Holiday Rush!

Every year I wait until the last minute to start thinking about Christmas. I hate to do Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, it just seems to early. I have my list ready and will be hitting the stores soon, although some of my presents this year will be handmade. I like making things for family and friends. It makes the giving seem so much more special and thoughtful. I hope you have your holiday season underway!

My Etsy store has been plugging a long very well and I have been busy filling a few orders! Yeah! Here are a couple of photos of my latest additions to the store. You can click the photos to get more info.


Christmas Tree Skirt!
These have been flying out the door! I have already received orders for three of them.





















Christmas Stocking!
This is my first stocking. I plan on doing a few more later this week.

A Cutie Pie and a Delicious Soup!

First, let me show off my darling granddaughter sporting the pumpkin knit hat I have in my store. It is great for those fall photo shoots or a day out in the park. Click on the photo to take you to the store.

Second, most of you who know me well, know that I am not a cook. But from time to time, I try to do better and cook a meal or two. Today I have prepared a wonderful crock pot chowder. If you are a fan of Chunky's Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder, then you should try this recipe. I found it on the web here, but I'll repost the recipe for you as well. My only comments about the prep are that you should dice you potatoes pretty small. Mine were not completely done in the six hour time frame. They took another hour to get edible. I used frozen carrots that were sliced instead of diced and they worked fine. It think it would not have crusted on the sides if I had been home to stir it but even the crusty bits were good!

Crock Pot Chicken Chowder Recipe

½ cup chopped carrots
1 cup skim milk
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2, 15 oz. cans creamed corn
¼ cup dried potato flakes
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except dried potato flakes and cheese in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until potatoes are tender and chicken thoroughly cooked. Add potato flakes and stir well to combine.

What's in store?

A couple of posts ago, I told you that I had opened an Etsy store. Well, I have dusted off a lot of old items and have posted them in my store. I have added my current note cards and a few other odds and ends. I still have one more set of Christmas cards to add before I launch off into a new direction. I am thinking about dusting off the old paint brushes and making a few ornaments to sell for Christmas. Ideas are always welcome. I seem to have gone into a scrapbooking lull and am having a hard time doing anything creative in that line. Here are a few photos from what's available in the store.

I'm in Print!

It's my first layout to be published in a magazine and I am SOOOOO excited. If you subscribe to Somerset Memories, turn to page 138 and I'm on the bottom half of the page. Well, not me personally, but my layout of my Great Great Grandmother, Tempe Potts Spriggs. In case you haven't seen the layout, here it is!


















It's a huge honor for me to be published. Submitting to scrapbooking magazines was one of my "duties" while on the Digital Elite Team at Digital Scrapbook Place. I loved submitting my layouts, but this has been my only acceptance. I don't set out to create a layout for a magazine. I still focus on creating pages for me and my family. For me, scrapbooking is all about preserving memories and sharing my photos. But a little recognition is OK too! Thanks for sharing my joy!

Etsy Store

Well, I have been thinking about opening an Etsy store for almost a year. Now I have finally done it! For those of you who haven't found Etsy, it's a marketplace on the web for handcrafted or vintage items. I have one item in my store at the moment, but will be adding more over the next few days. If you have ideas or suggestions of items for my store, by all means, give me a shout out! Right now I'm going to start off with some photo note cards and prints. But I hope to add some digi-scrap kits in the near future. Here is the link to my store: Di Turpin Designs

It's About Time for Another Post!

So, it has been 3 months since my last post! I warned at the beginning that I would probably not be good at keeping this up! Yesterday was my first day as a DET Alumni. I have served on the creative team for Digital Scrapbook Place for a year and am actually welcoming the break. I hope to be able to focus more on this blog, creating layouts for me and maybe even creating some digital scrapbooking kits! Thanks to DSP for their support and for allowing me to promote their products. They are an awesome group of designers and I am privileged to work with them. Here is my final layout, thanking them for the great fun I had and a few more that I finished this week as well.

Featured in Memory Makers eInspiration Newsletter

I am so excited! My layout, Love It, Live It is featured today in Memory Makers eInspiration newsletter! It is my first layout to be featured in this newsletter. I have been featured layout of the day and even made the weekly email that highlights the week's featured layouts. But to me, this is a huge honor! Here's the layout and you can link to Memory Makers by clicking this post's title. This digital scrapbooking kit was created by DSP's designer apprentice, Heidi Kuester. I love the kit and have used it three times already. If you would like to see the kit, follow the link below to my layout and there is a link to the kit in DSP's store.

Love It, Live It

Busy...Busy...Busy...

Who isn't busy these days? I seem to always be jumping from one task to the next. Whether it is work or doing something with Savannah or scrapbooking for me, there always seems to be more things to do than time to do them in. Somethings make you stop and slow down...things like grandbabies. I have a new granddaughter and we are thrilled...of course! Here are some scrapbooking layouts (of course) of our new arrival.


Besides, photos of sweet Macey, I have also been scrapping a few other things...

BTW, Savannah corrected me - the chorus won first place in their division! I guess I when I saw the red trophy and thought second place. Anyway, we are super proud of them! This layout was also featured as a Memory Makers Idea Page last week on their website.

And a nature layout. I love doing these, especially since Savannah is getting tire of me taking photos of her all the time.

This layout was also featured on Lauren Bavin's blog as one of her "Picks of the Pack." Here's the link to her blog post about it. Mom and dad have another family of bluebirds in the same birdhouse this year. Maybe I'll try to get some more photos next week when I'm there for a few days.

Lastly, I updated my background with freebie blogwear from Suzanne C Walker at DSP. Here's the link if you want to snag it for your own blog. It is free, but you have to be a member at DSP, which is also FREE. Gotta love free! Oh, and there is a link to Nicole's blog for instructions on customizing your blog too...if you need that help!

Just checking out what will happen when I write a bit more than 140 characters. I'm always curious as to how things work so this is just another scientific experiment.

Well, I am getting into this century with twitter, facebook and now ping.fm. Before long I'll be plastered all over the web!

Famous Scapbooker - Did you know that...

Mark Twain was a lifelong creator and keeper of scrapbooks. He took them with him everywhere and filled them with souvenirs, pictures, and articles about his books and performances. But in time, he grew tired of the lost glue, rock-hard paste, and the swearing that resulted from the standard scrapbook process. So, he came up with the idea of printing thin strips of glue on the pages to make updates neat and easy to do. In 1872, he patented his “self-pasting” scrapbook, and by 1901, at least 57 different types of his albums were available. It would be his only invention that ever made money.

Here's a link to PBS's interactive webpage about Twain's invention!

I'm BACK!!!

Well, to say the least, life took over and I have been super busy. Savannah did Winterguard which began the last of February and went for a month. Between that and everyday school stuff, she has been super busy. April and May brought along field trips and concerts. Now we are finally slowing down a bit before we gear up for summer.

Scrapping has been great! I have made lots of layouts, some of which I'll post a little later. I was fortunate enough to be selected for the new term of Digital Elite Team as DigitalScrapbookPlace.com. It is so great to be on the team again and I love working with the wondeful designers at DSP!

Gotta run, but I'll be back later to post some layouts!

Thumbs Down … Thumbs Up

Oh, I just have to share this with all my digi-scrapping buddies. The gals over at DSP created this Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down List of DigiScrapping vs. Paper Scrapping. It just cracks me up and whats more, it is exactly all the reasons for why I scrapbook digitally!

Thumbs Down … Thumbs Up

My Layout Is Idea Page of the Day at Memory Makers

Yeah, I did it again! My layout, Seasons of Love, is MM's Idea Page of the Day today! This was created for a challenge at DSP - the Monthly Lyrical Challenge. We had to use the words from the song, "Season of Love" in a layout. I was lucky in that Savannah had a snow day and was feeling a bit bored. She agreed to let me take some photos of her that didn't include her tongue sticking out!

Here's the layout in case you miss it on Memory Makers.

If you like the design, keep your eyes peeled for a freebie template coming soon!

DSP Top 100 Gallery Views!

Digital Scrapbook Place (DSP) came out with the Top 100 Gallery views list and I made it 3 times! Yeah! I was actually shocked that I made it three times. I have several layouts with lots of views but there are some really awesome scrappers at DSP, a lot who are so very talented. Here are the links to my layouts if you'd like to see them up close!

#26 - Forever
#43 - Watermelon and Fireworks
#73 - Brooks Laughing

Photo Tip and Another Freebie

I have had a busy week! It has been almost 6 days since my last post. Over the weekend my daughter had her first Winterguard competition. I had never been to a guard competition so this was a first for me as well. I took some photos and will be creating layouts with them in the near future. Taking photos inside a gym is always a challenge. The lighting in gyms is good enough to play and watch basketball but it was not meant for photography. Even though it is a well lit area, a gym does not offer enough natural light for fast shutter speeds. If you can adjust the settings on your camera, I would suggest using Shutter Priority mode. For my photos, I set a shutter speed of 125 and let the camera choose the aperture setting. Luckily, I have a lens with really low aperture settings so this worked great for me. I was able to get some stop action photos of the flags and rifles in mid air during tosses and spins. Some of the photos were blurred but for the most part, I was happy with my first attempt. I'll try to upload those layouts this weekend maybe.

Now getting to the important stuff - the freebie! Yes, this is a mini element kit of 4 elements at 200 dpi. You get a heart frame from chipboard and corrugated paper, a fuzzy yarn heart, a jewel brad and a ribbon with the same brads. They of course coordinate with the paper pack and the word art that I have already upload to this blog. Check the "Layout" link below to find them. I hope you enjoy them and send me a link if you use them and upload them to the web. I would love to show off your work on my blog! And remember, more comments = more freebies!


Box of Chocolates Element Pack
Password: Freebs

Scrappers Block and a Freebie!

I've been sick some this week and it has totally blown my desire to scrap. I've tried to do a few pages and I actually completed one, but most of what I have done has just been ho hum! So, I've been trying to get back in the groove by visiting my favorite designers and going through their galleries. Hopefully after a good night's rest I'll be able to pull it all back together. If you have any extra scrapping muses, be sure and send them my way!

Here is the word art freebies that I promised last week from my Box of Chocolates Mini Kit. I love the candy bar look of the Chocoholic design. "Step Away from the Chocolate" is a phrase that my daughter and I share when we are down to the last Hershey's kiss! I hope you enjoy them and let me know if you use them in a layout. I'd love to get feed back from you! If you like the papers in the preveiw - check out the freebies link. You might get lucky!


Box of Chocolate Word Art Freebie
Password: freebs (sorry I forgot this on the original post)

Memory Makers Idea Page Feature TODAY!

Yeah, my layout Serenity will be featured today (January 12th) on the Memory Makers Idea Page Feature. I just love it when something I created gets recognized as "good" by someone outside my family and friends. The opinions of family and friends really count the most, but it is a good feeling every now and then to get "outside" validation. If you want to check out all the details, you can follow this link to may layout on DSP or just scroll down the blog page.

The Key to Happiness

I'm posting another one of my DSP layouts. This one is created using a groupie. Bet you thought groupies were only for rock bands. Not so! In digi scrapping, groupies are a grouping of elements that are already put together for you. You just simply add a photo and plop it on a lovely background, add a few finishing touches and you're done! I just love them because I still have control over the design of my layout but it saves me tons of time. Here is the link to my DSP Gallery. Skip over and look around. If you've never been to Digital Scrapbook Place, it is truly a wonderful community. There are tutorials and freebies to download, active forums where your questions will always be answered and lots of fun folks to hang out with. Boy, now I'm sounding like a commercial!

Credits: Butterflies *N* Blues Groupies Set 2 by Kim Liddiard and Blissful Berry Page Kit also by Kim Liddiard both available at DSP.

Digital Scrapbooking Freebies!

Everybody loves a freebie and I’m no exception! I love to get something free, especially free scrapbooking designs. I have been dabbling a bit in digital design and have decided to give a few of my creations away. I hope you enjoy them. For now, all my designs will be at 200 dpi and my backgrounds will be 12x12 inches or 2400x2400 pixels. In the future I may change to 300 dpi. My first freebie is a backpack of 5 background papers centered on my favorite treat – chocolate!!! Come back in a week or so and pick up the word art that goes with these papers. Who knows, maybe I’ll create a few more elements and then you’ll have a whole kit! If you use my papers in a page, send me a link! I’d love to see how you use them.

Link: Box of Chocolates Background Papers

Password: freebs

Here’s a layout I created using my kit.

Updated Look for 2009

I have updated the look of my blog...as you may have noticed. Thanks to Nicole Young for her tutorial and templates that allowed me to accomplish this. You can got to Nicoles's blog for the instructions and templates if you are interested in getting a similar look. I still need to work on my header but it is definitely a start for now.

Here's a new layout to start off 2009 and surprise! It's about me! Click here to go to my gallery on DSP and see the larger version.