The Wood Prince

Meet my little wood prince. I had so much fun creating this piece of art that I just had to try my hand at another one. This time I chose my son and I just didn't have the heart to turn him into a fairy. Someone commented at Scrapbook Graphics that he was a Wood Prince and I love that. He has a crown of leaves and a wheat sceptor. Credits for all of the goodies included in this can be found here along with a before and after picture.

Beautiful Art for Worship

Just wanted to pass along along a link to a site I ran across with beautiful artwork called MO'EDIM MESSIANIC ART. The artwork was created by a homeschooled girl, Carly Rose Hennigan. Her photography is amazing. Since I have a special place in my heart for worship art AND homeschoolers, I just wanted to share this.

Another page...

Had a few minutes this afternoon and I thought I would wrap up this page I started a while back. I had mentioned to Patrick that we should get a birthday photo like this and he loved the idea and it became a big deal. Probably because SIX is SO OLD - I mean it does take two hands! I used a whole big mix of different elements for this. It took me forever to go back andfigure out where each of these pieces was from. Credits for the page can be found here.

I am totally craving a nap today, but I thought I would try and be just a little productive here at the computer. Hope you are having a great Sunday!

Sweet Sweater Set

Just sharing this page of my baby girl in her pretty new sweater set. Well it isn't actually new. My friend made it for her when she was just a newborn, but she made it a bit big so she wouldn't outgrow it so fast. Well, this is the first time she wore it. She has been big enough to wear it for a while but our weather hasn't been cold enough for such a warm sweater. Sadly, I can't get her to keep the hat on. I have tried, but it usually ends up in tears. (Hers not mine ;-)
Credits for the page can be found here. This page was also featured in the Cottage Arts newletter this week because it was done using one of their new Simply Done templates which are really cool and have some special features if you are using Photoshop Elements. This page came together in a snap.

Seeing something like this sweater set makes me want to be able to knit. I can crochet, but some things are just better knitted. Connie (who made this lovely sweater) tried to teach me a while back. I wanted to knit a prayer shawl and she took the time to show me how. Well, I was slow and awkward at it and I ended up getting impatient with myself and crocheting the shawl. A youth prayer shawl ministry has just started at our church and my daughter, Anna, has decided to try it. She has been taught how to knit and it loving it. Seeing her pick up on this so quickly is so wonderful to watch (even if it does disgust me that she has picked up on it much faster than me). She has shown me one more time the process of knitting and it is starting to click better in my brain. I am determined that after the holidays I am going to sit down and actually master knitting.

Sorry I am babbling. I was up late last night because I have a nasty cold and couldn't sleep. Then I woke up early because I was so stuffed and my sinuses feel like they are gonna explode. I though perhaps I would go lay back down after a bit, but it is too late. I have to get everyone up for church in about a half an hour. So, I had better get some coffee into me and get a bit more awake!

Hope you all have a sweet Sunday.

The Golden Compass (revisited)

Back in August, I did a little research about this book after my 13 year old daughter saw it in the Scholastic book flyer. She was intrigued and we got it from the library. I won't go into the details of our experience at this time because I wrote about it here. I am just thankful that my daughter had enough good sense and intuition to put the book down.

Now, with the opening of the movie drawing near, The Golden Compass is getting quite a bit of publicity. I am glad to see that not all of it is good. I just received an e-mail forward that warned against letting your children see the movie. Here is what it said:

Subject: Fw: Warning of upcoming movie
As if we needed more Satanic
influences for our kids... click on the link below for more info- this
author is pretty shocking. If his admission that his series of "children's
books" are about killing God isn't bad enough, they apparently even include
references to castration and female circumcision. The movie is the hook to get
kids into the books.………………………………………………………………………………………….
This was sent to me -
important to know this!!! (I wasn't familiar with this author OR these
books...)

I just wanted to warn all Christian parents to avoid the
upcoming movie "The Golden Compass" put out by New Line Cinema and Scholastic
entertainment. It is due out in December. It looks like a fun movie, but this is
the first movie based on the trilogy of books titled "His Dark Materials."
The author of the books, Philip Pullman is a militant at heist whose professed
purpose with these books is to turn kids away from Christianity. He has said
this outright. The first movie has been cleaned up to avoid a lot of objections
- it is apparently not going to be too bad BUT ..the movie is bait for the books
which are horrible. The books get progressively worse with the heroes (children)
in the 3rd book actually killing God, who is depicted as a little shrunken man.
I am not kidding. This sounds too terrible to believe, but unfortunately it is
not. It stars Nicole Kidman.
See the website below for more info. &
verification:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
The
Golden Compass (new movie out in December).

Part of me hates to even discuss this because from what I have read about the man, Phillip Pullman wants this kind of publicity - he loves it. He had been jealous that Harry Potter had been getting all the attention instead of his books.

I will say it again. Whether we believe it or not, there is a battle being waged all around us - a spiritual battle and often it is our children who are on the front lines. The enemy plays dirty. We need to face these facts and both protect and equip our children as best we can.

When I addressed this before, I felt frustrated because I was unable to find a good children's book review site. There are not enough hours in the day for me to preread everything my children read. I am so thankful that someone passed along this website: Facts on Fiction. It is a fantastic resource with very detailed reviews of quite a few books. Be sure and check it out.

I should really be in bed

I should really be in bed, but I was having trouble sleeping and I can't stand to lay in bed awake. So, I decided to get up and finish this scrapbook page I started a few days ago. I just love photos like this where the subject is bathed in a warm glow from the candles. You have to say it is kinda magical. Just this past year I read somewhere that shots like this are on the must have list. Every person deserves to have their photo taken with all the lights off and just the glow of the candlelight illuminating them. It is so flattering! So here is my son last month on his 6th birthday. Credits for the layout can be found here.

I am off to bed for I know morning will come MUCH too soon!

Fast Food Firsts

I have officially corrupted my baby girl's tastebuds. We took Patrick out to lunch for his birthday last month at the Golden Arches (a.k.a. the chicken and fries place). I realized when we got there that I didn't bring anything for Rachel. No food, bib or sippy cup. So, when the going gets touch, the tough order a Happy Meal. Right? I tried to be a little healthy about it, but the only thing you could substitute for fries was apple wedges which little Rachel doesn't have enough teeth to do. We did skip the soft drink and get the juicebox instead. She had never done a straw but figured it out so fast you would have thought she was a pro. Then there was the ketchup. To say she loved the ketchup would be an extreme understatement! Since I had no bib, I just dipped the end of a fry in a bit and handed it to her. It was love at first taste! I finally decided that giving her a little cup with a little bit couldn't be that messy. I was wrong. Next thing I know, she has completely bypassed the fries and is ramming her whole little fist into the ketcup cup. You can see the results on her face in this layout.

If you are interesed, the tiny journaling for this page reads:

Even though it was Patrick’s birthday, it was a day of “firsts” for Rachel. Upon arriving at McDonald’s, I realized that I forgot to bring anything for Rachel to eat, so she got her very first Happy Meal. She had never sampled ketchup, so I dipped one of her fries in it. Well, she was all about the ketchup! I gave her her own tiny cup with a little bit in it and the next thing I know, she has bypassed the fries altogether and was eating ketchup straight with her fingers! To drink, she had her first juicebox and her first time with a straw. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to figure it out, but it was NOT a problem. She slurped down the entire thing in no time flat. She is official a fast food pro. Hopefully, she will still eat her broccoli after this!

Credits for this page can be found here.

I made Digi Pick of the Day!!!

I can't believe it! This layout was the digi pick of the day on the 5th. I was totally oblivious until this morning when I got a google alert. Back when I was designing, a fellow designer had said that she had set up a google alert for her name. Google then searches the web for things that pop up with your name associated with them. As a designer, this is nice because if someone posts something using your art, google may find it and send you an e-mail. Usually, I get messages about a layout that I posted myself somewhere and it is outdated. But this morning, I got a message referring to the Digi Pick of the Day page. How cool is that!!!

Just another manic Monday....

How did it get to be Monday again so fast? It is a grey day here and I am having a really hard time getting my brain to focus on anything productive today which is not good because my to-do list is really long. I decided to give myself just a little time to put the finishing touches on a layout I started last week. The clothing confusion comes from the fact that we have been having some really inconsistant weather lately. You can see that my daughter, Abi, has no idea how to dress anymore with her winter coat and bare feet!

Journaling reads:
Our October weather has been inconsistent to say the least. One day it is cold and the next it is nearly 80 degrees.The kids don’t have any idea of how to dress each day. They run around barefoot in shorts when it is 46 degrees one day and like Abi here when it is 78. Check out that warm winter coat that she refused to take off and those bare feet she was running around outside with.. This weather is certainly causing clothing confusion.

Credits for the page can be found here.

Now I am going to have a go at the piles of stuff threatening to form a landslide off my desk. Have a great day!