Nature Notes QP Freebie

 Helen created this very special QP from Nature Notes.  Just happened to have some photos of Miller with Mom and Dad and his big sister that I chose to put into this QP freebie. I recolored the photos so they would match Miller's LO I made from when he was one-month old.

Check out Retro Designs Blog and you will find this freebie!  And you will find Nature Notes HERE in Helen's Store!

Miller at 1-month using Nature Notes

 I love the browns, tans, and touches of black and gray in Nature Notes and they are so perfect for Miller's one-month old pictures.  Miller Zackry Brown was named Miller after Papa Miller (my DH) and Zackry after his dad, Zack Brown.  Found a lullaby by Horace Smith that I thought was sweet and went along with the layout.

 

Evening is coming, and night is nigh;
Under the lattice the little birds cheep,
All will be sleeping by and by.
Sleep, little baby, sleep.

Visit Helen's Store where you will find previews of Nature Notes and LO samples.  Visit Helen's Blog where you can find previews and you just might find a freebie, too!

 

"Painted Seashells Freebie" by Retro Designs

I found this project I completed for a 96-week workshop learning to use a design program called Photo Impact.  I followed a tutorial and designed the boat, reflection, sea, sky and moon.  It was a fun project.  The original design was a brighter blue and I recolored it to match these gorgeous shells.  Loved how this turned out...looks almost like the moon is being reflected by Helen's seashells.  I used the "Painted Seashells Freebie" just posted by Helen.  Check out this awesome freebie on the Home Page of Retro Designs Blog!

Jewelled Sea by Retro Designs

"Jewelled Sea" is one of my many favorite kits of Helen's.  Previews of this kit actually made her blog in July of 2011.  Since then, the store has been opened and "Jewelled Sea" has been added to Helen's STORE as the featured kit of the month!  Here's some pages I made in 2011!

The font I used is called "Adorable" and also describes Avery and all the elements Helen included in this kit.  I may have gone over board on how many I used, but I love all of them!   You can see previews of "Jewelled Sea" HERE on the BLOG and you can pick up this adorable seahorse freebie while there....just scroll down until you see ocean waves, sandy beaches, and seashells!

Ok...after loading Avery's page with elements, I decided Luke's page needed all the metallic elements.  Don't have a really close up photo here of Luke, but as you can tell, he was always on the move.  I think it is fun to see how much fun Luke had playing in that great big ocean and massive beach! 

Even with all the elements I used in these two pages, there are so many more in Helen's Jewelled Sea kit.  There also quite a number of wonderful frames and papers.  See them all HERE!

Love this silhouette photo of Avery and her friend.  I wanted to see their faces and I started playing with the photo.  Kinda liked the one that turned the ocean green and it gave me to idea for this LO.  The closeup is a little grainy but you can see the smiles.
 

 

 Helen's seahorse is dressed to match the girls!  You can pick  up this adorable seahorse freebie HERE on the BLOG....just scroll down until you see ocean waves, sandy beaches, and seashells!

I blended two photos with this fun background paper and added seashells, fish, turtle, and anchor to fill in the spaces!  Here's the two photos used.  Judging from all the squints, the sun was shining very bright!  Go to Retro Designs Store to see previews of the whole kit!

Our NYLO Experience

In an effort to find a hypoallergenic hotel, we found NYLO of Plano.  This was a very unique hotel and was a very interesting experience!  Features of all floors included:    Exposed Duct Work & Plumbing; Concrete Floors, Walls & Ceilings; Bricked Accent Wall - Bed on Raised; Platform & Glow Lighting Underneath; All Natural Woven Floor Mats.  We stayed on a floor that was totally hypoallergenic which meant we had all natural products without fragrances added.  There was even hypoallergenic tissues and toilet paper. 

The background papers in Tracy's "Yestersay" kit reminded of the room where we stayed.  This first page shows the lobby and gameroom.

And this page shows the hallway, sitting area, and bed.

You can purchase Yestersay at any of Horsedreamn Designs Stores
Tagging Angels
Polka Dot Plum Element Pack
Polka Dot Plum Paper Pack

Nostalgic Scrapbook by Retro Designs

Retro Designs newest release is Nostalgic Scrapbook.  Actually, now that I think about it, I actually named this kit for Helen.  It is very unique and a one of a kind kit.  Loved using it to scrap a few of my Great-Aunt Mattie's studio photos.  I have such mixed emotions on paper versus digital scrapping.  I love digital, but all these heritage photos deserve to be in an album.  Another project to add to the list.  These will be placed into the album in the photo holders and still on the photo cards as these are as unique as the old photos. 

 Journaling:  It is going to take way more than one cup of coffee to get my grandfather’s family pictures into an album. There are about 100 photos which include many of his mother’s family photos.

Even though these interesting Texas Pioneer Girls are unidentified and known only as some of Com's kinfolks, this photo still deserves to be in an album for future generations of  the Commadore M. Thomas family.  The Thomas family album will be so thick that these may perhaps end up in a separate album.  It's been about 5 years since I gone through all of the photos and have pulled a few from time to time to scrap, but someday I must get them placed in albums. Right now I think they look wonderful in the vintage scrapbook from Helen's Nostalgic Scrapbook.

Journaling:  Many of the photos found in Granny Thomas’ trunk belonged to Granddaddy’s two sisters.  Since Granny couldn’t identify them, she referred to them as “Some of Com’s Kinfolks”.    Someday they will find their way into an album by the same name!"

You can find Nostalic Scrapbook in Retro Designs STORE and also be sure and check out Helen's  BLOG!  You'll find some more pages using this kit and might even find a freebie or two!

Happy Birthday from Traci

Received a Happy Birthday greeting from Traci of Horsedreamn Designs on FB the other day.  We visited through FB messenger and caught up on all that has been going on in our lives.  Neither could believe it when we realized that it has been almost 2 years since I had taken a break from doing CT LOs for her.  So, I'm back to working with some of Traci's kits ever so often.  Here's two LOs using one of  Traci most recent kits "Yestersay"!
 

 

We were surprised when our DD decided to name the baby boy she was expecting "Miller" which is our last name. Turns out it was almost an omen. Though Mom and Dad both have a deep olive completion and sandy blonde and brown hair, Miller is very fair and has red hair...just like his Papa Miller. Love this photo series of Miller taken with Papa even feeding and burping Miller at 5 months.

Papa with Miller at 9 months. Even though this was a brand new hat, you can see who talked Papa into letting him wear it!

You can purchase Yestersay at any of  Horsedreamn Designs Stores

Tagging Angels

Polka Dot Plum Element Pack 

Polka Dot Plum Paper Pack

Just got a birthday wish from Debbie Abbe on Facebook.  Reminded me of this LO I did several years ago using her kit Birthday Girl.  I kept Luke and Avery on my birthday since summer club hadn't started yet.  LaChelle came by for lunch and brought some cupcakes so we had a birthday party after lunch.  They called today and sang Happy Birthday and it was awesome.  They added cha, cha, cha at the end and eat more chicken.  These two are quite a pair!

 

Love looking through scrapbook pages of years past...such great memories!

 

Thoughtful Moment Using Vintage Whimsy QP Freebie

I love this QP freebie made from Helen's Vintage Whimsy kit.  I also love this photo of Reese...would love to know what her thoughts were at this moment.  She and Dad were on a bike ride when they spotted this vacant lot full of bluebonnets.  Luckily Dad had the camera along and took so many wonderful photos that it was hard to narrow it down to just one to use here.  Reese's "thoughtful" look reminded me of the thoughtful little girl shown at the top of this QP so I chose this picture.  Obviously, by the the next photo, this thoughtful moment only lasted for just a moment!

Vintage Whimsy and it´s now available in Retro Designs Online store. And you´ll find more info about  Vintage Whimsy and this QP freebie HERE.

Helen's new kit "Vintage Whimsy" was released just as my DD's sent pictures of my grandchildren in the lovely clusters of bluebonnets celebrating spring all over parts of Texas.  The bluebonnets were a great reward of all the recent rains.

You can find previews of Vintage Whimsy and more layouts at  Retro Designs Online Store.

Thoughtful Eyes made using Simply Serene

Thankfully, I always save my program's PNG Plus file with all layers still available so all I had to do was correct the name from Avery to Reese.  Interestingly, in my program even if I convert a LO to jpg, the layers are available until I close the file. This was my original LO...I added the background when I had posted it to Retro Designs' Blog and it didn't show up very well against the blog background.  Since I hadn't closed the file I had only added the background in the jpg view and didn't go back and change the original PNG Plus view.  Decided to post the original LO w/o the background this time.  OK, Nana...next time get the grandkid's name right and you won't need to make any changes...LOL!

I knew when I first saw Helen's restoration of her mother's childhood photo that I had seen those eyes before.  My first thought was what sad eyes.  I quickly search through photos and came up with these two.  Fortunately for me I know the story behind these somewhat sad looking eyes.  Tonia was observing lots of activity outside the nursery viewing window during family time as many parents, grandparents and siblings were there to see the newborns.  Moments before she was smiling and pointing to her new baby sister.  Avery was helping mom by holding Miller's bottle while mom changed Miller's diaper.  Moments before she was smiling at Papa telling her what a good girl she was for helping Mom.  Seems that sometimes the camera captures a split second of deep thought that we may never know what comes to mind between the smiles.    Retro Designs kit, "Simply Serene" used for this LO may give another insight...the camera captured a simply serene moment.  Previews of "Simply Serene" and additional LO samples can be found at Retro Designs Online Store.

Brody...Just Too Cute!

It was such a blessing to get to hold Brody this weekend after him having to spend his first month of life in NICU.  These four photos were snapped as Brody was dosing off to sleep...his time to smile and peek out at you every once in a while.  Maybe he is having sweet dreams or maybe it was Nana telling him just how cute he is!  Journaling:  Okay, I get it.  I'm just too cute.  And it does make me smile to hear how cute I am, but could I catch a few winks here before it is time to wake up and eat again!

Helen recently added Flight of Fancy to her Online Store and this is my most recent LOs using this wonderful kit.  Love all the bling and how perfect to have a safety pin to use with this LO of Brody. 

I am also posting a few of my other LOs using Flight of Fancy...a very versatile kit as you will see from the variety of LOs below.

This photo of Avery is one of my favorites.  Her mom took it before church on Mother's Day a few years ago.

Look closely and you will see a double rainbow...this photo was taken from my front yard.

This Flight of Fancy QP was perfect for Jojo's photo...such a sweet smile!

A collection of my Granny's valentines she received as a child around 100 years ago.

You can find Flight of Fancy at the Retro Designs Online Store!

Brody's Home and Made the Local News

Yesterday was a very exciting day for all of us.  Brody's going home was the big news, but he also made the "News".  He was a part of a feature story a local TV station was doing on a lady who knits caps for the premature babies at Children's Hospital in Dallas.  Our little Brody is a star at one-month old!  Of course, he was a bright star in our lives from day one!  God is so good and we feel so blessed!

Knitting Caps for Premature Newborns

If Brody's story isn't still up, click on Most Recent or Top Video or you can go here-video is a bit larger here also:

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Heart-Surgery-Survivor-Knits-for-Premature-Newborns-143896316.html

Video Credits:

Mom - LaChelle, our wonderful daughter and very happy and proud mom
Baby - Brody, Our Sweet and Adorable Grandson
Videographer on right side of first screen - Curtis, Body's very proud Daddy who we know will take extraordinary care of our precious little bundle!
Big Sister - Lexi, sweet and loving sister for Brody to look up to through the years and, hey, built-in babysitter, too!

This moment was made possible by Brody's Papa and Nana, Tony and Lajuana, almost 32 years ago when we brought our precious bundle, LaChelle, home from the hospital.  OK, a little cheesy, but grandparents have to take a little bit of the credit, too!

[left][center][url="http://deco-duet.blogspot.com/"][img]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/scrapladyandmore/go_to_our_blog2.png[/img][/url][/center][/left]

Happy Birthday Cowgirl

I was working on Avery's LO with the QP and decided to make it a two page with one for Luke to match.  Just got Luke's done first since I was extracting Avery on a horse to go on her's!  Helen...here the horse and you are right...the butterfly trail does looks like lassos !

You can tell by the smile on Avery's face that she is one happy little Cowgirl.  All the kids at the birthday party got to ride this horse, put their hand print on a white horse, and go on a hayride.  It was such a fun party for everyone. 

Here's Luke and Avery's pages combined.  I may play around with them a little more before adding them to a book to be printed.  Love the deep rich colors and touches of gold on these pages. 

Check out previews of this gorgeous new kit and see some sample LOs at Retro Designs Online Store! You can find this QP under Kit Previews on Retro Design's Blog.

Cowboy Luke Using Summer Past QP Freebie

I started with Helen's QP Freebie to go with her new kit Summer Past.  I added the rectangle photo of Luke, the heart and swirl in the left corner and the brads below Luke's name and turned this QP into a "cowboy" page for Luke.  I took these pictures this weekend a Avery birthday party.  I'm thinking that bird has an eye on the piece of straw Luke is chewing on!  Check out previews of this gorgeous new kit and see some sample LOs at Retro Designs Online Store!  You can find this QP under Kit Previews on Retro Design's Blog.

Happy 6th Birthday Avery

Avery, Papa and Nana are looking forward to your birthday party on Sunday and hope today was a fun day for you, too!

Today is Avery's 6th Birthday.  February is a busy birthday month for our family.  Tony's was the 11th, Jennifer's was the 12th, Brody's was just born on the 17th, and Avery's BD is today the 28th!  Avery loves horses and she is having the most perfect birthday party.  Mom has booked a local pony farm that has birthday parties where all kids get ride a pony.  So hope the weather cooperates!  I got a sweet call from Avery last night asking me to make boot, hat, and horseshoe candies to go on top of her BD cupcakes...I love being Nana!

I used CowGirl County Kit by Horsedreamn Designs...check out Traci's blog HERE!

Brody's Cocoon

Brody was born 6 weeks early due to DD's life-threatening blood pressure.  It's sad to not get to hold and cuddle a precious newborn.  And LaChelle wasn't able to go see him for 2 days until her blood pressure got better.  The next morning she got a quite look before Brody was moved to Children's Hospital and she couldn't see him until she was released from the hospital 2 more days later.  I told LaChelle Brody was just spending a little time in his own special cocoon until it was time for him to fly out into our arm.  It was so appropriate when we walked into Children's Hospital and the lobby was full of butterflies hovering above.  Brody is "spreading his wings" a little more each day.  After 2 days at Children's he was changed from a high tech ventilator to a smaller one.  And yesterday taken off the vent and is using just an oxygen tube in his nose.  He still has a small hole in his lungs that is almost sealed.  LaChelle is getting to go and stay as long as she wants with Brody but won't be able to hold him until they remove the chest tube that drains the air leaking from his lungs.  I have come home and eagerly waiting for the day I can go back once he is ready to leave his cocoon and fly!  (Oh...he was 4 lbs. 6 ozs. at birth and 18 1/2 in. long!  LaChelle is still having blood pressure issues and the cardiologist is running tests to determine what all is going on.)

Helen's beautiful and sparkling butterfly from her Sweetness And Light kit adds a special touch to this memory for Brody's Baby Album.  This kit is available for purchase in Helen's new STORE!

Christmas Magic

Papa Miller and Miller sharing a "magical" moment during Christmas 2011.  Miller loves his Papa and shares something in common.  They both have (had in Papa's case) red hair.  Growing up DH's hair was a gorgeous dark auburn red and very thick.  Time will tell if Miller's hair is like Papa's or if he has "carrot top" red.  Either way, he will always be our precious little red-hair grandson.  Love this Moon and cherub element which was the inspiration for this LO.  "A Christmas Carol" is now available at Helen's New store HERE!

Birthday Reflection

I have been eager to use Helen's lovely QP freebie created from her new kit Sweetness And Light.  This is my Dad, the baby on the left, with his older sister Lazelle and his twin sister Thelma.  If you can read this names at the bottom, you will see his name is Elma.   Although it rhymes with Thelma, it would not have been his first choice for a name.  His sons are named Steve, Mike, and Greg...no confusion there! I love the painting and hardly ever walk past it without stopping and reflecting on my Dad and many wonderful and precious memories. I think this QP it is perfect the reflection I have had today on Dad's birthday!  He and his sisters are celebrating today in heaven along with his parents and other siblings there with them.  You will find the freebie HERE and the kit is available for purchase in Helen's new STORE!

Meme with the Miller Great-Grandchildren

Love how the photo blends into the background and your focus is on all the smiling faces and one little one that's not so happy at the moment.  Although the tree is hidden behind everyone, these wonderful Christmas elements from Retro Designs new kit "A Christmas Carol" made a very festive page for this special memory.  There's much more to see so take a look at Kit Previews HERE on the blog and you might even find a freebie or two!  Great News! This kit is now available at Helen's New store HERE!