JustaBlog

I'm going to try and embed this video and have NO idea how to do it. This is a clip from an old British comedy and it is SO telling of the educational system. Why ALL politicians aren't just saying THIS I don't know.

A new name....

I need one. Well not me, my new blog. For so long I had kimchristensen as a blog name because my name was my brand as a designer. But as I move blogs I want a new name. A name that encompasses where I am in life, what my focus is. A blog name that feels like home. So help! So think home. Tennessee. Homesteading. Family. Love. Jesus. Then give me a rockin blog name. :)

Sad to say....

That I have decided to resign from digital scrap designing. This has surely been one of the toughest decisions in a long time. But I have decided that at this time in my life, I need to turn my complete focus back to my family. I thought I could be Superwoman. But I can't.I've realized that I can't pour m heart into my littles and into Clay, keep a house (well), tend to chickens, have a big garden, scrap AND design. I just can 't do it all.

Over the years I have had SO much support from my customers, friends and family in this. And I truly do feel that the Lord brought this to me at a time when I needed something to occupy my mind and heart and at a time when the money was a huge help. And those times have passed. I have over the last number of months felt more and more convicted that the entirety of my heart and mind should be focused on my family and home.

I will leave FPD on Sept 14th. To end my career I am having a huge blowout sale. Everything is 50% or MORE off. And I am offering a "Buy the Store" promotion for only $25. Yeah $25. You're getting everything for PENNIES basically. Also in the next few days I will have a special grab bag. It will be filled with all the things I needed to wrap up. All the new goodies no one has seen. There is a cool alpha 7+ paper packs. Some templates, a wrapped cluster and a folder of weird random elements that are sitting around my HD waiting for a kit LOL.
Find my store here:
Kim Christensen's soon to be gone store

And with the ending of my design careeer, I will be moving this blog. I will still be doing it but will be doing it differently, with more focus on my family and with NO pressure because customers are reading. I never felt I could be 100% myself. I originally started with Typepad because I could easily customize it and make it look worthy of a digital designer. But that time has passed so why pay actual money for it? So in the next week or so I will be moving my blog. I'll post the link so you can update your feeds.

Thanks so much for everything.

10 years ago today

I married the best person I will ever know. I serve a Lord of miracles. Happy Anniversary sweetheart!

Blogging will resume.....

Very soon HEHE. This is just my little intro post to myself to help me just get started. I've missed a lot of my regular friends that comment and email me and just generally miss reflecting regularly on my day, the kids, just life. I don't journal and this is as close as I get. I miss it. See ya soon!

Celebration of Life

A great friend, wonderful lady and amazing Christian woman (honestly she has floored me during the last few weeks with her faith) had her husband pass away suddenly from a heart attack. She is now raising three small children on her own.

This HUGE charity kit is to benefit Laurie Garza. She is a member of the digiscrapping community and her husband passed away last month. She is now raising three small children on her own. Over 25 designers have come together to create this gorgeous Celebration of Life kit to honor her husband and his life. The colors are perfect for boys, girls, summer, birthdays, spring and much more. The kit includes 94 papers, 157 elements, 4 alphas, 8 templates, 6 quick pages and 1 bracket album.

The designers are Gina Miller, Janet Phillips, Nikki Beaudreau, Amanda Heimann, Laura Bratcher, Julie Billinglsey, Jodie McNally, Kim Hill, Danielle Young, Janet Lawrence, MiYon Richardson (scarletheels), Jacque Larsen, cori Gammon, Traci Reed, Kate Hadfield, Jan Crowley, Sherry Ferguson, Julie Bullock, Laura Deacetis, Holly Designs, Sabrina Dupre, Melissa Bennett, Lori Wiley (Diamante), Meredith Cardall, Michele McGraw, Shelly Greninger, Susan Bartolini and previews are completed by Julie Zimmerman. (blinkies by Becca Bonneville). All proceeds (minus paypal fees) will be going directly to Laurie.

We all know the stress and general chaos when something like this happens. I hope that as much money as possible can be raised to help her in the time.

Here's the kit:

 

Please everyone go support Laurie's family and buy the kit if you can. She deserves the best. And this is such a hard time for her. I pray that this can be a huge blessing to her.

BUY THE KIT HERE:
http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=16344&cat=0&page=1

Also, here is a blinkie you can sport, and an ad if you have anywhere you can post an ad. and a banner if you have an advertising space you'd like to give up for this cause.

Little Boy Haircut

Garrison got his first little boy haircut the other day. He still doesn't look like himself to me. Sigh. He looks more little boy than baby now. Sigh again.

So for Cassie's birthday this year she got this beginner's knitting kit from her wonderful great-grandma. When a ways back I tried to teach her to crochet, it didn't go well. She struggled. She eventually said it was to hard and had no desire to do it. BUT I wanted her to start learning these things when she is little so they become second nature to her. And she has said over and over that she wants to learn to knit and sew, and all those kinds of things. So I figured that this kit that says "for 7 years and up" might make her ready again. Little did I know she'd be a knitting natural! She has picked it up and knits really quite fast (when she takes the time to knit - she is 7 after all and sitting and knitting isn't always her first choice of activities)
Here she is all proud of her scarf-to-be.

 

And a close up of her fabulous knitting (now disregard row 1-3 I mean they're her first ones ever) but look how nice and even they are towards the top? She rocks. And also disregard the little frayed piece of yarn towards the top, the wool yarn snapped and I had to tie it in and haven't woven it in totally.

And lastly a little Sunday School happenings. Now honestly we don't normally "do" Sunday School but this church is small enough that we do. Anyways, so Adric's SS teacher was sick on Sunday and didn't leave any materials or anything for SS. I am always in with her and the children (there are only 4 kids lol) SO I decided to go ahead and just make up an impromptu SS lesson. I opened the Bible and there it was "I am the Good Shepherd" We learned all about shepherds, who they are, what they do. We all played sheep and shepherd where one boy had a (yardstick) shepherd's staff and helped guide us little bleating sheep to the sheepfold. We talked about how the Lord is our shepherd and how he takes care of us, how he calls for us, all about it :) AND 95% of all the craft stuff wasn't in the room LOL! SO... this is what we made.

Yeah those sheep are ripped and crumpled paper towels. That's all I had in the room. Paper, glue sticks and paper towels. Though I did have them all trace the letters in the verse (can't take the homeschooling out of me)> But honestly they had a great time. One of the boys who never talks really got into it and laughed and had a great time. I think maybe my teaching style is more up his alley than the other teacher (who is great by the way). And I put on contemporary Christian radio which we all danced to. And the boy who doesn't usually talk was the one who wanted me to keep it on and danced the most. Go figure.

So off to bed to cuddle with my soon to be one year old and still young husband and go to sleep.

Vintage Cassandra

Do you have the Pioneer Woman's Photoshop actions? They're free and fabulous. I dream of one day being able to afford the Totally Rad Actions but for now I'm trying to accumulate some good free ones and Ree's are great! So today I ran her Vintage Action on a picture of Cassie I took yesterday. WOW it's amazing how vintage the photo looks. Blew my mind. Slap an old frame of Robin Carlton's on there and it looks like I found it in an old box. Go check out her actions. And check out my little baby doll who is growing up way too fast.

Heard here today

So Cassie decided her and Adric would play "family". She grabbed a handful of silk flowers from my scrap stash and they were going to get married.

"WAIT!!" Adric yelled. "We can't get married yet"

"Why?"

"Because I need boots."

"Boots?" Mom asked from the kitchen.

"Yes, cowboy boots. Cause ALL Daddies wear cowboy boots."

Yes Adric. All daddies wear cowboy boots.

The little dude.

So while in theory I should write a little about all the happenings around here as my reemergence into blogland, it's 2 AM, just finishing up design work stuff (hate collections, why do I do them?) and am posting pictures for those of your friends and family that don't care what I say and just want pictures of the little people. You know who you are!

So, here's the little dude in all his glory. Took these outside the other day. He's such a doll. He had been crawling around in the heat outside for 2 hours by this point while his mommy gardened so his cheeks are a bit red (takes after his mom in that regard - you should have seen me after 3 hours working in the garden, red as a beet). SO.. the dude. Garrison, who is growing SOOO fast.

Here's the serious dude:

Hehe, he was trying to crawl up and get the camera. No cameras baby. Naughty.


Giving mommy a big ole grin:


This face just melts my heart:


This one just looks like him, like he does 1,000 times a day. Him.


The wrinkle face. Mom this is for you. It's not the best and he even looks kind of mean, but the nose wrinkle is there, right there:


The carrot. He LOVES to gnaw on big carrots.


HEY give me my carrot back!


And wrapping it up with this cute one:


Nighty night.