Lady V dZine

Roxana Illuminated Perfume $30 Gift Certificate GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-02-12T09:15:00.000-06:00

Roxana Illuminated Perfume $30 Gift Certificate GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

New Domain

2008-08-18T12:54:00.001-05:00

I have my own domain now, so I am transferring everything over to Lady V dZine. Please be sure to bookmark the new address!

Be Blessed!

Lady V

Fun at the Fair Blog Train

2008-08-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

The Pretty Scrappy Design Team and Creative Team have all come together to create a really super brag book set for you all. All items they used came from our new "Fun at the Fair" designer MEGA-collab kit. You can pick this kit up for only $4.99 or FREE with any purchase of $20.00 or more.

There is so much awesome stuff in this HUGE kit that we each give you a little preview of it's contents along the way.

Preview from the "Fun at the Fair" Collab Kit:

Grab the Fun at the Fair Designer Collab here

And to whet your scrapping appetite, here's a snaggable freebie for you...

Which you can snag here.
Now, follow the train to stop #2

2. Angel
3. Debi
4. Jamie
5. Julie
6. Karen
7. Kathy
8. Lillian
9. Nikki
10. Rachael
11. Tammy
12. Casey

Have fun, and be blessed!

Lady V

My first blog award

2008-08-13T11:03:00.001-05:00

Rachness of Dood-elle nominated me for this fabulous blog award. Thanks so much, hun!

Here are the rules of the award:
1.The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from {Rachness}.
3.Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4.Put links of those blogs on yours.
5.Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you’ve nominated...

Okay, so I have a TON of digiblogs that I visit regularly, and found it impossible to narrow it down. So, I wend to my favorites list, which is not in any sort of order, and picked the first seven on the list.

1. Casey at Pretty Scrappy

2. Pam at Digitreats

3. Kathy at Kathys Scraps

4. Julie at Share Your Moments

5. Kelly at Late Night Scraps

6. Shawna at Scrap Stuff with PSP

7. Pat/PCArt at Wonderful Waste of Time

Okay gals, you're turn.

It seems I've also been tagged (several weeks ago) by Kiere at Kiere's Creations.

These are the rules:
1. Link your tagger {Kiere's Creations} and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog enjoy!
Have fun!!!

Fun Facts...

1. I am affected by Hay Wells syndrome, a rare syndrome of Ectodermal Dysplasia with less than 150 known affected individuals WORLD WIDE! See NFED web site for more information. Six of those cases are in my family.

2. I share my name with a famous filmographer, Virginia Higgins.

3. I don't eat oranges or drink orange juice.

4. I have two college degrees but choose to be a housewife.

5. My favorite store is Wal-Mart.

6. I have the best in-laws in the world!

7. If my house ever burned, besides my family and photos, the two things I would want to save would be my rocking chair and my grandfather's Bible.

Okay... so, I now tag the following...

1. Crazy Diamond at Designs by Crazy Diamond

2. Monica at Random Inspirations by Monica

3. Shannon at Scrappy Shannon

4. Mags at MagsGraphics

5. Kelly at KSH Scrapping

6. Gloria Val Verde

7. Babette of LBCreations

By the way, I have purchased my own domain name, and will be transitioning all of my stuff over there as the weeks come.

Be blessed,

Lady V

Server Fixed, Sale, New Kit, and a Freebie!

2008-08-08T19:17:00.001-05:00

Whooo Hooo! The server at Pretty Scrappy is now in operable condition!

To celebrate, I have placed my entire store on sale for 25% off.

My Floralscapes CU Stock Photos are now available there, too. With the 25% off sale, you can snag the entire bundle for just $22.50. That is less than 38 cents per CU stock photo!

I have a new kit in the store at Pretty Scrappy, as well.

Color Burst is pretty kit bursting with pastel colors. Includes: 15 textured/patterned papers, 1 arrow, 8 beads (3 patterned, 5 semi-tranparent solid colors), 3 different butterflies, 2 buttons, 1 charm, 1 photo corner, 1 dragonfly, 1 chipboard flower, 1 realistic flower, 1 metal frame, 1 ribbon wrapped cardboard frame, 1 tagged frame, 1 crumpled paper frame (3 colors included), 1 ribbon heart, 2 ribbons, 4 pieces of ricrac, 1 dogtag (7 color combinations included, 1 journal tag cluster, and 1 bonus quickpage. Not all elements shown in preview. Some elements resized for preview. Drop shadows on preview only. S4H/S4O friendly. No program specific files included.

I am also working on a new set of CU overlays. Here is a sample:

I'm thinking of calling the set Orbitz, but am not settled on the name yet. What do you think?

The Floralscapes sampler is also available at Pretty Scrappy

Grab the new kit, Color Burst here.

Grab the Floralscapes Bundle here.

Grab the Orbitz Overlay sampler here.

The Floralscapes Sampler is available here.

Be blessed!

Lady V

Floralscapes now in store!

2008-08-08T00:05:00.002-05:00

Flowers are one of my favorite things to photograph, besides my baby Zane, of course. I recently spent some time sorting my digital pictures of flowers, and picked out some of my favorites. I know as a designer, that it is not easy to find good quality CU-OK photos, so I decided to offer them for other designers to use as well. Here are the previews:

There are 60 in all. Each photo is 3600x3600 (12x12 at 300ppi) and in JPEG format. They are available as a bundle for just $30, which is 50 cents each. Or, in sets of 4 for $3 per set, which is 75 cents each.

I also thought I would offer a sampler, which is also CU-OK.

Get the sampler at Digital Scrap Design through August 21st.

You can also get the Floralscapes Bundle at Digital Scrap Design.

As an added bonus, you can also take $5 off when you buy the whole bundle. That's 60 CU stock photos for $25! The coupon code is floralfan and is only good through the 21st!

These products will soon be available at Pretty Scrappy, as well. However, we are currently experiencing server problems, so I have not been able to add them to the store yet.

Be blessed!

Lady V

Layouts from Penny

2008-08-07T08:46:00.001-05:00

Here are a few layouts from my CT, Penny.

Kit used: Dad by Lady V dZine

Be blessed!

Lady V

Layouts from Cissi

2008-08-07T08:23:00.001-05:00

Here are some layouts from my CT, Cissi.

Kit used: Dad by Lady V dZine

Kit used: Zoo Spirit by Lady V dZine

Be blessed!

Lady V

A new avatar for me...

2008-08-04T11:44:00.001-05:00

So, I belong to a Yahoo group called Resource Wars. Every week a member is picked to be the Member of the week and gets showered with tags from the other members. Pixilyn, who is an avid tag maker, made this one for me. I absolutely love it!

I requested a bald doll, since I am bald. And she made that for me. How sweet. And I love the play on words!

So, I think I'm gonna use her for my forum pix. Yippee!

Be blessed,

Lady V

Are you playing with a Full Deck?

2008-08-03T11:25:00.001-05:00

This cute kit coordinates with my Zoo Spirit kit.

It is formatted to fit the standard deck of playing cards.

You can use just the card fronts: Print out your layout, trim, and affix to a standard size (2.5x3.5) playing card.

Or make your own personalized deck: Personalize the included deck, print, trim, and combine with the card front of your choice.

You can also use to make a card-sized brag book. No need to make the whole deck. Customize the blank card enclosed, print, trim, and combine with the card fronts.

Five card fronts to choose from.

Includes full deck of cards. Ace-King in four suits (Elephant, Giraffe, Kangaroo, and Monkey) plus two jokers.

Cards are on transparent PNG background to maximize versatility. You can personalize all 54 cards if you want.

Also included is one blank white card face template.

Layered PSD and separate PNG files included.

On sale for the next week at Pretty Scrappy for just $3.99. That's 33% off the regular price!

You can also snag this sampler card that is not included in the deck.

Get the sampler at Pretty Scrappy or Digital Scrap Design. Sampler card available free until the 20th, then it will be $1.99.

Get the Full Deck at Pretty Scrappy or Digital Scrap Design.

Get the Zoo Spirit kit, free for the entire month of August, at Pretty Scrappy or at Digital Scrap Design. Kit will be $4.99 as of September 1st.

Be blessed!

Lady V

Zoo Spirit- links fixed

2008-08-01T11:08:00.001-05:00

I am so sorry about the error with the link for part 1. Seems I made a typo. I have corrected, and tested, it. Please let me know if you experience any more difficulty with downloading the kit.

Zoo Spirit part 1

Zoo Spirit part 2

Scroll to previous post for the previews!

Be blessed,

Lady V

ADSD Grab A Collab: Zoo Spirit

2008-07-31T22:23:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of participating in the Grab a Collab at ADSDesigners. The theme is Zoo Spirit. Following are the previews of the kit that I created with the provided palette.

The kit:

The animals:

The template:

You can grab my portion of this fab collab here and here. Password for both is "zoo" (minus the quotes).

It is also available at:

Pretty Scrappy

Digital Scrap Designs

Kit includes: 13 papers, 5 frames, 5 ribbons, 5 photo prongs, 7 animal, 2 pieces of "Zoo" wordart, 2 beads, and 1 "Zoo" template. Kit is slightly over 100MB and is S4H/S4O friendly!

Now, for your scrapping pleasure, do the blog hop and Grab a Collab!

abyscraps
Amanda Truitt
Angel
A Zone for Digiscraps
Brooke & Joni
Burkhart Scrapzone (Michaele)
Buzybee Designs (Penny Lewis)
By God's Design
City Scribe Scraps
Crafter's Boutique (Mardesia)
Creations By Rachael
Creative Digital Scraps by Chiara
Creative Dreams
Deb
Debbie
Designs by Crazy Diamond
Designs by Lisa Minor
Erika (PinkuPixie)
Gone Scrappin' Designs
Heartprints Digital Designs
Kalo Designs
Kelly's Sanity Saver
Kim's Scrappin'
You are here----->~~Lady V dZine~~
LBCreations: Designs by Babette
Lighthouse Designs by Beth
Lighthouse Scrapping and Harbor Designs
Lori Imel
MagsGraphics
Michelle Blagg Designs
Monica at Random Inspirations
Munchkin Scraps by Jody
Nadine: Scrappinmamma
Nancy Schmidt
Panda Bear Designs
Serina,s Designz
Scrappin with Doodle
Scrappin' with Ladye
Scrappin' with Jersey Girl
Scrappy Cats
ScrappyShannon
Scraps by Shilo
ScripityScrap Designs
Share Joy
Stacey Crossley
Stellarific Creations
Stephanie
The Scrap Loft: Kathy Goldstein Designs
utski can scrap

Thanks for stopping by. Please leave me some love and let me know what you think of the kit.

By the way, I am taking requests for my next kit. What would you like to see?

Be blessed,

Lady V

Funny Face

2008-07-31T00:29:00.001-05:00

As I was going through pictures looking for a family photo for the adoption application, I came across one of my favorites of Zane. Picture was taken by Wells Family Photography, courtesy of Larry and Belinda Wells. Posted here with permission.

Zane was about a month old, and had recently developed colic.

This is what he looked like for the better part of about two and a half months!

When he started wailing during the photo shoot, I told Belinda to keep taking pictures. The way I saw it, that is what he was like most of the time, so why not preserve it?

To get a better view of his colic cry, you can check out the one month pictures here.

Be blessed,

Lady V

Ever Google Yourself?

2008-07-31T00:16:00.001-05:00

I was recently asked if I had ever Google'd my name. I hadn't. So, I decided to give it a try.

It turns out that I share my name with a famous filmographer, Virginia Higgins. I found a lot of links for her.

Here are a few that I found that actually include stuff about me:

http://www.kfoxtv.com/health/11035122/detail.html

http://www.bcm.edu/findings/vol5/is4/07apr_n1.html

and

http://www.nfed.org/pdf/educator/NFED_Educator_Winter_08.pdf (includes my son's birth announcement).

There could be more, but I only went through the first 10 pages each for my married and maiden names.

Isn't it interesting that all three links relate to Ectodermal Dysplasia?

Anyway, give it a try! Google yourself and let me know if you find anything interesting!

Be blessed,

Lady V

The Adoption Application

2008-07-30T23:35:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned, we just sent in the paperwork for our application to adopt.

We checked into international adoption, but ran into several road blocks.

First of all, I am affected by the Hay Wells syndrome of Ectodermal Dysplasia. What does that have to do with adoption? Well, apparently, it disqualifies us from adopting from several countries according to at least two agencies.

Secondly, I have no finger prints. As a result of the Hay Wells syndrome, I do not have the distinguishable ridges on my finger tips that make up prints. I have some scar prints, but nothing really remarkable. It took me almost 6 months to get my RN license in Missouri, because of the lack of fingerprints. I had to go get "printed" three times. Each time, I listed the syndrome on the paperwork and explained why I don't have fingerprints to the official who did the printing. When they called to tell me that I needed to get "printed" a fourth time, due to "poor quality of prints," I nearly screamed! Again, I explained that they could scan my fingertips fifty times and would NEVER get a "quality" print. In fact, because my scars on my hands occasionally break open, chances are, the scar prints would not even be the same each time. I even offered a buccal swab or retinal scan. LOL. So, after 6 months, 3 sets of prints, and countless calls, the board of nursing pushed through a federal background check. Again, what does that have to do with adoption? Well, fingerprinting is part of the international adoption process. It is required for INS (immigration) for both parents to be printed. While I'm certain we could eventually get them to understand that it is not an option, we would like to have our second child before we reach senility!

After much prayer and consideration, we decided to apply for the domestic infant program.

I literally spent all day Tuesday working on the application. The application requires a current family photo. Would you believe that after scouring through my digi-files, I could not come up with a decent recent picture of the three of us for the application?

Can I just say that God is good?

It just so happens that our church, Northwest Foursquare Church is in the middle of doing a pictorial directory. Wells Family Photography is doing the photos for the directory, and fortunately for us, Larry and Belinda happen to be friends. So, I sent a frantic plea to Belinda via e-mail, and she sent me the unedited picture that they took for the directory. Here it is:

We look like a nice family, right? Zane looks like the happiest baby in the world! What a grin!

So, would you like to do me a favor?

As you look at the picture of our family, please pray that the Lord would touch our future child's birth mother and grant her health and wisdom. Pray that He will grant us favor and that in His time, He would direct the right woman to choose us to raise her child. Pray that the Lord would open the doors that need to be opened, close the ones that need to be closed, and help us to keep our hands off the door knobs.

Thanks!

Be blessed,

Lady V

Power shock, pulling up, and a paper chase begins

2008-07-30T17:12:00.002-05:00

Who knew that a shock from a 120v outlet could cause one to feel so weird!

Last night, I was blending up some baby food for Zane (I make all of his baby food myself) when the little processor sparked and sorta shocked me. My left hand tingled and I had a headache for several hours afterward! I still had the headache when I went to bed.

I used the processor again today, and nothing happened, so I am sure it's okay.

Zane is now pulling himself into a standing position. He did it for the first time yesterday! It seem like just yesterday he started rolling over!

I mean, he just started crawling over things, like the chair rungs...

and eating at the table...

and now he's standing...

My little boy is growing up!

Did I mention that he wasn't so fond of the pool in Iowa?

That's my DH, Brian, trying valiantly to cajole a smile out of him!

He finally did smile, after Daddy took him out of the boat and held him...

but trust me, it didn't last! LOL! He definitely thought playing with Delores was more fun than the pool!

Look at that grin!

We officially started the paper chase for our adoption today!

Our application is in the mail to Lutheran Family and Children's Services! Whoo Hoo! I know we have A LOT of paperwork, and A LOT of waiting to do yet, but I am excited nonetheless!

Be blessed,

Lady V

The 27th Annual NFED National Family Conference

2008-07-29T16:41:00.000-05:00

Was a huge success! At least, in my humble opinion.

Ten people from my family attended (My hubby, Brian; my son, Zane; my Mom, Fredia; my sister, Denyse; my sister's boyfriend, Dad; my nephew, Dyllan; my niece, Danielle; my niece, Delores; and myself)!

We participated in Grand Rounds at the University of Iowa Department of Dermatology. We relished the experience, because it enabled us to educate a lot of new doctors about the Ectodermal Dysplasias.

We participated in several workshops. One that I attended was on Hair, Skin, and Nails. Brian attended an Insurance one. And our all time favorite, the syndrome specific workshop was on Hay Wells syndrome. Wow! It isn't often that I get to sit in a room full of people affected by the same disorder (because it is so rare). The opportunity to trade stories and tips/tricks was a real blessing.

We also got to meet with some of the doctors that were in Houston in 2006 when we participated in some genetic research. We were really excited about that meeting. As it turns out, our family is affected by a new mutation of the Hay Wells syndrome. And, my Mom tested negative for being a somatic mosaic. The theory now is that it probably came from my Dad's side. Now there is a genetics expert in the Netherlands, who can do a VERY INVOLVED mathematical analysis, called linkage analysis, to determine how likely it is that it came from Dad's side. Depending on the results of that, Mom may need to do some more DNA testing. I pray that the geneticist decides to do the linkage analysis for us!

One of the highlights of our week was getting to see an old friend. We (my sister and I) met Marissa when she was about 6 or 7 years old. Marissa is also affected by Ectodermal Dysplasia. When her dad and mom, Chad and Dana, saw a picture of me in the EDucator (the NFED newsletter) they were astounded by how much Marissa looked like me. So, they contacted us and asked us to meet them. Long story short, we met them and ended up becoming friends. Marissa is now a beautiful, and intelligent, young woman. We got to spend time with Marissa, Chad, and Dana at the conference. It was so refreshing!

I participated in a "spit test." Sounds like fun, huh? First, they tested the ph of my saliva with a little ph strip. Then I had to fill a little cup with saliva (for DNA testing). Then they blotted the saliva from between my lip and gum and timed it to see how long it took for the area to become moist again. Then I had to spit every thirty seconds for five minutes into another cup, while chewing some rather nasty tasteless gum. The result? I have a very low saliva production. Which I already knew. But, the test is important for statistical analysis, so it was worth it. Who knew it could take up to 30 minutes to fill a little bitty cup with saliva!

Zane a great time, too. He got to attend Kids Camp. They played with him, and even made him a T-shirt. My Mom attended Kids Camp with him, because he has a little bit of stranger anxiety (almost 8 months old, whew!!). The truth is, I've never left him with anyone other than my Mom and Belinda (a friend from church), and I wasn't about to leave him with strangers in Iowa!! So, thanks Mom! I love you for understanding and being willing to put up with my antics!

All in all, it was a fantastic experience. A hearty thanks to all the ladies at the NFED that made it possible!

February is National Ectodermal Dysplasias Awareness month. I am planning to put together a charity kit, with the proceeds to benefit the NFED. I will be opening it up for other designers to contribute, if interested, more details to follow.

Be blessed,

Lady V

Henry

2008-07-21T10:32:00.002-05:00

So, I was sitting at my computer thinking about what kits I could create when the phone rang. It was my brother, John. As we talked, I kept thinking about how my brother, Joe, always calls John "Henry."

I don't know why, but, Joe has called John "Henry" for as long as I can remember. When we were younger, he called him "John Henry" then at some point shortened it to just "Henry" (John's middle name is Daryn).

Anyway, as John and I were chatting, I jotted down "Henry." Then I started playing in PSP and thought of all the times John said, "I could bench you" when we were teens. He started body building when he was about 13. Before that, he was just as scrawny/puny as you could imagine. But as he got into the body building, his physique changed. And he started the "I could bench you" routine.

By the time John and I got off the phone, I had the start of a kit. I had a specific picture in mind as I worked, one of him flexing his arms.

Here is the picture:

And here is the kit, Henry, that it inspired:

And the layout that I made with it:

And this is John now:

He's not scrawny/puny anymore. He can bench press well over 500 pounds, and yes, he can bench me!

Henry (the kit, not my brother!) is now in the store for just $3.99!

I've also put the Henry Quick Page in the store as a freebie.

You can snag it here.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it! And I hope John "Henry" doesn't get mad at me for posting his flex picture on here!

Be blessed!

Lady V

Color Challenge at Benevolent Boutique

2008-07-19T22:03:00.001-05:00

Melanie of By God's Design is hosting the July Creating with Color Challenge at the Benevolent Boutique Forum. Here is a preview of the mini kit that I created with the color palette provided:

Per the color challenge guidelines at the Benevolent Boutique Forum, I am posting a link to their forum for you to go there to snag the mini kit.

Benevolent Boutique Forum Color Challenge (my post, and the link for the mini kit are on page 3 of the comments)

This mini kit will be available until the end of the month. I would love to see any layouts you create with it. Send me a link or an e-mail to ladyvdzine @ gmail .com (remove the spaces).

Thanks, and be blessed!

Lady V

Pretty Scrappy Color Challenge

2008-07-18T23:37:00.002-05:00

Nikki of Just Passin Thru is hosting a Color Challenge at the Pretty Scrappy Forum.

And here's my results:

You can snag it here. Password is color

Be sure to check out the Pretty Scrappy Forum for the monthly challenges, and head on and Nikki's Color Challenge to see what participation prize you might snag...

Be blessed,

Lady V

Color Challenge at SAS

2008-07-18T23:10:00.003-05:00

Boo of BooLand Designs hosts a monthly color challenge over at the Stone Accent Studios forum. The palette for July is cute, and here is the layout that I did with the palette. The picture is of my youngest niece, Delores. She spent the night with us last year, and after putting on her pajamas, she climbed up in my bed like she owned it! She was not happy with the pack n play!!

and the quick page (12x12/300ppi/png)that is available for grabs is simply the layout minus the journaling:

You can snag it here. Password is color.

Be blessed,

Lady V

Monster Post: Exciting News and a Freebie Too

2008-07-18T00:12:00.001-05:00

My family will be attending the NFED family conference in Iowa next week. I have attended family conferences in the past. But, this year is different. First of all, I have always attended as an affected individual. This year, I am attending as a parent of an affected child. That really changes the perspective. Also, it is my husband's first opportunity to attend a family conference. As well as my son's.

Family conferences are a lot of fun. It is a chance to see old friends, and meet new ones. All of whom share the knowledge of what it is like to be affected by one of the Ectodermal Dysplasia syndromes.

Our schedule is full. We have workshops that we want to attend, so that we can learn more about what to expect for our son, Zane. And there are Grand Rounds. Not everyone participates in Grand Rounds, not everyone is comfortable with it or could make it a day early. I, however, LOVE Grand Rounds. I love the opportunity of helping medical professionals learn about the disorder and putting a face to the long words in their text books. For Grand Rounds, the doctors (and residents) all come around and have the opportunity to ask us questions about how we are affected, etc. Typically, a host of disciplines are represented--from dermatology to urology, dentistry to ophthalmology, and just about everything in between.

We also get the opportunity to meet with one of the physicians that we met in Houston in 2006, at Baylor University. We participated in genetic research and the results are in. I am especially interested in the results, because I am the first known case of Ectodermal Dysplasia in my family.

On another note, Pretty Scrappy is going to make the switch to all Scrap for Hire friendly products. Yippee! Of course, all of my stuff is all ready S4H/S4O friendly, but I really think this will be a good move for the store.

I have participated in another challenge over at Scrap Kit Challenge. The theme for our next collab is Fun at the Fair! Here is my contribution to the kit:

You can snag it here. Password is fair. It includes 7 papers (8x8/300ppi), 4 tags, 1 eyelet ribbon, 1 hotdog, 1 frame, 1 cotton candy, and 1 Admit One ticket.

The collab will be released on the Scrap Kit Challenge site on August 1st.

The kit that is currently posted is the Forever kit, and it is a beauty! Take a look at these:

This kit will not be free Forever (LOL). It is only snaggable until July 31st.

Also, available (for purchase) are these amazing 60+ Baby Book quick pages (8x8/300ppi) for just $5.00!

Or these miscellaneous quick pages plus bonus cards and envelopes for just $3.50!

So, run on over to SKC and get these while the getting is good! Older quick page sets are being removed to make room for new sets, so scroll on down and see what you can get!

Thanks for sticking with me!

Be blessed,

Lady V

Run, Skip, Jump Add-On's

2008-07-06T21:36:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite personal use digital scrap series is the ABC series Run, Skip, Jump from Digitreats. I have been collecting the series as she posts them on her blog since January. She has made it to "N" already!

Pam (aka Digitreats) graciously shares her color palettes and allows others to create Add-On's to her series. Because I love the series so much, I decided to create an add-on for each one.

This is Run

This is Skip

and this is Jump

Each add-on contains 3 papers, a ribbon, and two decorative elements. Drop shadows on previews only.

Because these are add-on's to Digitreats series, they will not be sold. The links will be up for one week, so snag them (by clicking on Run, Skip, Jump or on the previews) while you can. Password is rsjaddon When they are gone, they are gone!

While you're at it, surf on over to Digitreats and check out her latest installment of the Run, Skip, Jump series. If you have missed the previous installments, she does offer them for sale for a nominal (if you ask me) fee.

Have a great day, and be blessed!

Lady V

New Store, New Kits, Sale, and a CU Freebie

2008-07-04T22:53:00.002-05:00

I am SO excited!!

First of all, my baby said "Mama" for the first time last night! He's been babbling for a while now, mostly without any meaning. But last night, he crawled right toward me and said "Mama." Talk about making a girl giddy!

Of course, my husband claims that Zane said "Dada" this morning. I did not hear it. But, I guess it is possible.

My cousin got married today! It was such a beautiful wedding. It was held in a rose garden at a park, and the wedding colors were pink, black, and silver. It was spectacular.

They decided to get married today because my family has an annual family reunion on the weekend of the 4th of July. They figured everyone would be in town for the reunion, and this would save a lot of the family $$$ by not having to travel twice. How thoughtful and considerate is that!

So, tomorrow the whole gang is getting together again for barbecue. I love our family reunions!

The only thing I worry about is my baby and the heat. He cannot tolerate the head because of the Hay Wells syndrome. Just in the amount of time we were outside for the wedding today, his temperature went up to 102! We carry two portable fans, ice packs, and a cooling blanket with us when we have to be outside at all.

I just opened a new store at Digital Scrap Designs, where only S4H and CU products are sold.

I have also activated two new kits at both Digital Scrap Designs and at Pretty Scrappy.

Mom is a sweet tribute to that special lady in your life. Kit is in red, pink, and purple and comes with 15 papers and 30 elements. S4H/S4O friendly.

Dad is a warm tribute to that one of a kind guy in your life. Kit in blue, brown, and goldenrod and comes with 15 papers and 30 elements. S4H/S4O friendly.

My entire store at Pretty Scrappy is on sale for 25% off through Monday!

And just because it has been such a beautiful day here, I thought I would share with you a picture that I took at the Botanical Gardens in St Louis. The picture is 12x12 at 300 dpi. This picture is CU, but you must ALTER if you use it, do not sell it in its original state!!

click the image or go here to snag this one.

Make sure you scroll and snag the Scrap Your Faith Challenge freebie. There is a posting bonus involved, so you don't want to miss that one!

As one of my favorite radio pastors says, "Have a good and godly day. For of what use is a good day, if it isn't a godly day."

Be blessed!

Lady V

Scrap Your Faith Challenge

2008-07-03T00:06:00.002-05:00

As a designer at Pretty Scrappy I have the privilege of hosting a challenge at the Pretty Scrappy Forum. I have chosen to do a Scrap Your Faith Challenge.

I had the challenge all set and ready to go for the 1st. Then I heard the sermon at church on Sunday, and just had to use the passage that was taught on! It is 2 Samuel 7:28-29, which says "And now, Master God, being the God you are, speaking sure words as you do, and having just said this wonderful thing to me, please, just one more thing: Bless my family; keep your eye on them always. You've already as much as said that you would, Master God! Oh, may your blessing be on my family permanently! (The Message)" Wow! That is what I want! The Lord's blessing on my family permanently!

So, I came home and reworked the challenge (perhaps I'll use what I had done already for August?!?). For this challenge, you will need to go grab the free challenge supplies at the store or via 4shared (password is 0708syf), which contains two overlays (one white/one black), one piece of word art, and one tag. All items at 300 dpi.

Use one of these items in a layout and post your results in the Scrap Your Faith Challenge Gallery and a link in the Scrap Your Faith Challenge portion of the forum.

After you have posted your results, I will send you the link (or code) for your posting bonus, which is this lovely mini kit that includes one textured background, one decorated frame, one journal tag, one eyelet, one brad, and one ribbon.

Here is what I did with mine...

The picture is of my husband (Brian) and I when our son (Zane) was born. The scrap elements are from the challenge supplies and the posting bonus.

I can't wait to see what you do with yours!

Please be sure to check out the other current challenges in the Pretty Scrappy forum, including Just for Fun and the Color Challenge!

Have a blessed day!

Lady V

Blowout Sale, New S4H/S4O friendly products, and a Freebie

2008-06-26T18:20:00.008-05:00

The designers at Pretty Scrappy are celebrating our nation's independence with a storewide sale!

Just in time for the sale, I have finished my latest kit in the gemology series.
Ruby has 15 gorgeous papers and 30 coordinating elements, all for only $4.99.

To whet your appetite for the Ruby kit, I'm giving away this
journal tag freebie. This tag is not in the kit.

You can snag it at
Pretty Scrappy
or via 4shared

I'm also releasing my first set of Brag Book Templates.

The templates have a limited time (one week only) introductory price of just $6.99, and then will be regularly priced at $8.50.

As always, my products are S4H/S4O friendly and the templates can even be used by CT members to create bragbook pages for designer kits (final image must be in a merged format).

Hope you have a great day, and don't forget to stop by Pretty Scrappy to check out the great deals from all of our designers!

Lady V

Challenges, freebies, and teaser.

2008-06-24T23:35:00.011-05:00

Gloria Val Verde has the cutest template share of a snail at the
Moo Two Designs Forum

I couldn't resist scrapping this picture of Zane with the template.

Credits:
Template by Gloria Val Verde of Moo Two Designs
Papers from my Saphire kit at Pretty Scrappy
Font- Curlz MT

Note the diaper behind him as he tries to get away! One day he will thank me for not showing the entire picture on blogger!

This little guy had surgery last week. He had his tear ducts probed/flushed, tubes put in his ears, and a right inguinal hernia repair. Whew! It was an ordeal! The day after surgery, he ran fevers up to 103.1 rectally! So, we went back to the doctor. His ear infection got worse with the instrumentation of putting the tubes in. Poor little guy! So, needless to say, he was cranky and clingy for several days. He is finally getting back to himself and is also getting pretty mobile. He hasn't quite got the crawling thing down pat yet, but he sure can pull himself along in the army crawl! No more leaving things within reach, that is for sure. And those tall wrought iron candle stands next to the fire place... well, they have been reassigned to the basement!

The designers at Pretty Scrappy have big plans for the holiday week. Keep an eye out on this blog for more news...

The brag book/quick page challenge on the Pretty Scrappy Forum is off to a good start. Here are the previews of the quickpages and bragbook pages created by several members of the Pretty Scrappy Design Team and Creative Team for the July Quick Page exchange using the Kit Independence from Kathy's Scraps.

You will receive these pages as a gift when you participate in the challenge.

To participate please purchase the kit and create at least
A: one 4" (tall) x 6" (wide) Brag Book Page (BBP)
B: and/or one 12" x 12" Quick Page (QP)

Up to three (3) of each size will be accepted, per person, for this challenge. If you submit more than three of one size they will not be included, only the first three will be included.

If you create a 4x6 Brag Book Page you will get all the Brag Book pages created.

If you create a 12x12 Quick Page, you will get all the 12x12 Quick Pages created.

If you do both, you will get them ALL!!

For more details, visit the Quick Page Exhange Page on the forum.

Speaking of receiving gifts... I completely forgot to turn off Amethyst Freebie #2 in the store, so somebody got lucky if they downloaded it after Sunday!! LOL.

And, just to say thanks for being such fabulous blog readers, I am posting a limited time sampler from my brag book template set that will be in the store soon.

This template is in PSP format. If you prefer PNG or PSD, let me know and I will get to work on it for you!

My challenge, Scrap Your Faith, will be posted by the fifth. I already have in mind the verse for this month, but if you have suggestions for next months verse, please let me know! I can't wait to get started on it and see what everyone comes up with!

Have a great day, and be blessed!

Lady V

New Challenge at Pretty Scrappy

2008-06-20T13:19:00.006-05:00

Quick Page Exchange at PrettyScrappy.com using Independence by Kathy's Scraps, shown below...

This kit will be on sale through Sunday, July 6, for $2.99 (normally $5.99)

To participate please purchase the kit and create at least
A: one 4" (tall) x 6" (wide) Brag Book Page (BBP)
B: and/or one 12" x 12" Quick Page (QP)

Up to three (3) of each size will be accepted, per person, for this challenge. If you submit more than three of one size they will not be included, only the first three will be included.

If you create a 4x6 Brag Book Page you will get all the Brag Book pages created.

If you create a 12x12 Quick Page, you will get all the 12x12 Quick Pages created.

If you do both, you will get them ALL!!

So...you will receive:

6 - 4x6 Brag Book Pages
and/or
6 - 12x12 Quick Pages created by the team at PrettyScrappy

PLUS...all the other BBPs and QPs submitted by the due date.

**You MUST send us your original files by the due date!**

GUIDELINES:

1. PLEASE only use items in the kit we feature and give credit to the designer and her kit when posting to websites/galleries.

Kit used: Independence by Kathy's Scraps at PrettyScrappy.com
Store link: http://prettyscrappy.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=84_88&products_id=339

2. All pages MUST be 300 dpi and no larger than 5-6 megs.

3. Please create the QuickPages in .png format if your image includes a transparent spot to slide a photo under.
If you do not have a transparent spot you may save your image as a jpg (flattened) file.

4. Naming your QuickPages – It’s much easier keeping track of the files if they all follow a uniform naming procedure. Please use at least your first name and last initial where it says "yourname".

So...name your Brag Book Pages (4x6) as follows:

yourname_kitname_bb01,

yourname_kitname_bb02,

yourname_kitname_bb03

Name your 12x12 Quick Pages as follows:

yourname_kitname_12x12_01,

yourname_kitname_12x12_02,

yourname_kitname_12x12_03

5. The deadline for creating and getting your original pages is NO LATER than Sunday, July 6, at midnight EST.
Email them to: kathysscraps@prettyscrappy.com
Please put "Quick Page Exchange" in the subject line of your email.
Please use 4Shared, MediFile or any other file sending program.
Do NOT include your preview in the zip file, it is not needed.

6. Upload a preview of your page(s) to the “Quick Page Exchange” gallery located here: http://prettyscrappy.com/phpBB2/album_cat.php?cat_id=16
All gallery images must be 72 dpi and no larger than 125 kbs.

7. Everyone that participates in this challenge will receive all or some of the Quick Pages shown in the gallery. If you turn them in by the deadline (Sunday, July 6) you will receive all the pages due to you within one week of the due date.

So...for the price of ONE kit you will have the kit and a 4x6 brag book album and a 12x12 brag book album (depending on if you participate in the BBP and/or QP sets).

Here are the pages that I sent in...

I can't wait to see what you do!

Lady V

Scrappin with Jersey Girl

2008-06-14T12:06:00.008-05:00

The first member of my new CT is Jersey Girl. She has already posted two gorgeous layouts using my Amethyst kit.

Here are her layouts...

Aren't they just gorgeous?

Just a reminder, today is the last day for the Surprise Freebie that coordinates with the Au Naturale kit and the first Amethyst freebie in the store.

They can also be snagged here and here.

These will both be removed sometime tomorrow.

And now, a freebie to coordinate with my new Saphire kit.

This one will go bye-bye on the 22nd!

My CT call is still open! I am looking for dedicated scrappers to join my team. I am looking for CT's, a QP artist, and a Brag Book Artist.

Requirements:

CT- You will need to create at least 2 layouts/kit (minimum 4 layouts/month) posted with credits to DST, Pretty Scrappy, 2 galleries of your choice, and 1 yahoo layout group. CT's will need to participate in the forum at Pretty Scrappy and promote my sales/designs.

QP Artist- NO GALLERY POSTING REQUIRED!!! You will need to create 2-3 quickpages/kit (minimum 2 kits/month) that will be used to promote kits and may later be sold. Quickpages need to be 12x12 at 300 dpi. Because you will not be required to post layouts in galleries, you will need to write a review for each kit used at Pretty Scrappy.

BB Artist- NO GALLERY POSTING REQUIRED!!! You will need to create 4-6 bragbook pages/kit (minimum 2 kits/month) that will be used to promote kits and may later be sold. Bragbook pages need to be 4x6 or 6x4 at 300 dpi. Again, since there is no gallery posting, written review of kit is required.

As part of my team, you will have access to my kits at no charge and will periodically receive other perks.

Please e-mail me at ladyvdzine@gmail.com with CT Call as the subject line if you are interested. Please indicate which position you are interested in, include a brief bio, a link to your favorite gallery, and a link to your blog (if you have one).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Lady V

Amethyst Freebie #2

2008-06-13T09:17:00.006-05:00

My oops is your gain. I made a typo on the first Amethyst freebie upload via the ftp and several of you had difficulty downloading it. My humblest apologies, I am new to ftp. This cute little flower coordinates with the Amethyst kit and is my attempt to make up for the error. Snag it now, because it will go away on the 22nd.

You can snag it at Pretty Scrappy

Or you can grab it via Media Fire.

Again, I am SO sorry for the error!

Thanks,

Lady V

New Kits, Freebies, CT Call, and changes in TOU

2008-06-11T01:57:00.005-05:00

Okay. First I have to say, it has been QUITE a few days! I had to go for ultrasounds on Tuesday and ended up having mammograms as well. I told the technician that if I had known I would have to have the mammograms, I would have practiced by slamming my chest in the refrigerator door a few times.

My son, Zane, is having surgery next week to repair an inguinal hernia. He also has blocked tear ducts, so the eye surgeon is going to get in there and try to fix that while he is under anesthesia.

Not to mention the benefit golf tournament that we attended on Friday when all the golfers were called off the course due to inclement weather. The tournament was to benefit the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasia. My son and I are both affected by one of the Ectodermal Dysplasia syndromes. So, needless to say, we make an effort to attend the functions that we can in order to help out, since they have done SO much for us! I haven't yet heard what the proceeds were from the tournament, but I can almost guess that they suffered from the less than ideal turn of events. If you ever feel inclined to give to a charity, I tell ya, the NFED is a Gold STAR foundation! And of course, charitible contributions are tax deductible here in the US. If you do give, make it in honor of Zane. The gals at the NFED would get a kick out of that.

I'm also trying to learn html, ftp, and scripting. Busy, busy!

Anyway, on to my exciting news...

I have two great new kits in the store, both in my new gemology series, for $4.99 each.

The first is Amethyst.

There is also a cute little freebie at Pretty Scrappy that goes along with it.

You can also grab it via Media Fire.

The second new kit in the store is Saphire.

The Amethyst freebie and the Au Naturale Surprise Freebie
will be deleted on Sunday.

I am also having my first CT call ever! I am looking for dedicated scrappers to join my team. I am looking for CT's, a QP artist, and a Brag Book Artist.

Requirements:

CT- You will need to create at least 2 layouts/kit (minimum 4 layouts/month) posted with credits to DST, Pretty Scrappy, 2 galleries of your choice, and 1 yahoo layout group. CT's will need to participate in the forum at Pretty Scrappy and promote my sales/designs.

QP Artist- NO GALLERY POSTING REQUIRED!!! You will need to create 2-3 quickpages/kit (minimum 2 kits/month) that will be used to promote kits and may later be sold. Quickpages need to be 12x12 at 300 dpi. Because you will not be required to post layouts in galleries, you will need to write a review for each kit used at Pretty Scrappy.

BB Artist- NO GALLERY POSTING REQUIRED!!! You will need to create 4-6 bragbook pages/kit (minimum 2 kits/month) that will be used to promote kits and may later be sold. Bragbook pages need to be 4x6 or 6x4 at 300 dpi. Again, since there is no gallery posting, written review of kit is required.

As part of my team, you will have access to my kits at no charge and will periodically receive other perks.

Finally... drumroll please... I have chosen to change my TOU for my kits. My kits are now all S4H/S4O friendly. Meaning, you may use my kits to produce layouts, cards, invitations, announcements, candy wrappers or books for an individual clients use. Your business must be a home-based small business dealing in the above. The product must be sold/provided to the customer as a flattened (merged) image or in printed format. Credit must be given to Lady V dZine Pretty Scrappy.com where applicable.

Whew! So, what's coming up next? I have two kits in progress, both part of the gemology series. They are Ruby and Turquoise.

Leave me a comment and let me know what gem I should tackle after that. Also, if you have any kit requests or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. And let me know what kind of freebies you like also.

Have a great day!

Lady V

7 minute naps and eating paper

2008-06-02T10:18:00.008-05:00

Okay, so my little guy is almost 6 months old. And this week he has somehow decided that morning naps are for the birds and that eating paper is a great way to add fiber to the diet. Arggghhh! Suggestions? Anyone?

So, I made this cute little tag (3x3 at 300 ppi) to add to his scrapbook with a picture of him screaming (lol). I thought I would share it with you.

You can snag it here

Here are a few pictures I took of him this weekend.

Did I mention he has a hernia? We go see the surgeon tomorrow to schedule his surgery to repair it. Fun fun!

Ah well, back to working on my next kit, Saphire.

Be blessed,

Lady V

"Au Naturale" now in store

2008-06-02T10:00:00.005-05:00

My new kit Au Naturale is now in the store at Pretty Scrappy for only $5.99. This versatile kit has 30 papers and 31 elements in shades of brown.

Check it out, and while you're there, take a gander at the new items from our other designers. Wow! Have we got a talented team!

For those of you who may have missed the alpha freebie that coordinates with the kit, do not despair, it will be in the store soon. And just to say thanks for checking out the kit, you can grab this Au Naturale Surprise Freebie at the store or

via Media Fire that coordinates with the kit.

Snag it now, it will only be there for a week!

Be blessed,

Lady V

Honoring our Parents

2008-06-02T09:41:00.004-05:00

Oops. Did you miss the download links for my May 2008 SKC Honoring Our Parents kit? The links have been removed from 4shared, but its not too late to get the kit, along with the great kits put together by our wonderfully talented group.

Go to the Scrap Kit Challenge Homepage to snag all of the kits. Click on "May's Kits: Honoring our paernts."

Here is a small sampling of the goodies there

What are you waiting for? Go snag some goodies!

While your there, check out our quick pages sets for sale and help us keep our monthly kits free.

Have a great day!

Lady V

Summer Fun Designer Collab Kit and Brag Book Page Hunt

2008-05-30T09:14:00.011-05:00

Join us for a Brag Book Page Hunt to celebrate the release of our very first Designer Collab Kit at Pretty Scrappy

Here's a look at the brag book you will have when you have collected the pages from all the blogs

Here are the pages you can snag from me (click on image to download):

Snag the rest here:
Pretty Scrappy Designs
Michelle
Angel
Kate
Jaydensmama
Share Your moments
LaRessie Designs
Just Passin' Thru
Kathy's Scraps
Chris Brown Designs
Xandra Martin Designs
Brittney Ferguson Designs
Kiere's Creations
Denise G Designs
Debi

Don't feel like hunting? Get the entire 34 page Summer Fun brag-book for just 4.99! This brag book kit was designed by Pretty Scrappy Design Team & Creative Team members using our brand new collab kit! These 4x6 pages are perfect for all of your summertime and vacation photos. Materials used to create these pages are from the "Summer Fun" Designer Collab kit that is just released. Assemble an entire photo album in minutes! It's fun, quick and super-easy!

All of this only 4.99!!

The Summer Fun Designer Collab Kit is also now in the store!

This Mega-Mega kit is a collaboration kit designed by all 13 members of the Pretty Scrappy Design Team. This GINORMOUS kit is almost 1.5 gigabytes!!! It contains 201 papers, 6 alphas, 3 quickpages, and 638 elements!!!!!

Here's a reminder of what the kit looks like:

Holy Moly, that's a lot! All of this for only 9.99!!! Grab it now before the price goes up! So, what are you waiting for? Run--don't walk--and grab this phenomenal kit here.

Heritage Tulips

2008-05-28T16:52:00.003-05:00

You would not believe how many pictures I have taken of my flower garden. I suppose I garnered my love of flowers from my Mom. When I was growing up, she had blooms in the yard year round. At one point, over 100 varieties of flowers. Mom could be found in the flower beds often before any of us kids were out of ours.

I don't have as many varieties of flowers in my yard. But each one is special to me. I have an heritage garden. The tulips pictured here are just outside of my kitchen patio door. They were Mom's before they came to grace my yard. I have collected seeds, plants, and bulbs from various family members and now adorn my yard with them. There are daffodils from my Grandpa Joe, tiger lilies from my Grandpa Paul, a yucca from my Grandma Carol, babies breath from Mom, hen & chicken and live forever from Grandma Hig (my husband's Grandma). This fall I will be planting iris's that were my Grandma Joan's.

My Grandparent's are all departed. But when their flowers bloom, my memories of them bloom as well. And I am grateful, for such a rich heritage.

Credits:
Photos- tulips in my backyard
Butterflies- CU PSP Script "Chubby Butterfly" by Cindy Ritter
Papers- Hope Blooms Mega Kit by Lady V dZine
Frames- Au Naturale Kit by Lady V dZine

Arizona

2008-05-28T14:30:00.004-05:00

The photos are of my hubby goofing off on our honeymoon in Arizona. What a cheesy grin, huh?

The frame is from my Earth Tones kit

I just got this great new CU PSP Script from Cindy Ritter. I used it to make the flowers on this layout.

Be blessed,

Lady V

I've been tagged...

2008-05-26T23:49:00.002-05:00

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some
random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by
leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving
a comment on their blog .

7 Facts

1. I am a Christian.

2. I like chocolate.

3. My middle name is Myree (pronounced my-ree, not ma-ree).

4. I was once diagnosed as mentally retarded.

5. I have been on two talkshows.

6. I met my husband on Yahoo. Yahoo!

7. My left fourth toe does not have a nail.

You're next!
1. Cindy Ritter
2. Angies Asylum
3. Minas Corner
4. Sandy
5. Kate
6. Michelle
7. Crystal

Sneak Preview

2008-05-26T13:24:00.007-05:00

You will not believe the collab kit that we have put together at Pretty Scrappy. With this kit you will get the collective creativity of thirteen designers in over 600 elements and over 200 papers! This kit is almost 1.5 GB!!! It will hit the store on June 1st, and we have some great freebies coming your way to whet your appetite! Here are some previews of Summer Fun:

I made a brag book page for you from my portion of the kit.

click here to get freebie

Have a great day, and check back soon for more Summer Fun!

Lady V

Have you ever...?

2008-05-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

Had one of those days where your emotions ran the gamut? Well, today has been one of those. My sister told me early this morning that my nephew, James (17), was missing. He left his sister's at 10:20 last night and was supposed to pick up his brother and go home. He never showed up to get his brother, he never arrived home, and did not show up for school this morning.

We were all frantic. His Mom, Dad, and Sister contacted all of his friends and the local police while my sister called the local hospitals.

Finally, he was found. He had taken a wrong exit on the highway home. He got lost, ended up on the other side of the river, ran out of gas and had no money on him to call home or get more gas. So, he slept in his car.

The local police contacted a few other departments and ran his license plates. He was found by another police department and safely returned home.

In todays day and age, when a kid goes missing, it is enough to FREAK a family out. Needless to say, I was praying and had quite a few friends praying as well. Praise God he is okay, and home!

I went from devastated to elated in the space of a few hours and developed a headache from all the crying!

Wow. Thanks for reading my ramblings...

I have a new kit going into the store at Pretty Scrappy. It is called Au Naturale. It has 30 papers and 31 elements. Here are the previews.

The following is a freebie, not included in the kit.

You can get it here for the next week, then it goes in the store.

Have a blessed day!

Lady V

$25 free

2008-05-12T12:07:00.002-05:00

How would you like to get $25 free?

There is a new money transfer site that is offering a generous $25 sign on bonus and an exciting referral program - you get $10 for all referrals (up to $500 - WOW). So I joined, got my $25 in my account and now I'm inviting you to get your $25 so I get those additional bonuses.

Just click here:

And they don't charge you to receive payments!

Check it out!!

Lady V

Earth Tones Kit

2008-05-08T08:30:00.010-05:00

Grandma Hig recently celebrated her 90th birthday. We took advantage of the opportunity to grab a 4 generations photo. Pictured are Grandma Hig, Richard Higgins (my hubby's Dad), Brian Higgins (my hubby), and Zane Higgins (my boy).

All elements from my new Earth Tones Kit now available at Pretty Scrappy for just $6.99!

The kit contains 15 patterned/textured papers, 45 elements, 15 frames, an uppercase alpha as well as a lowercase alpha.

Don't need the whole kit? Get the Earth Tones Alpha, Earth Tones Element Pack, Earth Tones Frames, Earth Tones Paper Pack seperately for just $1.99 each.

Grab the free quickpage here:
Earth Tones Quickpage

Be blessed,

Lady V

Texture Overlay sets now in store

2008-05-08T07:29:00.010-05:00

These texture overlay sets are now in the store for just $2.99 and they are commercial use OK!: Pretty Scrappy

Texture Set 1

Texture Set 2

And here is a freebie not found in the kits:

Grab it while you can, because this one will go in the store soon! Commercial Use Ok!!
Commercial Use Texture Overlay

May 2008 Scrap Kit Challenge

2008-05-08T00:22:00.008-05:00

The theme for the coming month is "Honoring Our Parents. I decided to knock out my kit early this month so that I can work on stuff for the store at Pretty Scrappy.

Here are my Previews:

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Kit Contains: 16 papers, 2 overlays, 2 borders, 30 elements, 3 uppercase alphas, and 2 wordarts. Not all elements shown in previews.

Special thanks to: Obsidian Dawn, MegaDoodle, TexasTwisterGirl, ActionFX, Monica Larson, Janine Oliveira for resources used in this kit.

Be Blessed!

Lady V

Making an Element Bag Tutorial (PSP)

2008-05-06T21:11:00.011-05:00

I belong to a couple of digital scrapbooking learning groups on Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digital_Scrapbook_Designers/?yguid=238386841,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalscrappingclass/?yguid=238386841,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LearnToScrap/?yguid=238386841,
and http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ScrapKitChallenge/?yguid=238386841). On one of the groups, someone asked for a tutorial on creating element bags. I couldn't find a tutorial, so I decided to write one...

Making an element bag in PSP
1. Open new raster document (12x12 at 300ppi). Rename the raster layer “bag”
2. Set foreground to white
3. Set background to #c5c0b7
4. Click on background properties tag and select gradient foreground/background and use these settings:

5. From panel, choose your flood fill tool. Left click on your image to flood fill with the gradient. It should look something like this:

6. Select mesh warp tool.
7. Move the nodes around until you have something like this:

8. Choose your selection tool, and use the rounded rectangle to select an area like this:

9. Invert selection and clear. It should look like this:

10. Invert selection again, to reselect only the image.
11. Add a new raster layer and name it “wrap. Flood fill this layer with black.

12. With your wrap layer highlighter, choose your selection tool and pick the rectangle.
13. Draw out a rectangle like this:

14. Edit: clear
15. Your image now looks like this:

and your layers palette like this:

16: Paste the cutout shape as a new layer. And position it to look like this:

16. Use your magic wand to select the cutout.
17. Highlight your wrap layer and edit: cut.
18. Highlight your bag layer and edit: cut.
19. Delete the cutout layer. Your image should look like this:

20. Add a new layer and name it staplehole.
21. Use your selection tool to draw a small rectangle and flood fill it white. Duplicate. Arrange the rectangles so that they look like this:

Then merge down so that both white rectangles are on the staplehole layer.
22. Use your magic wand to select the first white rectangle. While pressing shift, select the second white rectangle.
23. Highlight the wrap layer and edit: cut
24. Highlight the bag layer and edit: cut. Your image now looks like this.

25. Flood fill your wrap layer in gray. Use your magic wand to select the cutout and staple holes.
26. Select Effects: 3D effects: Outer Bevel
27. Use the following settings:

28. Add staples. Your image looks like this:

29. Highlight your bag layer. Reduce opacity to about 70%.

30. Save as PSP file so that you can later change the wrap layer to match whatever kit your are displaying.

Here’s my finished example:

You can get the cut out shape here:
Cut Out Shape

Or creat your own using the retangle and circle selections.

Have fun with it. Feel free to share my blog link with other groups whose members may benefit from this tutorial.

Tutorial by: Virginia Higgins, Lady V dZine of http://prettyscrappy.com

Be Blessed!

Lady V

Nitwit

2008-05-05T23:41:00.008-05:00

Ok, so I totally missed offering a freebie for National Scrapbook Day. I am SO sorry!!! The only excuse I can offer is that I had family in town, and I have been working on trying to get stuff into the store at PrettyScrappy.com. I do have one kit up there, and there is second kit as well as some commercial use stuff pending. I can't wait til it makes it into the store. I will post previes here when it does.

Anywho, I thought I would do a wordart freebie for once. I've never posted any wordart before, so I hope its okay. The image is approximately 8x3 at 300ppi. It is a png with tranparent background.

Snag it here, while you can. My wordart will be going into the store shortly. Personal use only on this one, but I will be doing some commercial use stuff soon!
click here to get freebie

Please leave a comment here or on 4shared with any suggestions for wordart freebies.

Be blessed,

Lady V

Hope Blooms Quickpage

2008-04-23T17:51:00.010-05:00

So, here is the quickpage I promised from my new kit, Hope Blooms.

My husband created the color palette. I named the kit Hope Blooms because our hope to adopt is in bloom. Kinda corny, I know.

The kit will be in the store tomorrow at http://prettyscrappy.com/

Check out yesterday's post for reminder of what the kit looks like...

Snag it here:HopeBloomsQuickpage

On another note. For those of you who pray... Please keep my sister Denyse in your prayers. She was told today that she is losing the vision in both of her eyes. She has three little ones (as seen in the picture above) and it breaks my heart to think that she may not be able to see them one day.

Thanks,

Lady V

Now selling at...

2008-04-22T23:41:00.008-05:00

I just accepted a position on the design team at PrettyScrappy.com. My first kit, Hope Blooms, should be in the store in the next few days. It's a whopper, too. 250mg! Yippee! Here's a preview...

Get it here: Pretty Scrappy
With over 175 pieces, this mega kit is 250mb!

I'm working on a free quickpage from the kit, so that you can get a taste for it.

Have a great day!

Lady V

update and a freebie

2008-04-20T21:26:00.012-05:00

My husband and I are attempting to select which agency we will use for our adoption. We went to an informational meeting today at Children's Hope International. So far, we have been to informational meetings at Missouri Baptist Children's Home, Bethany Christian Services, and Children's Hope. We plan to attend a meeting at Dillon International in the next few weeks. It is amazing how much has to be considered when selecting an agency.

For starters, I am affected by a rare skin disorder, called Hay Wells syndrome (see www.nfed.org for information). We just found out that me being affected by the disorder may disqualify us from international adoption programs. Argghhh. And, if/when we do qualify, we have to face the hurdle of the fact that I don't have fingerprints. Which will make immigration an issue. Arghhhh!

On to less stressful subjects... I just applied for a design team position at www.prettyscrappy.com.

To celebrate my having the nerve to apply to be on two design teams this week, I am offering this card front that I recently made for my husband's grandmothers 90th birthday. Everything contained in it is original by me. The cardfront is 8.5x5.5 at 300 dpi. If you download it, please leave a comment here on my blog or on 4shared.

Download here: http://www.4shared.com/file/44798686/d1698135/grammas_card.html

Have a great day!

Lady V

Scrap Kit Challenges new quickpages and cardfronts

2008-04-19T16:04:00.008-05:00

The new quickpage sets and cardfronts are on sale now at: http://scrapkitchallenge.com/

The quickpage set has 25 quickpages that are 8x8 (300dpi). The cardfront set has 25 cardfronts (also at 300dpi). Each set is only $2.50. What a steal!

Here are the previews:

So, what are you waiting for?

Lady V

SAS-y Design Team Application

2008-04-19T16:00:00.003-05:00

Stone Accent Studios (http://www.stoneaccentsstudio.com/) announced that they are looking for design team members. So, I have applied. I have been wanting to start selling some of my creations so that I can help fund our adoption. I'm hoping this might be the answer.

Have a great day!

Lady V

Week 3 for SKC "New Born Wonder" kit

2008-04-06T18:16:00.006-05:00

Here is my final installment for the SKC "New Born Wonder" kit. We are going to be doing some family stuff, so I've worked ahead to get my kit completed, so I don't lag behind.

This week, you get 6 index cards, 18 journal tags, and 5 stars.

You can grab them at:

http://www.4shared.com/file/43260574/6837528c/lvd_apr2008_week3.html

If you haven't already grabbed the rest of this kit, be sure to scroll down for the other links.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Lady V

SKC Week 2 Preview

2008-04-03T13:29:00.007-05:00

Here is the preview for week 2 of my Scrap Kit Challenge kit.

You can grab week two's elements at:

http://www.4shared.com/file/42912692/c9088b82/lvd_apr2008_week2.html

Please comment if you download!

Be blessed, today and always!

Lady V

April's SKC papers

2008-03-31T14:43:00.006-05:00

April's theme is New Born Wonder at Scrap Kit Challenge. Here are my week one papers.

You can grab them here...

http://www.4shared.com/file/42585068/4dcd9852/lvd_apr2008_week1.html

Have a great day!

Lady V

New quick page, from scratch!

2008-03-29T19:03:00.009-05:00

So, I've been playing around in PSP, learning a lot of stuff. I made two layouts completely from scratch.

The first one is Zane at 7 weeks, and the second one is Zane on St Patrick's day.

I love that I have learned how to make the barcodes! I am also learning how to make lace, doily's, ribbons, and much much more!

I'm working on an Easter layout. As soon as I have it done, I will post it.

These were created at 300 ppi and saved as png's.
You can grab the quickpages at:
http://www.4shared.com/file/42401861/4e4c7e7d/lvd_qp_freebie_001.html

I am furiously working on my first paid kit, so keep checking back!

Have a great day!

Lady V

Another Layout

2008-03-14T16:08:00.005-05:00

So, I created another quickpage layout for the Childhood quickpage contest at Jessica Dixon Designs. Here it is...

Hope you like it.

Now, run on over to http://jessicadixon.blogspot.com/ to get the Childhood kit and enter the quickpage contest.

Best,

Lady V

Quick Page contest and a layout

2008-03-13T14:48:00.005-05:00

I entered a quick page contest, hosted by Jessica Dixon of Jessica Dixon Designs using her fabulous and free Childhood scrap kit. I thought it would be perfect to showcase Zane's smiles.

Journalling reads: "I first smiled on January 17th for Mommy. I made Daddy wait until January 22nd to see me smile. Then, because it seemed like fun, I made them wait until February 17th to capture my smile on camera. For one whole month, I would smile at random, but then I would cry as soon as they got the camera. It was fun to watch the expressions on their faces. They took over 100 pictures trying to catch me in the act. I finally got tired of the bright light flashing in my eyes, so I gave up and Grinned Big!"

Credits: All papers and elements by Jessica Dixon of Jessica Dixon Designs (http://jessicadixon.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-qp-exchange-childhood.html)

Font: Lucida Handwriting

It's not too late to snag the Childhood scrapkit and enter the contest.

Be blessed!

Lady V

My first set of elements...

2008-03-11T10:53:00.014-05:00

So, I joined the Scrap Kit Challenge (home page http://scrapkitchallenge.com) and the corresponding Yahoo group (tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ScrapKitChallenge) to learn more about digital scrapbooking. If you would like to check out the other designers prior stuff, go to the Scrap Kit Challenge home page. The challenge that we are currently working on will be published in April. In the meantime, February's "Springing into Easter" kit is available until March 31st.

This months color palette is called Mother Earth. So, here is a preview of what I came up with...

You can snag it here:

http://www.4shared.com/file/40472206/bcefab59/LadyVdZine_Mar2008_elements01.html

Now, run over to the SKC home page (http://scrapkitchallenge.com)and grab March's kits while you can.

Hugs!

Lady V

Who I am, and why I'm here

2008-03-08T14:13:00.000-06:00

Hello. I am a 32 year old wife and mother. My DH, Brian, is wonderful and we are celebrating the second year of our honeymoon. Our LO, Zane, is 3 months old and homegrown. We are planning to adopt #2. I am a Christian and enjoy serving in my local church. I enjoy scrapbooking, both paper and digital, and am learning to create my own digital scrap supplies. I look forward to sharing some of my dzines here, and hope to use my digital creations to raise funds for our adoption.