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).