?  

Credits for image components:

Granny Art Fairy, Courney's Digiscrappin', Collage Sheets (Glitter Mermaid and Image Village), and three of my favorites from Deviant Scrap (Brimm, Eena, and Mr. Whiskers).

Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge-Grandma's Attic

When I posted the challenge at IA this week, I thought about my maternal grandmother.  I remember climbing up the stairs to the small attic in her farmhouse.  My favorite thing to do up there was to play with my cousin's beautiful Revlon doll and all of the fabulous dresses my mother, aunts, and grandma had made.  My digital image contains various objects that remind me of my Grandma Stewart.

I had a lot of fun finding objects that reminded me of my grandmother, as well as the times when I visited her.  She was always really special to me.

Credits for image components:
Butterfly Design, Granny Art Fairy, Cajoline, Courtney's Digiscrappin, Far Far Hill, Friendly Scrap, Raspberry Road, Marta Van Eck, The Maltese Scrapper, Freubel's Freebies, Miriam's Scrap, Forbidden, Booland Designs, and KK Textures.

Pixel Scrapper Nov. 2013 Blog Train-Vintage Freebies

Pixel Scrapper is hosting another delicious blog train full of freebies for everyone!  The theme this month was "Vintage" and I knew I had to join.  I created a kit with 23 elements and 7 papers.  My creations are centered around vintage scrap ephemera, which was used during the Victorian era.  Since many others are creating kits with the same color palette, I didn't worry about making solid colored papers or embellishments.  My pieces should blend nicely with the other fabulous kits.

Here is a preview of my kit.

 I divided it into two separate downloads due to the large size.  I hope you enjoy using it.  As always, I really value your comments, even if you stop to merely say "Thank you."  I'd also like to invite you to sign up to follow my blog.  I frequently have other goodies for people to download. 

Elements
Mostly Papers

Thank you for stopping by.  To see the rest of the blog train go over to Pixel Scrapper here.