Thanks, a request, and I'm going to a concert...OH, MY!!

Hey there, everyone.  Just wanted to catch up and make a request of all you wonderful people.  First, thanks to everyone for the thanks on my latest kit!  Maggie, I'm really happy to know it brought back pleasant memories for you!  Holly , thanks for taking time to stop by and leave a comment.  Regarding those "actual instruments" you mentioned, I had almost an impossible task trying to find images of real instruments (not clip art) to use for "The Music of My Life" kit that were okay to use.  If any of you have an instrument around your household, I'd really appreciate it if you would consider taking a photograph of it against a solid background (like a wall or rug), sending it to me, and allowing me to use it for subsequent update kits.  I would be so very grateful and you'd then be able to scrap an actual page with your's or your kid's actual instrument!

I've decided to start, once again, selling a kit here or there to help with the financial end of acquiring images, programs, etc.  As most of you know, I'm on disability and Social Security only goes so far.  I've also decided the first kit I sell will be heritage and genealogy themed, as this has been requested a number of times.  Hopefully, this will happen in January or February.  Also, I had a request in the comments for the music kit to do a friendship theme and I think that would be a fantastic idea.  Not sure if it will be a freebie or a paid kit.  Thanks, JASPER1, not just for your suggestion, but for always leaving me a sweet comment.  Don't worry everyone, even if I do PTU kits, I'll never stop making FTU kits for all of you!  It gives me great pleasure.

Speaking of finances, I giving myself a Christmas gift this year!  On the 7th of December I'm going to a Cleveland radio station's holiday concert with my fave, the uber-talented Adam Lambert (and also Echosmith of "Cool Kids" fame).  My stented and bypassed, little heart is bursting with joy and anticipation.  I saw him back in 2011 right before I ended up in the nursing home.  It is a highlight of my concert-going past, and I've been to everything from high opera to heavy metal!  So few artists are as good in person as they are recorded...and Adam is even BETTER!  I've been a Glambert since the American Idol days back in 2009...in fact I'm officially Glambert #3945 so you know I was an early fan! LOL  It's a perfect logistical situation for me.  In December, as in 2009, he's performing at Playhouse Square.  The Greyhound bus station is only two blocks away and the hotel is right on the Square.  Makes wheelchair travel as easy as it could ever be!  Yippee! Well, I've gushed enough but I could go on and on!

Hope all of you are having a wonderful week.  I'm off now to try and put together something small for Pixel Scrapper's November blog train.  Yikes...I only have three or four days!

Blessings,
Sally

Floral Beauty Re-Share PLUS Preview of New Kit

Wow, where is time going these days?!?  It's been eleven days since I last posted!  Time is just flying on by.

Firstly, I want to say I am overwhelmed by the number of fantastic comments I have received for, "Bugs in My Garden," both here and on Dropbox.  It is the most comments I have ever received for a single kit.  I thank you profusely!  You make this girl a very happy one!

Then, I am re-releasing an old kit entitled "Floral Beauty."  It is one of the first kits I made and features my own photography.  It was PTU, but is now being released as a freebie!  Hooray!  It's not very fancy and is pretty basic, but I hope you find it useful.  It was actually the first kit I sold and it did pretty well.  There are also two quick pages that are included and are in the paper zip.  Here's the previews:

Here's layouts Patti, a member of the Flight Crew, made with Garden Club pictures when the kit was first released:

And here's the links:

Papers, TOU and Previews
Alphas
Elements

Now...on to Pixel Scrapper business.  I have finished my September PS Blog Train Kit, which is entitled "Bohemian Breeze."  I just can't wait to share it with you, but for now the previews will have to do!  I really enjoyed this one; it has some more complicated paper patterns, lots of bling and gold, and all the usual types of elements I create for my kits.  It will be available September 1st, which, as noted above, will be here before we know it!  LOL  Take a look:

I hope this gets you excited for September 1st!  Wait until you see all the beautiful offerings the other designers have made for the blog train.  It is going to be a spectacular one!

And now a combo preview of Floral Beauty for the freebie bot which always takes the last picture posted.

Blessings,
Sally
WingedHeartOhio

I'm really happy...

...that so many of you have left me such nice comments about Bugs in My Garden, both here and at Dropbox!  It really makes me feel like what I'm doing is worth the effort and the physical pain I feel when I'm sitting at the computer designing.  I'm just so glad you like this kit because I truly enjoyed making it.  Patti from The Flight Crew just keeps on scrapping her garden club pictures and home garden pictures with the kit!  Here's a couple new layouts:

In the second one, she put in all the pink flowers in the picture and the bench from the kit.  She just has the perfect pictures to scrap with this one!  Thanks Patti!

I'm busy working on September's Pixel Scrapper blog train kit already!  I just love the theme (Bohemian Breeze) and the colors are fab.  Usually I work on my own kit first each month and then on the blog train kit later in the month.  I'm thinking of doing a Victorian Children's Kit this month, maybe school-related, but haven't decided for sure.

Here's the color scheme of the blog train kit for September and a preview of my first two papers:

Don't forget you can click on the pictures to get a larger view.  I'd love to know what you think of them.  I haven't textured them or anything yet, just made the patterns using layered templates from KimB's CU Patterns & Prints Damask #9 kit.  She has long been my favorite designer and I was so happy to find that she was still at it when I started designing again this year!  So many others I really liked have quit or retired.   

I am going to be re-releasing another older kit, probably over the weekend or beginning of next week.  It's called Floral Beauty and is made from photographs I took of flowers.   I thought it would be a good time to do it since flowers are in full bloom now!  Make sure you check back!

Hope you're having a great week and are well!

Blessings,
Sally
WingedHeartOhio

Thanks once again for your thanks!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to thank me for my freebies and blog train kits; on this blog, on Dropbox and on the Pixel Scrapper site.

However, I must single out one person who has made my day!  JULIA, thank you for your sweet comment on my "Whoops" post.  I'm going to print it out and keep it to look at when I feel the need!  Sometimes, I am way too hard on myself and I have that perfectionist thing going on.  It serves me well when designing  (in my opinion, LOL) but it can definitely be a hindrance when it comes to believing what I do is worth anyone's time.  I've been in a real funk the last few days and feeling crappy physically.  You'll never know just how much your comment has uplifted my spirits.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  People like you are the reason I continue to make and offer freebies...and always will.

With gratitude,
Sally
WingedHeartOhio

Three things...and please pray for me!

Hi everyone.  Three things:

Firstly, I have been receiving some very sweet comments here and on Dropbox about "To Be or Not to Be," and I really appreciate them.  I'm always so happy to hear from all of you.

Secondly, to GERDINA and LYNN, I would appreciate it if you would please email me at wingedheartohio@gmail.com.  Blogger doesn't give me your email addresses so I can't personally respond to you.

Lastly, please send me some positive vibes and prayers, if you are so inclined.  I spent all day (and I do mean ALL day) in the emergency room Thursday.  I have been feeling poorly, running fevers, feeling weak, etc.  I stumbled and fell into the wall early in the morning on Wednesday but just thought it was my usual back issues at fault. However, as the day progressed, I was in so much pain on my right side and around my back that I couldn't even sit up straight.  It was so bad I couldn't sleep at all Wednesday night and, by Thursday morning, the pain became so severe that I pushed my alert button and called for help.  When the ambulance arrived, I was in tears and my blood pressure was sky high.  The guys were so great...and really concerned.  They started an IV and gave me morphine before we even left for the hospital.

Once there, they did every test known to man!  Urinalysis showed I had a bladder infection, which wasn't surprising as I've had one for the better part of three-and-a-half years.  My blood work was off showing the infection and lab work showed my kidney function was lower than it usually is (which is always lower than normal), but still good enough to have contrast for CT scans.  They did CT scans of my chest and abdomen and ultrasound of my left leg (it was swollen, as is usual), to rule out blood clots, kidney stones, etc.

The good news is that there is no recurrence of the kidney cancer I had previously on the right and had part of that kidney removed.  Bad news is that I have pyelonephritis, which is severe bacterial infection in the kidneys, probably migrating up from the bladder.  It causes swelling of the kidney and, if not caught and treated in a timely way, can cause abscesses and worse issues.  As would be expected, the remaining right kidney is affected more than the left.  They gave me a massive dose of antibiotics through the IV, and more to take for a week at home.  Now, this is risky for me as I've had c.Difficile infections in my colon three times; the first time it was very severe and I literally almost died.  Taking strong antibiotics can trigger this infection again as it kills off the good bacteria which keeps the c.Difficile that is always present in check.  This is why I need your prayers and good thoughts...it would be extremely threatening if I were to get this colon infection again and, I have to admit, I am frightened.  When I hesitated about taking the antibiotics, the doctor explained it was absolutely necessary to treat the pyelonephritis, that there was no choice.  He said I would be risking my life if I didn't and, at the least, it could damage my kidneys permanently leaving me dependent on dialysis.  So I am taking them.  I have been ordered to rest, monitor my temperature and, no surprise, drink lots of water.

Sorry this post has been so long, but I really need to know that you are all thinking of me and holding me up.  I am so very tired of being in poor health in general, and of not having a normal functioning immune system.  It really sucks.  I am grateful for every day I have and I know I will continue to fight to stay here with all of you, and especially to see my great-nephews and great-nieces grow up.

Thank you for being part of my life.

Blessings to you and for YOUR health,
Sally
WingedHeartOhio

Thanks for your thanks...

Good evening everyone!  I wanted to stop by for a quick comment to thank everyone who has left me emails and comments regarding my "Ye Olde Dress Shoppe" kit.  I really appreciate your kind words and thank-yous.  They encourage me to keep on going and keep designing!  As I've said in the past, what good would it be for me to do the designing if no one wanted what I create?!?  I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to comment (and even those of you who don't).

Also, send me some good thoughts, will 'ya?  I'm struggling a bit health-wise again with back and chest pain, as well as having nosebleeds from taking the blood thinners I have to take since having a stent put in my right coronary artery back in January.  It's hard not to let the depression overtake me when I'm in so much pain, but designing again really has helped me by allowing me to be creative and by giving me a purpose.  It's rough on the back and on my right hand (which I had surgery on a few years ago), but worth it to my spirit!

Well, off to continue working on my Shakespeare kit for Pixel Scrapper's June blog train which has a theme of "London."  See you on the 1st!

Blessings once again,
Sally
WingedHeartOhio