Our new church sign

YAY! Our church has a new sign - something that is funky, fresh and ... totally does NOT go with the look of our building at the current time LOL! To be honest, the facade of our building is aged and worn, with some of the lettering falling off... but there is a NEW spirit within and God has been blessing us - and we are beginning to dig ourselves out and bring about some welcome changes. It has been a year of great growth and renewal and it will be exciting to see what 2009 brings about. We desire to be a church that does not seek only to who comes in... but more importantly, who will 'go out' from our body as missionaries.

My multi-talented husband designed the sign - he'll be blushing I said so, but I can't help but show him off.

Speaking of churches etc...

I will link you here to an article I heard on NPR radio - did you know that (and this is a sign of our times) some churches and synagogues are planting GPS chips in their nativity displays - to help locate them when they get stolen? Truly - you can read all about it (or listen, just click on the little red speaker symbol at the top) by clicking HERE. Who'd have ever thought there would be Geo Caching for Jesus?

Layout by Judy (my SIL)
credits: Barb Derksen (me) Heart Music Kit

Love this layout of my niece Melissa and her guitar instructor strumming out a tune on the guitar Melissa recently recieved for her birthday. I am impressed how you cut her out, Judy - looks great!

Tag by Nina (my Sister!)
credits: Music note image design by Barb Derksen (me)
Burgundy cardstock from Nature Preserve Recycled cardstock,
DCWV- Clear Glitter paper,
Figgy Pudding Kringle Designer paper.
Unknown elastic cord.

It is so exciting to see my items used in a hybrid project. Really - it sort of makes it 'come to life' I always get a new appreciation for my items - seeing them used this way. Thank you Nina, for sharing! I suspect we may see more items coming from Nina's blog in the future. In fact... speaking of which, she'd asked me to make a 'gift kitty' for a project, so I whipped one up. Only... when I showed her, she said she wanted a birthday kitty, not a Christmas one, so I'm going to share this one with you.

I've put a watermark over kitty in this preview, but the download will not have it on. I do this to prevent pirating in the form of just downloading a jpg - so my terms of use are included in the download. I hope you enjoy this purr-fectly delightful little kitty.

personal use only
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And while we are on the subjects of kitty's ... here's a quirky, funny, typical kitty video which you will get a giggle out of, I'm sure.

Yeah, LET IT!

Snowflakes.

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down.
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig,
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!

by Emily Dickenson

REALLY - LET IT FLY... I'm SO ready!

Well, I'm not really, for the driving in it part, the winter clothes part. I guess I'm just tired of the rain lately and am thinking anything would be better.

In case you are wondering why I put up TWO versions of the same graphic, its because I'm showing you the ability of a very cool online graphic tool I came across. Its called SumoPaint, and these are two versions of a simple graphic I created in a short time. I'm VERY impressed with SumoPaint as it has many, MANY features - it supports layers, has filters, blending modes, allows you to save to their gallery and share, or download to your computer. You MUST try this out! Just click HERE to be transported.

I'd love to see what YOU create!

I was helping my husband organize paper at the school recently and I found this under the sink. Ewwww - I have never dreamed of looking under the desks and tables. I remember hiding gum under my desk as a kid, but this is an Adult Learning Center. You suppose it still happens? I daren't look. Anyways, this can looks about 50 yrs old or something.

Yummy Parmesan Breadsticks

Yep, she's on about her bread again. LOL.

These are breadsticks I made using the Peasant Bread dough recipe from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbook (see link in my links list) - but I added italian spices to the dough, flax and I rolled the sticks in parmesan cheese before baking.

I'm going to make a whole bunch of these this week as I'm doing a demo of the bread on Thursday for the schools pot-luck lunch.

Short and sweet blog entry today. I've decided to make a little personal-use 'something' for you to herald my wanting to bring the festive season on! I'm posting the decorated version today - later in the week I will post an un-decorated version which you can fix up with your own embellishments. This element is BIG - probably hangs to a little over 8 inches!

I'd LOVE to see how you use it - and feature your layouts on my blog! Just send me an 800 x 800 jpg and I will post it here!

Do YOU have snow yet?

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I finally gave myself a half a day to just 'play'. It felt strange to get on the computer and not have to be making something - to just be able to poke around in some of the various programs I have - photoshop, artrage and some vector programs too. I was inspired by a tutorial I saw a while back, by Rachel Anne Miller - if you've not seen her work you can click HERE. Oh, the tutorial is very simple and straightforward - but she's right, the actual sketch is the hardest part and you need a VERY steady hand. I think her work is fabulous - so whimsical and fun. So, my head is swimming with ideas right now. I have found myself pulled to the CHILDREN'S section of the library. So, though there are definately some things I need to learn yet, I'm not entirely disappointed with my first attempt at an illustration!

CONGRATULATIONS goes out to my niece Patty who just earned her Dogwood Certificate (full graduation in the BC Education System) Besides being Mom to two young girls, she's been attending the college part time and working away to this goal. Being that I graduated myself at the late age of 43, I know how hard it can be to return and learn. WAY TO GO, Patty! Check out Judy's blog (my sister in law & Mom to Patty) to see a great layout celebrating Patty's milestone. Just click HERE.

When my friend E. came for a recent visit, I mentioned that it sometimes takes a visitor to discover the beauty we have in our own area. This is so true of the exquisite, chaotic, ever changing beauty of the Showy Milkweed. E. had taken pics of them while here (click HERE to visit her blog) and I was inspired by her photo, so I marched myself out and took a series to share with you. They turned out amazing - my only disappointment is that I set my camera to a smaller size as I had only intended on taking blog sized photos. Seeing how nice they turned out, even Mr. Miles was saddened I'd not taken the highest quality. Next sunny break comes along I'm heading out with full quality settings.








And...

I've been busy collecting leaves - so was inspired by some of the ones that have been worn away by the wind and elements, leaving a lacy looking leaf skeleton. Gave me the idea to make my latest product, launching tomorrow!

Olivia Dorazio's Golden Gilded Leaves Set
(commercial use!)

REMEMBER - EVERY MONDAY IS MONDAY MADNESS AT SOPHIA SARDUCCI
so, though these leaves are an insane $2 you'll recieve an additional 20% off!
click HERE!

GREAT DESIGNER RESOURCE
and pretty for your personal layouts and hybrid projects!

Leaves

In autumn when the trees are brown
The little leaves come tumbling down
They do not make the slightest sound
But lie so quietly on the ground
Until the wind comes puffing by
And blows them off towards the sky.

- Author Unknown

The leaves are LITERALLY turning golden for you, with Olivia’s newest offering. Lacy and oh so delicate these frail beauties will add that certain touch of elegance and glamour to your fall themed pages. Want a bit bolder of a look? Simply duplicate the leaf layers and your leaves will turn from delicate into rich, bold statements. Even better with a slight bevel.

Get rich in leaves!

This Set Contains:

20 separate gilded leaves

Olivia Dorazio's Golden Gilded Leaves Overlay FREEBIE
personal use only

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