On the 12th day of Christmas . . .

Yes, I know - I have it wrong -- I'm a day off. Don't know what I was thinking when I started this a day early as it should end on Ephiphany, or Old Christmas as some people call it. But having started, I simply left my mis-timing alone and it's for the best since I need to take down the tree and decorations tomorrow.

For your Ephiphany gift, I made you a little mini kit that you can preview below:



Download here: http://www.4shared.com/file/34006328/30faaab0/AAOV_day12_Icy_mini.html?dirPwdVerified=4c81dd0f

Hope you enjoy it.


Please note: 12 Days gifts will be removed on Saturday, so grab what you want now. Hugs!

Layouts from the last couple of weeks

Yes, I've scrapped a lot these last few weeks. Below are ATCs, card & layouts I didn't get a chance to post here because things were too hectic.

Left - ATC made with Wedding Story Part 2 by Sassy Designs (scrappbookersplayground)

Right: ATC made with Wedding Sotry 2 by Sassy Designs & vintage image from Bits & Pieces _ Yellow a series of digital ATC kits I'm making.

Above and below - page layouts made with Wedding Story 2 by Sassy Designs. You an find it here:
http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.php?main_page=product_scrapbook_info&manufacturers_id=66&products_id=6918

The layout below was made with Tranquil Breezes by Robin Ackler. Photos of my nephews, Bryan and Jason when they were much younger.

The layout below was also made with Tranquil Breezes and features a photo of my God-daughter, Rachel cropped from a photo that was otherwise uninteresting. I just loved her expression. Find Robins kit here:

http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.php?main_page=product_scrapbook_info&products_id=6957

I've been scrapping a lot of photos of my dear nieces. In the layout below, made with Cathie Alesia's Friendship 1, Kristina and Katherine examine the cake thier Mom created for their sister, Joanna's burthday. That's Joanna smiling below. You can find Cathie's kit here:

http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.php?main_page=product_scrapbook_info&products_id=6867

Same kit, used to scrap photos of my nieces' paternal grandparents.

Below is a layout for a vintage photo I really like. I used Carol Burns' Rainbow_Indigo to give it punch. You can find Carol's kit here:
http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=138
I really love how this page turned out. I used Carol's Indigo for neice Joanna since it looks very purple and that's her favorite color.


ATCs are such fun to make, no matter what medium you choose to use. Here's a digital one I made with Carol Burns' Faerieland kit:

And here's a page for a vintage photo made with the same kit:


Faerieland also made this cute invitation to a tea:

You can find the kit here:

http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.phpmain_page=product_scrapbook_info&manufacturers_id=138&products_id=6909

Here's another layout I'm especially pleased with. I used Robin Ackler's Perfectly Pink to create a layout that focuses attention on this sweet photo of my grandson's step-mother and her new-born daughter.

Using Perfectly Pink again, I made the layout below playing up what I thought of as a 70's look in the paper. I dug out old photos of myself from the 70's to scrap with it. You can find this kit here:
http://www.scrapbookersplayground.com/Cart/index.php?main_page=product_scrapbook_info&manufacturers_id=59&products_id=6955

Here are 2 ATCs I made with Perfectly Pink:

On the 11th day of Christmas . . .

SherryD of AAOV has a migraine! All I've got for you today are 11 curled ribbons (not all Christmas colors) like the one below. Hope you can use them.

Download here: http://www.4shared.com/file/33921245/1c6c1f23/day11.html?dirPwdVerified=4c81dd0f

On the 9th & 10th days of Christmas, AAOV gave to me

All best plans can go astray. Sorry to be late with your gifts. Have been concerned about my brother who is in hospital (see post below if interested) and having a bout with insomnia and lower back pain.

Special thanks to the lovely artists of Ephemeral Victorian who provided the designer resources used to make these items (stocking and basic bow). I jazzed up some bows for you for day 9 and further embellished the lovely stocking from EV.

Download day nine here: http://www.4shared.com/file/33817808/a2b1d5e5/day9.html?dirPwdVerified=4c81dd0f

I split day 10 into 2 previews for you as you see below:

Download the pretty stockings here: http://www.4shared.com/file/33817466/1a49a600/day10.html?dirPwdVerified=4c81dd0f

Thinking of Thom

My brother, Thom, eight years my junior, is much on my mind today. He's been a chronic pain patient for over twenty years now as a result of an auto accident which injured his back. Multiple surgeries only complicated matters because the first couple were back when back surgery was much more invasive than it is today. As a result, he's had scar tissue buildup, nerve damage and so on.

He's been having pain in one of his leg with numbness in the foot of that leg for many months now. Each time he's complain, his doctors would remind him that it was nothing new - all a result of the original injury and surgeries. He insisted it was different. A few days before Christmas, he saw his orthopaedic and again complained that something was wrong. In fact, the pain and numbness had crept up his leg from his foot. Finally, he was sent for an MRI which showed that the shunt for the implanted pump which controls and distributes his pain medication had become calcified. The calcification needed to be removed and a new pump implanted. It needed to be done right away so was scheduled for Christmas Eve! The surgery would last about two hours, he was told.

Post surgery - Thom was told the surgery was over five hours long because the calcium deposit had attached itself to his spine. That, he was told, was the reason he'd been having leg trouble. There was sufficient damage that he would probably have to learn to walk again as he recovered. If that weren't enough, the hospital staff disagreed with the combination of medications he had been getting through the pump (for both pain and muscle spasms). His pain management doc was on a cruise and had left his PA (physician assistant) to check in with Thom every day and see to his needs. To make a long story short, it was days before he began to get correct meds. This meant more pain because his leg muscles spasmed so badly, he couldn't stand.

I spoke to him by phone last night and, surprisingly, was coherent (although he had to fight for words at times - result of extra meds) and in a reasonably good mood. He'll be in rehab for at least two more weeks.

Between Thom's problems and concerns over her mother's health possible lung cancer and either early Alzheimers' or cancer has gone to the brain), my SIL was holding up pretty well.
Mostly angry about the problem with getting Thom appropriate meds.

Extra prayers needed! My thanks to friends who have Thom on their prayer list. It all helps and is appreciated.

On the 8th day of Christmas AAOV gave to me

8 ornament frames.

Download here: http://www.4shared.com/file/33591536/cf793fb1/day8.html?dirPwdVerified=4c81dd0f

Happy New Year!

I started the post with the tags just before midnight because we'd gone out for dinner and then just spent some time together. I completely forgot for a bit that I hadn't put the day's gift on the blog.

Now here it is 2008! I wish you all a year of good health, happiness, and prosperity.

And I'd like to thank Renderosity artists for their wonderful Christmas gifts. Special thanks to the two artists whose gifts I used to create my January blog header: Sandrez63 for the beautiful background and Fade Willow for the lovely snow fairy.