My First Love and NEW layouts to share...

First love. Who or what was it? Your first boyfriend, first pet, or perhaps it could've been an iconic teen superstar or music artist. Maybe it was a hobby or favorite toy you once played with. To some, it could be a lifestyle or trend. Whatever the case may be, most of the time first loves tend to be replaced or forgotten because we change & we grow out of it, or simply because life takes its course and forces us to move forward. Well, not for me. At 32 years old, it's hard to get over my first love and if anything my first love has never left my side and has been with me through it all. He knows my strengths and weaknesses, understands me when I don't understand myself, loves me no matter what I've done or been through, keeps me safe and secure, and provides all of my needs. His love never fails and is faithful to me through even the most precarious circumstances. Regardless of my faults and mistakes, he helps me to become a better person and teaches me the importance of appreciating life and the people around me. If you want to know who he is or haven't guessed it by now, my first love is JESUS. Although, my husband is an incredible person and I love him dearly yet he and I both know that if our Lord is not the center of our marriage and if we don't put Him first, then there is no foundation that our marriage can stand upon. I wanted to share that with you because I know that alot of people can relate and probably feel the same way but, I also know of alot of people who have also forgotten Him as their first love or replaced His love with the love of other things, things or people who can only satisfy them so much or love them to a certain limit. People are always searching for something real, something true, but only finding it in the wrong places. Some are filled with so much greed and envy, wanting more and more, but are always left feeling alone and empty. Then there are some who just do not know or never heard of this kind of perfect love that's only found in Him. The simple answer, in my opinion, is it's never too late to receive Him into your heart. The moment you open that door for Him to enter your life, I promise you, you will never be the same. You will have found your FIRST and TRUE love. Those who have left and lost their way, I pray you'll return home and find that your first love has never stopped loving you and no matter how far you've gone, there's no distance in His love. I don't know who most of you are, but I care enough for you to let you know that life is too precious to waste, and if you need help finding answers, or are searching for purpose and meaning to life, or simply need a change--don't wait any longer and pray this simple prayer with me....


"Father, in Jesus Name, I confess that I'm lost without You and need Your forgiveness. Thank you for laying down your life for me on the cross and setting me free. Lord, come into my heart and cleanse me from all of my sins. Make me a new person and show me the right way. I pray that each day, you will continue to draw me closer to You that I may know You more and more. Give me strength to live a victorious life and help me to forgive others just as You have forgiven me. Thank you Lord for my gift of eternal life. I love you, Lord. In Jesus Name....Amen...."




What do you do now? Well, I suggest that you find a good bible-based church home where you can continue to build your faith, be strengthened in the Word of God, and also meet other folks just like you who have been changed by the grace of God and will be there to encourage and bless you in your walk with Christ. Remember, just because were Christians doesn't mean we live a perfect, stress-free, drama-free, problem-free life...Jesus told his disciples that we would face many troubles in life but, to not lose heart because HE has overcome them. Everyday will be a challenge and life will still have its storms, but one thing that is different is that we don't have to face it alone, because we have someone who is bigger and more powerful than our problems. He gives us wisdom, patience, and understanding to things that we wouldn't have otherwise. Our fears can be rest assured when we have the Lord by our side. Why does God allow these things to happen? Well, for one thing He knows the beginning from the end and one thing I've come to understand is that alot of the trials I've been through has molded and refined me to become a person much stronger, much wiser, more humble, more patient, more forgiving, and more grateful then I was years ago. Whenever I face a trial, I always say to myself, "Ok, what is God teaching me now?" Sometimes, He reveals things about our nature that need to be corrected, sometimes He uses us to reveal things to others, sometimes He tests our faith and draws us to depend on Him rather than ourselves or others, or sometimes all we could do is wait to figure it out one day. Overall, it teaches me to surrender my life to Him not just once but, on a daily basis because I can do nothing and am nothing without Him.



So much for a little sermon there, I didn't realize I started preaching! If you want to know what sparked me to blog this, is the video that I added to my blog under "My Testimony". When I first watched it (on FaithSisters.com in the Faith Forum) I was completely balling my eyes out. The skit was so powerful and it really moved me because it really reflected what had happened to me. And how I've returned to my FIRST LOVE. Please take time to watch it and maybe you'll understand.



Well my friends, I'm trying to keep my eyelids open but, want to share a few layouts that I completed this week. I'm beginning to love scrapbooking as a result of a challenge. My first official layout done as a result of a challenge is from FaithSisters.com is the one of my sisters and I - "True Friendship". This is the current challenge going on over there but, I think I'm going to do more and catch up with the previous ones. I really love how challenges motivate you to get scrappin' and also gives you topics that you probably would've never thought of. The other two layouts are of my adorable hubby and I - one was an engagement photo and the other was on our wedding day.



Oh, one more thing--my Bittersweet PP, Wild Tropics PP, Rise Up PP, and Harvest PP Pt1, all have reach over a 1000 downloads!! Woohoo! Wow, that is more than I expected and it really encourages me that people actually like my designs. I've also developed a few friendships that I found to be such a blessing. I hope to design sometime soon as I complete the end of my homework session. So be on the lookout since I've been working hard and learning so many cool techniques in the digi design world. As always, THANK YOU for visiting and taking time to read my blog. Hope you are blessed and know that God loves you!



Here are my layouts this week!

True Friendship

Find credits here.

Created 4 Me

Find credits here.

Lifetime Journey

Find Credits here.

CT call for FAITHSISTERS.COM...check them out!

For the past month, I've been constantly checking DST and JustDigitalCalls.com for CT and DT calls, mostly just browsing and seeing what's out there. Everytime I find one that I feel interested in, I get excited and think "maybe this is it" or "maybe I'll apply and see what happens" but, its the "maybe" that gets in the way of it all. That word "maybe" seems to control my actions causing me to doubt the possibility of me ever being selected. I've been taught in God's word that our words have power and we can choose to speak life or death into our midst and whatever it is we have spoken can manifest into reality. Our words can change our mindset and mislead us to think the opposite of what God thinks of us. So, everday I make the extra effort to speak words that will encourage and not tear down, words of kindness and hope that will strengthen and not weaken my faith, not only in HIM, but in myself.

So, after that realization that I needed to stop doubting myself and stop comparing myself amongst others, I decided to take that step of faith and applied for the CT call at FaithSisters.com. Whether I get selected or not, I know that I didn't give in to that "maybe" that was trying to keep me from believing in myself and believing that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!".

Anyways, if you haven't heard of FaithSisters before, you should definitely visit their site. It's so awesome that this group of ladies created a place where not only you can participate in inspirational challenges, be inspired so much creativity, but also meet people from everywhere who believe in the Lord and just want to be a blessing to each other. I strongly believe that their community will grow rapidly and I'm sure it will be a great success.

Their CT call ends on Sept. 28th and they should be announcing their members on Oct. 1st. I know whoever does get selected will be truly blessed and even if I don't get in, I'm going to suppport this community all the way!

My passion to create....

I've been playing catch up with homework and hopefully will be done with Illustrator Basics and Color Theory soon. I love learning and being able to take my skills further with each lesson. The creative possibilities are endless with Illustrator. I love Photoshop too but, when it comes to creating art, Illustrator rocks! Whenever I would marvel at a designer's creation, I always sat there and wondered, "How did they do that?". Swirls and flourishes are so in right now and I was so eager to know how to create them. Finally, I actually learned how!! I searched all over the internet for Photoshop or Illustrator tutorials and found only a few but, not exactly the swirls I was looking for. Then one day, while finishing up my assignment, I suddenly understood what to do. Let me tell ya, I was crazy happy.

Okay, so I finally decided to work Saturdays at my local craft store. I used to work there before I got married and always kept in touch with my manager. The moment he found out I was looking to work, he kindly offered me the job and welcomed me back without hesitation. It's only one day a week but, it will help our financial situation a little. I'm really glad with this decision instead of working night shift after my husband comes home from his day job. I know God directed me to do what is best. This store is also where I began my love for scrapbooking and all kinds of other crafts. I know I'll enjoy being in a place that will be full of inspiration and creative ideas. In the meantime, I hope to keep my life balanced with family, church, school, and of course designing. In response to my previous post, I have been greatly blessed by so many wonderful people who took time to share their experiences with me. I can't say how thankful I really am. Someone also thought I might be interested in an "interesting business opportunity" and said a friend would be contacting me. I still haven't heard from her but, it was nice to know that someone was thoughtful enough to try to help. Thank you Krista. If it were up to me, I would love to be a designer for a digital scrapbooking store. I know that I still have much to learn but, I do know that I'm passionate about designing and scrapbooking and someday would love to have my own store!! I have a vision and I intend to keep dreaming and believing for that vision to come true. Only God knows how much I love being creative and using my creativity to inspire and bless others.

I have a new LO to share with you, but before I do, here are my finished assignments in Illustrator.

Petting Zoo Postcard

Energy Drink Bus
My Dahlia Garden

Get credits here.

There's more to LIFE... {HARVEST} FREEBIE

Another summer has come and gone. Autumn is upon us and soon winter will be here before we know it. I'm sure I'm not the only one but, the holiday season is my favorite time of the year and everytime it comes around, I get so anxious and excited when we get together with family. Reminded of the importance of family and how precious we all are to one another, I reflect on the little details of how much they all mean to me. How they've been a part of my life in ways they probably least expect themselves to be. So, this year I intend to let them know just how much they've touched my heart and life. I hope to make gift albums for certain people and show them just how special they are. Anyone care to do the same? I have so many album kits that are sitting on my hard drive just waiting to be created and printed out. Oh, what fun it will be!

By the way, regarding my last post about deciding whether I should go back to work, God has been so gracious and his wisdom and understanding has surpassed my own. At the time, I was so anxious and so concerned about it that I was ready to do things my own way and could have made careless and hasty decisions that would have led me to even greater consequences. But, I knew I had to pray and wait, wait for an answer, wait for a confirmation, wait for a revelation that will make better sense. See, sometimes we get so frantic and we panic about our circumstances that we want to do something about it right then and now. We'll even go to the extreme and find ourselves over our heads about something that is totally against what we would normally do or isn't practical. Then we end up in the wrong place and in a greater mess then what we first started out. Remembering God's words has kept me from making those mistakes. Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious in anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." Well, I did wait and I let the situation settle as I continued to pray about it then soon I begant o feel peace within that God is in control. A week later, things started happening and suddenly opportunities began to arise for my husband and for myself. I also realized that I needed to evaluate our expenses, find ways to cut back on spending, and ideas just started to flow on ways to earn income while staying home with my kids. Also, there were so many things that I didn't notice before that were in front of me all along. It just suddenlty all made sense! And if I hadn't waited on God for His wisdom and understanding, I probably wouldn't be so at peace with the direction I'm taking now and most importantly I wouldn't of seen my weaknesses and corrected them. God is Good!!

One of my ideas that I've always dreamed and thought about for so long became more and more evident to me. God gave me a gift and talents that aren't just for fun and play but, to use these gifts and talents to establish a career that I can enjoy while making income. I know all of would rather work doing something we love and are passionate about than to be stuck at a stressful, hard, dead-end job. We all want to feel like we're fullfilling our purpose and doing something that satisfies us physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally. I sat down and I wrote down ideas and it made me reflect on all the events in my past that led me to this passion of scrapbooking. Then a lightbulb came on! Why not make custom scrapbooks for others? Why not help others preserve their memories? I'm sure there are so many out there who don't have the time or just don't know how to make their own scrapbooks but, would love to preserve all those memories they have stored in a box or in a non-archival album. Notice up above, the words "others" were highlighted. Because I want to stress that not only is it a business I would love to do but, it's also going to help and touch other lives which makes this even more meaningful to me. I know this will take time and alot of research to get it started but, I feel strongly about this as if this is my calling and my purpose which is the beginning to something wonderful--a journey for me is about to begin. I know there are so many who already do this for a living and it has inspired me to pursue it for myself. God knew this was part of His plan because of where He has brought from in the past from all the job experiences working at a craft store, to working as a Creative Memories consultant, to taking Graphic Design classes, to knowing how to paper and digitally scrapbook, just endless situations of why this all makes sense to me now. All in His timing....

Thanks for reading this far and sharing in my journey called LIFE! I do have a gift for you and hope you like this one. It's full of rich colors that remind me of Autumn and the special holidays associated with it. There's a Part 1 and a Part 2 to make it easier to download. I'm still learning how to create my own elements but, papers are all I could do for now. One day, I'll be giving away full kits when I feel more confident in designing elements. Without all the wonderful resources and talented designers out there willing to teach others, we'd all be lost in the digital world of scrapbooking. God bless them all! So here is the FREEBIE called "HARVEST" for my wonderful blog readers. Please do not share this gift but, you may send them to my blog for them to download. Thanks!

HARVEST PAPERS PART 1 & 2

Download Part 1 here.

Download Part 2 here. *This is no longer for free but, you can purchase this for$1.99 in my store at Faith Sisters. Thanks!*