Introducing Eileen B

Hi everyone. While I'm still working on my Victorian St. Patrick's Day and Easter kits, I was inspired to make a kit in honor of my stepmother, Eileen B., who passed a few weeks ago. (See posts below.) Her favorite color was blue so I used three shades of it and added a pretty shade of green, lilac and white to create a soft, feminine kit. Here are the colors:



The complete kit should be ready in the next couple days for you, but one of my creative team members, Patti, created this beautiful quick page using the kit and has graciously allowed me to offer it to you as a preview of what's to come. Here it is:



You can download the quick page here.

Enjoy and check back in a couple days for the complete kit.

Blessings,
Sally

Hi all and a link to some freebies!

Good evening to everyone. I hope you've had a great weekend. I'm still on the mend but have very little energy. Since I'm not creating much in the way of freebies right now, I thought I would tell you what Ruthie over at Sugar Shack Scraps is up to! She is having a 75 DAY FREEBIE BLITZ at her blog and is currently on day 5, which are some really cute baby-themed tags. Check out her blog where you can still pick up the the past ones. Don't forget to leave her some luv and tell her I sent you! Thanks, Ruthie, for permission to send my readers to you!

I hope to have a little something for you in the next few days.

Blessings to you...have a GREAT week!

Sally

A quick update...

Hi all. I really thought I was getting better...I really did! But, no! LOL I have never really recovered from the flu last week and, in fact, have been having a lot of trouble breathing the last three or four days. Come to find out today at the doctor's office that I have pneumonia in my left lung. Boo Hoo! I had two breathing treatments, a shot of steroids, a shot of antibiotics, and came home with some scripts for more of the same. I'm kind of out of it now and am going to bed so this is just a short update but I wanted to let you all know that I'm still under the weather, but I am definitely STILL kicking! LOL I appreciate your prayers and good thoughts, as always.

Blessings to you and yours,
Sally

Updates and My Gratitude

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been MIA but the last week has been so difficult. My stepmother's illness and her death really threw me for a loop. Her funeral was very nice (as nice as they can be). I managed to speak and to read a poem I wrote, but it was tough to get through. My step-sister aranged a very nice dinner after the funeral service. The weather was absolutely terrible. We had about six inches of snow and then the freezing rain hit. I managed to fall down the steps in front of the rec center where the dinner was held. I went down pretty hard and felt like a beached whale laying there in the freezing rain, but am less sore now. On top of that, the very same evening, I came down with the flu...really nasty stuff. That was Tuesday and I'm just now being able to start keeping anything down.

One of the things that got me through this difficult time was the wonderful comments and emails I received from all of you. How blessed I am to have your support! It means so much to me. Never doubt that a kind word, an expressed prayer, or a gentle hug sent on the internet can lift a person and help then cope with whatever they are going through. I'm living proof! You are all priceless to me.

I'm starting to feel strong enough to start designing again so I've commenced work on the Victorian Easter kit. I'm really happy with it so far. The colors are a bit brighter than the rest of my Victorian kits have been. Here they are:



Check back on Monday (President's Day). I hope to have a little something for all of you then.

Many blessings...and have a safe weekend!

With gratitude,
Sally

Please Pray for My Family

My Stepmother, Eileen, passed away late Thursday evening. She was 84. As per her wishes, she was not intubated or put on a breathing machine. She was lucid most of the time and even joked with us occasionally. She was on a BIPAP machine to force her to inhale and exhale until my stepbrother, his wife, and his adult son got here from Delaware. He sped the whole way. As soon as they arrived and were able to spend a little time with Eileen, we had the BIPAP machine removed and she was given a few mg. of Morphine to ease her pain. She passed peacefully in about 15 to 20 minutes in a room filled with her loved ones.

Please keep us in your prayers as we deal with this loss. She became my stepmother in 1966 and I will miss her greatly. Thanks, everyone. It is comforting to know that my family and I are being lifted up in prayer.

If you wish, check out my post on 12/24/07 which was about Eileen and her being a cover girl for a calendar put together by Meals on Wheels. She was so proud that she was chosen to be on the cover!

Thanks again for your prayers and good thoughts. I wish all of you many blessings. Don't forget to tell those in your life that you love just how much you do love them. You just never know when that might be the last thing you say to them.

Sally

Victorian Valentine 2008 AO Freebie Kit

Hi everyone. I'm going to make this quick because my stepmother is in the hospital and quite ill. She's been in about a week but was just moved to Intensive Care and I'm will be going to the hospital in just a few minutes.

Here's the promised Add-on to last year's Victorian Valentine kit. I hope you like it! Here's the preview:



You can download it here. Sorry, I didn't have time to make smaller download files. This one is 62 mb. I'll try to do that as soon as possible.

Please pray for my stepmother. She is 84 years old and has emphysema and COPD, and was just diagnosed with blockages in her carotid arteries on both sides. Her condition is quite serious. I'll check back as soon as I can. Thanks.

Blessings,
Sally

The news I've been waiting for!

Well, all you wonderful people, my miracle is complete! My CT results came back with absolutely no sign of reoccurence or spread of my cancer! I don't even have to have another CT scan (at least for the kidneys) until January of '09! I'm so blessed and so grateful to God that this was the result. I was really frightened! I just had to share this great news with all of you and thank you for your support and prayers!

Blessings to all of you,
Sally

Check this out!

Hi there. Heather Greene (Scrappy Pony Designs) has a wonderful winged heart freebie on her blog. It's just gorgeous -- of course, as you can imagine, I'm a bit partial to any winged heart. Stop over and check it out. She has bunches of other freebies, too. Make sure you leave her some love if you download and tell her I sent 'ya! Here's a picture of the winged heart freebie: