Both of these were done with my latest kit, "Mad Hatter Tea Party" and yes it's on sale now! At Designs In Digital.

So, yeah, sometimes you just need to put things into perspective right? If you do you can head over to Despair, Inc.  You can choose from a huge selection that will have you laughing until your head hurts - or you can make your own (see above).  They also have calendars, mouse pads, t shirts - whatever you need to spread a little joy to the rest of mankind. And subtly tell your coworkers to get their panties out of a bunch . . .

Here's one of my favorites, something I can really aspire to . . .

This fantastical kit was created by the design team of Missy's Bits and Sugar Moon Designs. They have put together a magical kit full of sparkles and flowers and tea cups and JAMMED PACKED with whimsy and merriment! Perfect for all your fun and madcap layouts!

Included in this kit that is created at 300 ppi with no drop shadows is:

• lace doilies,
• ribbons
• bows
• hats
• buttons
• clips
• corners
• frames
• strings
• vines
• mushrooms
• butterflies
• rainbows
• stitching
• word art
• fasteners
• clouds
• daisies
• roses
• assorted poseys
• swirls
• Flower Alpha with sparkling stems
• and MORE!

Scrap for Hire is Okay!

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE - when you purchase this Mad Hatter kit, the Doormouse has slipped in a little gift for you! A complete set of eight glitters and two sparkle brushes! - FOR FREE!!! Don't let the Mad Hatter know about this - it's our secret!

Now you just head over to Designs In Digital and we'll see you soon, we must go now and try to figure out why a raven is like a writing desk . . . .

Here's a quick and easy no-bake recipe for you and it's good even if you aren't eating gluten free.  I got it from the Chex website - did you know Chex is gluten free. Yeah, I even tried making meatloaf with it instead of using crackers or oatmeal to hold the meat together. Not too bad, but more experimentation is required before I can give you the recipe.

Ingredients:
6 cups Honey Nut Chex® cereal
1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup honey or light corn syrup

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Butter 9- or 8-inch square pan. In large bowl, mix cereal and peanuts; set aside.

In 3-quart saucepan, heat honey and sugar just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in peanut butter until smooth. Pour over cereal mixture in bowl; stir gently until evenly coated. Press firmly in pan. Cool 15 minutes.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Drizzle over top of bars. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 6 rows. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

You can download these FOR FREE from Paperglitter - they are so adorable huh?  She also has tips and ideas if you don't want to use them as cupcake toppers. - Heck you could even just cut them out and hang them up for decorations - or attach them to strings and make a mobile. Anyway, they are cute, and they are making me me think about Halloween . . . get excited!

Okay, where was I? Yeah, there's a lot going on. My sister is slowly passing from this world. It's been difficult to handle. She has MS and it has been methodically shutting her body down. The last couple of years have just been a steady downhill ride for her. Today she lives in the rest home. She has a feeding tube. She can't walk, can't use the bathroom on her own, can't  move any part of her body except she can slightly squeeze her left hand just a bit.  She can't talk or swallow even a sip of water.  She looks at me and I don't know if she knows who I am all the time. Sometimes she's there, and sometimes she's somewhere else.

I'm in and out of the grief stages all the time. Sometimes I'm in denial. Some part of me is like, "oh, she going to get better." It seems the right thing to think, people get better, right?  It seems unfathomable that she won't get better. But, you can't think that when you see her. Sometimes I'm really pissed off. I'm pissed that the MS association is all, "This disease can't kill you,  blah, blah, blah . . ." oh really? Well then can you explain what the hell is going on with my sister, because she's 40 years old and most 40 year olds do not live in the rest home and wear diapers and can't even so much as cry out like a baby and tell you when they are hungry or in pain or ANYTHING.  So explain that to me cheerful MS Association.  It's not their fault, I know,  but I'm just pissed that no one seems to tell you that MS causes some people to suffer dementia - I mean there are lesions on their brains. Some people with MS will not "manage" their disease. Some kids with parents who have MS will not always have a parent.  Not everyone with MS gets off with just being in a wheel chair. I guess that's all I'm saying and I wish more people understood that.

The grief is overwhelming and unbelievable. It never seems to end. The person that I knew as my sister is gone. I don't know where she went. I guess the MS monster ate her up. I miss her all the time.  It's hard to lose her because she is part of me - almost like a twin, a mirror of myself. My touchstone and depository of memories of my childhood. She's the only one who knows some of the things that I know. She shared the experiences that I've had - she knows what they smelled like, and what color they wore and she could laugh at the inside jokes that no one else gets. She was my co-conspirator, my confidant, my rival, my friend.

Sure, I know she's a caterpillar in a cocoon - I know soon she will be a butterfly - and for that I'm grateful.  I don't want her to suffer any longer. I'm ready to let her go for that reason, but I can't say it's easy. I can't say I'm selfless about it. I can't say I'm not sad, angry, sick,  oh, everything about it.

I hope all is well in your world - hug somebody today.

You won't have to worry about these lions or tigers though, they are here to have FUN and create some fantastic scrap pages with you!

Newly released at Sugar Moon Designs at Designs in Digital,  it's called "Animal Crackers" and it's a bit of a circus themed kit - but so much more!!! There is just a ton of stuff to scrap with in this new kit!

Here's a preview of the kit:

Looks pretty fun, doesn't it?! Here's a better view of the papers that you're going to be working with:

This kit is just bursting with goodies - 20 papers, over 40 elements and an alpha!

Included:

• 12 fun patterned papers
• 10 worn solid papers
• 1 acrylic frame
• balloons
• Candy Stick Frame
• Animal crackers (bear, elephant, hippo, seal, lion, tiger) on and off a leash
• 2 Paper flowers for journaling
• Snow cones
• Brass Frame and brass brads
• Cotton Candy (or Candy Floss if you prefer)
• Acrylic Clown
• 1 Clown Button
• Multi-colored string
• Trinket charm journal tag
• Worn paper bracket
• 2 different kinds of ribbons
• 4 different bows
• Metal eye hook and clasp
• 2 paper journal tags
• Acrylic monkey
• Acrylic flag banner
• Metal clip
• Acrylic elephant
• Acrylic lion
• Acrylic popcorn
• 2 Acrylic doodled flowers
• Ribbon flower with button
• Circus type frame
• Confetti spiral
• Staple
• Tiger Button

You can see at 100%, Sugar Moon's kits are high quality and satisfaction is guaranteed! What more could you want?!  It's the best kit under the BIG TOP! Check it out today!

Don't forget that at Designs in Digital  Weekly New Releases are on sale  50% off (Tuesday night &) Wednesday 30% off Thursday - Saturday

This month there are some great deals going on at Designs in Digital, you'll want to check out

There's the "Summer Lovin'" collab (a huge kit that's so adorble) for ONLY $4.99 until July 31st! Don't wait! Tiger Lilly's Digis is selling you ALL her templates for only $5.00 - what a fantastic deal!  There's also been the Christmas in July Frolic giveaways - you must be a newsletter subscriber to get the codes for free kits! If you've missed any of the kits, they're on sale for $1.50 each and you'll end up with a ginormous Christmas kit that's full of fun and whimsy! Get on over to Designs in Digital and check out all these great deals!

Now, for sticking with me, here's a freebie for you to kick things off! It's a cute quick page made with the Animal Crackers kit so you can see some of these lively papers and ferocious animal crackers!  Click the image to download!

That's how this part of summer feels to me - I can see the end of summer - school starting, routines beginning again and so I feel all frantic to enjoy the summer as much as possible before it slips away.

How's your summer going?  I've discovered that I have a sensitivity to wheat and gluten products, and the nutritionist I went to also recommended that I have a dairy free diet as well. So I've been eating gluten and dairy free for about a week. Wow.  You never know how many things have wheat in them before you can't eat it! Thank goodness we live in a time when Celiac's Disease is more known and there are lots of products and substitutes to cook with and eat.  It's really been a challenge, I'm not going to lie to you. I will miss wheat products, but more than the wheat, I think I miss dairy! Cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream . . . sigh. Oh, and what about my childhood favorite - Tuna noodle casserole . . . wow I just realized that's off limits. I wonder if there's such a thing as dairy free cheese that you could make mac and cheese from?

I have noticed that I am starting to feel better. At first I think I was going through a detox and just felt like crap for a couple of days, but luckily those symptoms are passing. So, I'm not complaining (although I do have a tendency to whine a bit about it!) I'm ready for this new food chapter. Gabby and David are eating the same diet as me, David less than Gabby, but he's still doing good - he's having a hard time giving up croutons on his salad!  I've suggested nuts, but you know it's just not the same!

I'm also supposed to be keeping a gratitude journal - which I think is a really good idea.  It does help turn your thoughts from feeling sorry for yourself!

Here's a little card I made to remind myself, but maybe you want one to print out and tape on your mirror, if so, just right click to open up the larger file to save and print.

Sounds good to me!  A couple of things I found that caught my eye - first this recipe for Summer Sangria - oh yeah! Sangria is one of my favorite summer drinks and this one sounds so refreshing!

White Spirit Summer Sangria
Directions:
Fill half of a large pitcher or thermos with ice. Combine all of
the ingredients and stir well. Garnish with slices of limes,
oranges, and lemons. It’s quick, easy, and you can make
them ahead of gatherings or parties.
• 1 bottle dry white wine
• ¼ cup Grand Marnier
• ½ bottle white cranberry juice
• 2 cups freshly sliced fruits, lemon, lime, and orange
• Garnish with lemon, lime, and orange wedges,
as you please

She also has a recipe for Summer Beach Party,  Sweet Curry Rice Salad Recipe. It looks so delicious - I'm going to try it this weekend!

There's also beautiful outdoor lanterns made from recycled bottles:

Right here you have the perfect makings for a nice romantic summer dinner! Go visit the blog and see what else you can discover!