~As for me and my scraps, we will serve the LORD!~
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Monday, November 05, 2007

belated freebie *blush*

:) I am very sorry for not having a freebie up the other day as planned, so instead of the one sneak peek paper I planned on giving as a freebie, I added a word art and decided to give you an alpha to match my Feral Faeries kit :).....but (yes there is almost always a but) i have an issue that needs addressed....
a close friend of mine blogged today about something very timely to me giving another freebie out...
for over a year she has been creating freebies and graciously giving them away...she has RAKed many friends/customers/fellow scrappers...she, like most of us, spends a lot of time making things to simply give away....yet she rarely sees any fruit from her efforts.
I have to say, that i have been extremely blessed that so many of you have used the freebies I have provided, I have gotten unusually high numbers of comments, and I have recieved emails from so many of you linking me to your wonderful creations....and I do understand financial restrictions on buying things....
My friend seems to have stirred a couple of her readers up with her blog post, as they see it as her being ungrateful or unChristian in saying that she is no longer giving freebies and asking "Where is God in all this?"....to those people, I can assure you that she IS a very generous person, but like the rest of us designers, she is also trying to make a living and support her family (one of God's greatest commands)....and she was not saying she wouldn't RAK people, give away "free with purchase" items, or do nice things for people (i know for a fact that she is one of those people who will readily help fellow scrappers AND designers!..which it is rare to find designers willing to help boost one another).....so if anyone is wondering where God is in these feelings, why not ask Him? ask Him to reveal to you what someone is going through when they come to such big decisions, ask Him to give you an insight, and heart of understanding and I bet He just might show you ;)....
I know personally, I have stepped on people's toes by only giving a freebie as a 24 hour gift...that was never my intention and when it has happened i have been deeply hurt that they seemed ungrateful for the dozens of quality freebies i left up for months!...so next time you visit a blog (not mine in particularly...lol even though i LOVE the attention and kind words) make sure you say thanks for their hard work, and if you use it (which if you download it, i would hope it is b/c you plan on using it) let the other designers know by linking them to your layouts! I know i love leaving love on layouts where people have used my stuff :D....ok, off my soapbox.....

**update on the home front**
Tink (Chloe as she is very firmly callng herself now...which it is her name so i can't complain, i just have a hard time calling her that lol) is now potty trained 100% day, night, and naptime!!!
Lane has now been moved up to 8th grade math (he is in 7th)...
and Elijah's teacher is in the works of having him moved to 4th grade math (he is in 3rd)...
both boys' reading skills are off the charts also and tink is obsessed with drawing...i mean she does it all the time!
This weekend marks my biggest sales ever (lol which isn't a lot compared to most designers, but I am seeing it as a blessing all the same!). Hopefully, with more people sampling my stuff, maybe i will have more sales in the future :D....AND I have been praying about a certain store that I wanted to be part of but didn't want to flat out ask, well the owner approached me about it last weekend so i will be having a BIG announcement concerning that sometime this week ;)..
Mike's going to be going to court concerning getting his job back with his former employer....God knows my heart on this matter, He knows Mike's heart on this matter (lol we don't necessarily agree on what we WANT), but I also just want His will done no matter which of us is going to be most pleased, so please be praying that God gives us both the strength and understanding to be grateful no matter what the decision is....another job has possibly presented itself (the same line of work) so if that is what God wants, that is what we want also....
Finally, tomorrow (the 6th) is my 31st bday! (it didn't bother me much until the last few hours, just getting a bit anxious about it for some reason...) and it is Mike's 33rd bday :D...here is our "almost" bday picture (he really is not this aggrevated, he just looks like it in most pictures lol)...and i am happy my hair was hanging just right to cover most of my chubby face! lol



Here are some trick or treat pics :).....it was too chilly for Tink and Elijah to wear their original costumes (pictured below the trick or treat ones...i took the other photos before the fall costume contest a couple weekends ago), so we just rigged them up with some different (warmer) homespun costumes :D....lane went "goth" both times, and it is a little unsettling to this momma how "naturally" he took the persona of his costume :(, I am so glad it was only for Halloween....lol if it was anyone else's son, I would compliment them on how handsome they looked (lol i love the look, just not on my oldest baby boy :P)....

Tink looking Ghetto Clown Fabulous ;) (this is how she NORMALLY dresses lol, we only added face makeup)...she refused to say "Trick or Treat"...she would only say "treat" lol smart girl ;)...her hair is actually a lot lighter than it looks, and more reddish but i used a photo action on these and it darkened it a lot lol....


and for the costume contest....she was a victorian princess, she won 2nd for "cutest" in her age group...



"Please sir, may i have suh'more?"...elijah kept using his "Oliver Twist" accent and asking for "Canday for thuh poor" instead of Trick or Treat....

and for the costume contest he was a piece of the lawn (yes that is fake dog poo in his hair, c'mon admit it, most of us have at least one pile hidden somewhere in the grass ;) )...he got first place in his category :D


and my Goth Boy, who DID say "Trick or Treat" (if they think they are too old to say it, then they have NO business trick or treating ;) )......

and for the costume contest he had a fake lip ring, black nails, and "sleeves"...and we worked a bit more on his hair....lol


I am very proud to say that all 3 of mine thanked every person who was handing out candy and were very polite and considerate of everyone else out and about that night, I was very pleased...


sniffle, i fear this is the last year my oldest young'un will be trick or treating though (he is taller than momma now lol)...he will probably still dress up, but trick or treat is best left to the younger ones :)

ok now to the freebie :)...um i mean freebies!.....
first off is a bit of a preview of a couple of the things that just might could be made using some items from my grab bag ;)....this freebie contains the paper and the word art (separately so you don't have to leave "harvest" where it is)....if you like it, better go grab my Scrapz Sack at www.oneofakindscrapz.com (scrappin hillbilly sweetpea designs) while it is still up and only $2.00!!! (click on the preview for the freebie link)...



and the 2nd freebie is an alpha that coordinates with my Feral Faeries kit (also available at OAKS)...this wonderful layout, done by Tracy Little (5 angels) shows you the alpha that our lil feral faeries munched on!...definitely not your normal run of the mill alpha :D


Hope those were worth the long wait since my last freebie :) HUGS!
Be sure to see last Friday's (nov 2nd) post if you would like to see a preview of the Feral Faeries kit!

*SOBBING!!!!* I just discovered that all of my previous 4shared files were deleted (I was not logged in for over a month :(....ugh i am almost sick, all the wonderful comments and such that were left are forever gone :(....please if you leave a comment, do it here (i will still love them on 4shared, but if they are on here i will never lose them)....ugh, NOT a good bday "present!!!"....

41 comments:

Shell said...

Happy unBirthday to you Happy unBirtday to you Happy unnnnnnnnnnnBirthday to you! LMBO there you can stay 30 for another year lol If you heard me singing then you'd just wish you were deaf lol. Hope your day is special for the both of you & prays about the job situation. Thanks so much for these goodies. Got your grab bag & fairies is on my list for the next time. {{{{hugs}}}

Shell said...

I can spell really I can but hey its 430AM what do you expect from me lol

L and H Pedersen said...

Awesome costumes!!! I wish I was that creative at halloween.

Thanks for the freebies.

Jackie said...

Ok, WOW @ those costumes. AWESOME!!! GO Chloe on the potty thing! YAY!! (I know Mama's thrilled) HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS!!!! That pic of ya'll is FAB!!!!!!
OK, now WHO said ya'll have to give anything away anyway? I mean, that's your CHOICE if you choose to give away or not. People have no right to say anything. I always say thank you at least on 4shared, but I'm trying my best to get better about leaving thank yous & such on the blog. Don't listen to those people. If you guys so choose to stop giving away freebies, those of us that love to read what's going on will still come by.

Kris said...

I love all the awesome pics! Great job! Your kids are soo cute! and their costumes are amazing! I need you around our house for halloween! I barely do anything. lol. Not my fav holiday, but watch out thanksgiving and Christmas... I freak out then. 'cause I get to cook!

Julie said...

Happy Birthday!!! It's hard to believe now, but it does just get better. I wanted to cry when I hit 30..now I am getting dangerously close to 50 and I wouldn't go back for nothing! *L* I LOVE the costumes!!! Your DD is adorable as a closn and absolutely precious as a princess!! The boys..OMG I was so *LOL* at the grass and the goth look..wow he pulled that off well!! Thank you so much for the freebie!! Hope you have a wonderful birthday (so sorry about the lost 4shared comments!) ((hug))

Anonymous said...

Wow.. the kids look fantastic! I know what you mean about the freebies etc .. it gets time consuming! I love your stuff! xo

Cherie Shields said...

Happy Birthday chicky :) 31 ain't that bad! Thanks for always being in my corner too.

*hugs*

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Sweetpea! Have an awesome day! It looks like you it is onwards and upwards in the Digi World - Congratulations - I look forward to your big announcement! Well done Chloe on the no nappy training!! The kids looked amazing in there Halloween costumes, but i already told ya that! xoxo

Maria said...

Thank you! The DigiFree freebie search engine is about to list this blog post at digifree.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much!

Kristine said...

Happy Birthday Fantacy!!! May your day be filled with love and laughter!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the goodies. And hope you both have a Happy Birthday!

Carjazi - aka Diane said...

Hey chickie I hope you have a fab day!!! Give my best to DH too!

Love ya!
D.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!

I hear you on folks not giving credit - I once found most of a mini kit I'd given as a freebie as part of a kit for sale! The "designer" just made a couple more background papers to add to it.

Jaye said...

The photo of your little girl with the ringlets in her hair is Priceless!! She reminds me of Shirley Temple. I would make copies for all the relatives of that closeup.

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOSH, how adorable are your kids! Look at Tink, she's so cute! How old is she? I can't wait till Atha is potty trained... she was so close, and now she won't do it, won't go pee pee in the potty, not for a marshmallow, not for a sticker, no how.
As a new designer I totally understand your friend. On Saturday I had over 600 clicks, several hundred freebie downloads, and THREE COMMENTS. I thinks some folks just hoard freebies, I wonder if they even unzip them.
Sorry about your 4shared comments getting deleted! Boo hoo! But happy birthday! :-)

Talbots said...

Thank you. it is so cute.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday to you and your sweetie!

Ange said...

Your kids are darling! And sorry about 4 shared - it does that... ugh!

Jen said...

Happy Birthday! (((Hugs))) I'm praying for you and Mike and the outcome of the court's ruling. I know your feelings on this and I just wanted to send some GIGANTIC ((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))) your way. I love ya and hope to see you real soon!

Anonymous said...

Oh, Fantacy. I'm so sorry your comments got lost! I always leave comments on 4Shared, and I try to leave on your blog too, though I don't always make it. I've missed you in chat lately, I hope things are going well for you.
Thank you so much for your generosity in giving away such wonderful freebies. I will be sure to let you know when I use them. *hugs*

Anonymous said...

Love that pumpkin paper - TFS!

Anonymous said...

Hey girl,
Just wanted to drop by and wish you a happy birthday! I still can't believe that you and DH have the same birthday too! You guys are the only other ones I'd ever heard of! Your kids' costumes looked awesome, that must have take some serious time. I have a page up in my SBB gallery of my girls in their costumes if you want to take a look. Anyway, just wanted to say happy birthday, I hope it's a good one! Oh and I'm snagging your freebie while I'm here, thanks for that!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday. I'm glad you had a freebie and i got to see your new fairy kit. It will be perfect for some halloween photos. HUGS!

Demetria said...

What great halloween pictures... your family looks awesome in their Halloween makeup and diggs.... great photos... thanks for the freebie!

Joy said...

1) Happy Birthday to you both.. and you do not have chubby cheeks. and I feel bad for your hubby... I always get told I look mad.. bummer.. just the way my face looks.

2) Love love love how the kids looked what a great job you did getting them ready.. I am sure it was fun.

3) I am sorry people don't act nicer.. I always appreciate when designers give freebies.

4) Thank you :)

20Birds said...

i read everything three times i so enjoyed this post, happy happy my friend, sorry there is no cake at the door from me, or card in the mail, or even a digi card, I am swamped and stuck in a miry pit but God keeps you in my heart and prayers, love you... reading the post i could not nhelp but thinking we have had a ride together already, i like being on the journey with you

Dracowin said...

Thank you very much for the goodies!
I totally understand why your friend would be frustrated and not want to just give out freebies anymore. I know the ratio of downloads to thank yous is way off.
I love your kids costumes! Both the contest ones and the Halloween night ones. You have a beautiful family!
I hope you and your hubby enjoyed your birthdays!

Amy said...

First off, Happy Birthday!!!!
You are stil young, I just turned 35! Eek! I still feel about 14 some days..haha.

Your kids are adorable, I love their costumes, so creative! You and your hubby are a beautiful couple too...he looks like that guy on Ghoast Hunters...LOL!

You are lucky, I rarely get many comments on my freebies, maybe 30 comments per 400 downloads..I don't think that is a great percentage. For a while I was busting my butt on them but now I have relxed about it. I still want to do freebies, but not crank them out like a machine. I also set up an ebay store and have had 6 sales, so that's encouraging. I have contacted 2 site owners about taking me on as a designer...I am sure you can guess which 2...haha, so I am hoping, praying to hear something positive back from them. I am really new to all this, so don't quite know how to approach things. But I agree, we all have families to help feed and there are only so many hours in the day. If each day had 48 hours instead of 24, then yes, freebies galore from me. Haha. It's very tme comsuming and I had to step back and realize that I needed to spend more time with my family too.

Anyhoo, I am rambling...it's 5:30 in the morning and I need coffee!

You are the best, I love your LO's, your designs, your outlook and faith. Just wanted to let you know!
xoxoxo
Amy

Cheryl said...

Thanks for your rant about the lack of saying thanks. I just pointed my blog reads to it. I feel the same way. I get so many grabbing and so few comments of thanks.

I see so many thanks on other blogs, but not on mine. I think it has something to do with me not selling as I'm not taken seriously...although it could be what I make stinks, but why do they keep coming back then?

I don't even sell, so I get in payment for my efforts is a thanks and I don't even get that.

I don't remember your blog, a friend pointed out your rant to me.

Cheryl said...

Oh, forgot to ask. Where is your friend's link?

Anonymous said...

Wishing you a year of good health, love and peace. Happy Birthday! thank you for this lovey mini-kit - great paper and elements!

Donna B. Miller said...

Those were such great costumes; it's easy to see why your daughter won the contest.

As for your friend, I don't think too many people realize how much effort it takes to not only design the project, but upload it, and deal with all the associated problems. And when folks don't bother to say thank you, that's tough. I'm sure she'll find ways of sharing her skills that work better for her.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely adore this paper! Thanks so much! I also enjoyed reading your blog. Have a great day!

Brook said...

I'm so belated in leaving this message! Happy b'day to you! I love the picts! You don't do anything by halves! That is what I love about you! You rock!

Unknown said...

Your kids are just beautiful! OK, and handsome for the guys, lol. Loved the pics...they all looked FAB! I hear ya on the goth...tho I WILL say it...he looked very handsome! Although you also have to tell him, I like his normal look WAY better!

As always, you and your's are in my prayers! Love you!

Unknown said...

DOH! I forgot to say congrats on your new store! I can't wait to hear where!

Anonymous said...

thank you. sorry your friend is having a problem with people that is sad..

Unknown said...

Thanks so much !!
Congrats for your new store !

Being Mrs Miles said...

you look...

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL

and your children photos are amazing. I was just BOWLED over by them. Thank you for sharing. I hope to be more faithful to visit you in the future, you've always been a huge encouragement and inspiration to me.

hugs!!!
Barb