memories happen

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ear candy

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true love

Wow, how nice to come back to so many comments! I hadn't planned to "hit and run" with my posting last Wednesday, but my husband and I ended up taking an impromptu mini-vacation over what became an extra-long holiday weekend.

I'll be back later today with more blogging, and possibly more word art ... gotta catch up on the laundry we brought home with us!

Hope you can use this. True love comes in all shapes and forms, don't you think? :)

Catch ya later,
Melanie


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someone loves you

both my husband and I have the flu this week ... we're just grunting each other's names but at least we know there's love there, in sickness and in health! hope today's word art freebie works for you.

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Transformed by Love

Using KimB's amazing MOODY DAYS (DSO) kit again, I prepared another layout of my niece with her fiance during the photo shoot I did with them. I'm still one of those scrappers who wants the photo(s) to be the dominant focus of the layout so I guess I'm "out of style" in that sense. As a photographer, to me, it's always about the faces and finding the looks that reveal the person behind them. If that makes sense! [for those of you taking notes, font used: Goombella]


Now, for the freebie hunters, here's today's word art, for your Moms! Moms have the power to transform us by their love for us, too.

Hope your day goes blissfully well,
Melanie

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when you know it's real ...

...you find yourself asking this question. :)

I recently photographed my niece and her fiance for their engagement photos. We had such fun! This is the niece I call the "daughter of my heart" so it won't be the last time you see her on my blog! I used KimB's marvelous MOODY DAYS kit that's still on sale at DSO, I believe.

Best wishes to you and yours today,
Melanie

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I'm baaaaack

Yes, I'm back ... did you even know I was gone?!

I'm sorry it took so long to get back online, but I had to make a trip to Memphis (Tennessee) beginning last Monday to get my Mom after she had been visiting a friend of hers for awhile. Then, she wanted to take her time getting back home ... and so on and so on and so on.

Hope you had a great National Scrapbooking Day/Weekend. I missed some of the great activities going on because my husband and I had company over the weekend, but it didn't take long this morning to pick up on the enthusiasm for the events. Many thanks to all the designers for their discounts and gifts. Always a treat!

I made this word art with Mother's Day in mind:


It certainly fits my Mom!

Talk to you later,
Melanie




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where love lives

In case you can't tell, this is a "stitched" word art (thanks to Atomic Cupcake action).

Hope your Tuesday is a great one.

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heartfelt season 2

here is another set available for you to order if you are interested in more love song lyrics overlays. please note that the colors are off in the preview -- everywhere you see BLUE in the preview, it's actually RED. Please consider a contribution of $2 when making your request [see Donate button in right-hand column of blog].

thanks in advance for your help,

melanie

bonus freebie today!

everybody needs this ... my husband is my soft place to land, for which i'm do grateful to God for this gift.

please see Friday's posting if you're interested in the love song overlays, heartfelt season 1, for a minimum donation of $2. your contribution would be so very much appreciated as i'm still dealing with so many medical bills.

happy saturday!

melanie

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sisters

today's thought:

and available for a $2USD donation:

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heartfelt season 1

if you are interested in this set, please consider a donation of $2.

thanks so much,

melanie

Random

I was so pleased to discover a layout in my e-mail at home last night, in which Suzanne sent me a layout she'd prepared using the DEAR SANTA word art from yesterday. What a cutie!!! And I'm NOT talking about Santa. :) Thanks so much, Suzanne.

I was also delighted to have a message from Arianna, in which she told me how much she really liked the Faithful Seasons 1 and 2 packs which she had ordered. In fact, she said that she was singing those carols all day, and said "it was worth every penny." Thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much, Arianna for the endorsement. For those of you who are still considering it, please do order them -- I would greatly appreciate it. $2.00 each is the requested pricing.

For those of you who only stop by for the freebies, you have 3 today -- they're totally random and not Christmas-y. Hope you find them useful!

Blessings,

Melanie

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DOWNLOAD Love You More

DOWNLOAD Vow of Silence

Love in Action

I can't believe I'm already asking this, but how was your weekend? I have NO idea where it went. I think time is going so quickly because -- for one thing -- my assistant is out. Her daughter was in a serious car accident during the Thanksgiving holidays and I've been preoccupied with that, and trying to be as supportive and as encouraging to my assistant as possible. There was a fatality in the accident (her daughter's friend), and such sobering reminders of the fragility of life just blow you away some times.

As crazy as it may sound, being able to do things like this blog online, and particularly to read other blogs, help me personally keep grounded during such trials. And if I'm grounded, then I can help others as well. The daughter is home from the hospital now and slowly recovering. She has no idea how long her healing of body, spirit, mind will take ... and how close she came to losing her own life. This has been a wonderful opportunity for her mother to tell her that God isn't through with her yet, and that He has something in mind yet for her to do.

It shouldn't take tragedies and near-misses to get us to that point of being open to God's leading, but in our stubborn human selves, we think we can do it on our own. God's love in action makes certain that we are not alone, if we but ask.

Not coincidentally, I received in my e-mail over the weekend this sweet, meaningful layout from Sonel. As you can see, she used word art that I had shared some time ago ... it uses a phrase in a Rascall Flatts song. That was the theme of my sister's wedding ceremony to her high school sweetheart two years ago today. Thank you, Sonel, for sharing this lovely layout with us all. By the way, you should check out Sonel's blog -- she has some very cheerful word art on it and other things you'll enjoy.

Here's a reminder, too, about the Christmas music lyric overlays featured in my Faithful Season 1 and Faithful Season 2 packs. You can order them individually (for a suggested donation of $2 each) or together for a requested gift of $3.00. I greatly appreciate your consideration in this. Look at last Friday's post for more information about these word art overlays.

I'm sharing two new freebie word art pieces today for your Christmas collection. I would be delighted to see how you use them!!!

This quote is attributed to Dale Evans:

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings to you and yours today,

Melanie

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DOWNLOAD Love in Action

Some of the Best Gifts

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After all these years

Yes, I'm back from my convention. It was exhausting. I was so very fatigued yesterday that I was doing well just to get a word art piece done and posted! I'm planning to do a lot of catching up tomorrow, to formally acknowledge the awards I've received and the extra word art for those who sent the layouts.

In the meantime, I hope you can use today's word art. I've been enjoying listening to the group JOURNEY decades ago. I'm not big into rock music, but somehow always enjoyed most of their music, and missed it when Steve Perry left the group. It's not the same now, but the new guy who joined as lead vocalist (from the Philippines!) is extraordinary and hauntingly similar to Steve Perry. Their newest release is one that I enjoy listening to every day on the radio during my drive time.

All that to say, that those lyrics inspired today's two pieces of word art.

Blessings on your day,

Melanie

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She's Poetry in Motion

Poetry is like art ... it's in the eye of the beholder ... and the listener. Love has a way of making everything better. Who knew that someone as far back as PLATO could articulate this so well that we fully "get it" here and now, centuries later?!!


Speaking of poetry, Kim Broedelet's artistry is poetry in motion ... and she's a hoot-and-a-half to be around!! Today's word art is dedicated to her, because she touches SOOOOO many of us with her magic.

And today is her birthday! If you haven't done so already, please pop by and tell her hello and wish her well. She's got a special sale going on that is absolutely irresistible. Since I'm one of her stalkers, I've tapped into all her goodies many time on her blog and through her store at DSO.

I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek at her new stuff. It's GORGEOUS, and has such an elegant, timeless quality. I did a quick layout as soon as I got it, and you can see beautiful examples on Kim's blog from her CT. To be perfectly honest? I could do dozens and dozens of layouts with her latest grab bag and goodies -- it's that awesome.

These four ladies are some of my favorite people in the world: 3 are my nieces by birth, and 1 by marriage. They are extraordinary women and I love them dearly.

Hope your day is blissfully blessed,

Melanie
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Love Needs

If it seems that I'm loading up my blog with freebies today, then it's true! I'm away from my computer most of next week as I take my turn looking after my mom, who is still recovering from surgery on her leg. As she celebrates her 75th birthday. I'll definitely miss being around blogdom, but hope you don't feel too abandoned. Ha!



Guess my insecurities are showing this week, because this posting's quotation really struck home. The truth is, we ALL deserved to be loved ... and we are by our Creator. I'm thankful every day that God loves each imperfect one of us.

Hope you have a great week next week. Hope to hear from you, too.

As always, I would greatly enjoy seeing your layouts with this word art. Or even if you just have a layout you're so proud that you've finished it, or extremely pleased with the way it looks. These are times worth celebrating, indeed!

Blessings,

Melanie
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It's TRUE!!!

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To Love and Be Loved

I believe that true happiness is a result of a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior. In that context, this quotation is unbelievably profound.

Having said that, feeling loved by someone special and having the opportunity to love them in return are extraordinary and an incredible gift.

Please remember to tell someone today how much they are loved all the year through.

Blessings,
Melanie

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