My Creative Muse Blog

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I adore September at the beach...there is nothing in this world like it.  The beautifully radiant sunsets, the crisp air, the smell of the ocean breeze.  I can almost taste the salt spray on my lips.  Today, I have a layout and a free quick page for you using another beautiful kit from Myst Designs entitled September Light.  Please leave some love if you download the quick page!

and now for your QP Freebie!  Just click to download!

I am totally chuffed at this cute little emo skull I created today!  I cannot wait to show you what I did with it!  If you would like to download this PU Freebie, just click the image to do so!

And this is the tag that I created using this little guy along with a fittingly "emo" girl from Very Many via Scraps and the City!

It is never too early to start thinking of fall, cooler temperatures and being thankful for pumpkins and pumpkin pie!  Another pretty textured pumpkin for your more elegant fall creations!  I would love to see what you create if you download it!  Please leave a comment if you click the preview to download and thanks for your support!

Who says that you can't have a pretty summer pumpkin?  A pretty light lavender textured pumpkin to use in your designs!  Please leave some comment love if you download.  I would love to see what you make with it!  Just click the preview to download it!

A favorite Wiccan spell of mine and a beautifully done kit with a Wiccan theme have been combined to create the layout below using a beautiful kit from Myst Designs entitled "All Souls Night" which you can see more of on her blog HERE.  I dedicate this to my lovely daughter, pictured in the layout, to help her through this particular time in her life.  Be Blessed Little One.

And to entice you a bit more, a preview of Myst Designs kit, All Souls Night.

I apparently was in a letter creating mood this afternoon - came up with four new letters total!  Here are the remaining three that I designed.  As usual, to download just click on the preview.

This is a new letter that I created this morning after installing some new filters into PSP and having a play with them.  I was really pleased with how this particular letter turned out so I created a matching signature tag as well.  Just click the letter preview to download.  Tags for members of the Kimmi Tag'd Yahoo Group and my Blessings List will be uploaded this week.

I just finished working on one of my fav designers blog - and had a few silly giggles thrown in this week to boot!  Jenny is an absolute hoot to work with, always keeps me in giggles!  She's got a fantastic new pimped out blog, coordinating Twitter background and Facebook Timeline Cover to match!  Stop by and show her some love!

Did this particular tag as a challenge in one of my groups, using the beautiful work of Tatjana Willms at Dreamscape Imaging.  In addition, there is a matching Incredimail letter as well.  Just click the letter preview to download it.  Tags will be available for members of my Always List and Blessings List.

Just put the finishing touches on this (if I do say so myself!) beautiful tag that is just exactly what summer means to me!  I used the beautiful work of Jamie Kidd from Creative Design Outlet.  Tags were made for my Blessings, my Always List, and all members of the CDO Main group and can be found at Fotki.

Those of you who are in Yahoo groups with me or keep up with my personal blog, Life in a House of Testosterone (now linked in the navigation bar on the MCM Blog!), know that I've just come off of a 4 day Glee marathon and am more than a tad bit obsessed with the show now and cannot wait for season 4 to begin.

Watching this show has been so extremely satisfying and inspirational to me!  I remember, very vividly in fact, what it was like in high school for me.  I was a geeky, shy girl ... usually the one in the back of the room that nobody paid any attention to.  There were several classifications in my school clique - the in crowd, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the stoners, the rebels, the geeks.  I was in the "something other" category in school and never really felt as though I fit in anywhere - except when I was in chorus.  I lived to sing back then.  I remember trying out for my school's "Glee Club" which was called the Ensemble, my senior year of high school.  I wanted to get up on that stage and sing and perform in front of all of my classmates, to be able to go to competitions and help my school win amazing awards.  My dream was to become a famous singer like Olivia Newton John or Pat Benatar or Madonna.  I don't know of a single girl in the 80's who didn't want to be just like Madonna.  That is, until my chorus teacher told me that I did not make the cut and that, while I had a 'decent' voice, I was pretty much tone deaf and would never be able to sing professionally.

Talk about having a dream thrown to the ground and stomped and shredded to bits.  I cried for days and days and days afterwards.  So, while my dreams of being famous went out the window that day, my love of singing never did.  I sang anywhere and everywhere that there was music playing.  In the car, cleaning the house, at work (when nobody was around and very, very softly LOL), walking the dog - it didn't matter.  Music has a special connection to my very soul that is as essential as breathing is to me.

I stopped singing several years ago.  My inner voice was silenced, and I have noticed that since I have not been singing, I have not been as happy as I once was.  Not as carefree.  Oh sure I still listen to music all the time, but there is a big difference between listening and singing.  The kids at McKinley High School gave me my voice back over the past four days.  They have inspired me to continue reaching for my dreams, to continue reaching for the stars, and to just SING as much as I want, or need to.

So with that in mind, I created this signature tag for a few members of the House of Tags Yahoo Group, for my own Always List, and for my Blessings List.  I would love to challenge each and every one of you that reads this, to create a tag about what your dream was that you let go of - for whatever reason.  It is never too late to get joy in your heart again, to awaken your soul, to give you something to look forward to every morning!  So start dreaming again - and leave a comment with a link to your Dreams and Inspirations tag to share with the rest of us!

I have just spent an exhausting day and a half going through all of my bookmarks and pulling out links to places that you may find of interest.  In the left sidebar on our home page, you will find My Blog List.  Every blog that I subscribe to that relates to the PSP community is listed here.  If you would like to be included but do not see your name - just send me an e-mail and I will get you added to the list!

The following items can be found in the right sidebar on our blog page.  If you would like to see a site included in any of the following lists that is not currently listed - please just send me an e-mail and tell me the name of the site and provide the link and I will get it added.  I am attempting to build a completely inclusive listing of all of the various sites that we each use and love in one central location for everyone to enjoy - so your assistance is most appreciated!

Free Fonts - My current listing of Free Font sites that are a few of my favorites.

Free Stock Photos - We all have need for a good, quality stock photo now and again in our designing and creating.  Here are quite a few who offer free photos - some require you to sign up for a free membership, others you can just download at will without registering.

Fav Forums - This is a listing of tagging and digital scrapbooking forums that I enjoy frequenting when I have a free moment.

Store Favs - This is a listing of all the PSP Licensing stores, and includes independent artist stores, a few independent poser and kit creators, etc.

Scrapbooking Favs - This is a listing of all of the scrapbooking stores that I either subscribe to or know of.  I am positive there are oodles more out there - so if you belong to one of them or subscribe to one you don't see on the list - please let me know!

This 'n That - Is exactly what it says.  A collection of some commercial use sites, posers, pixels, free tubes, etc.

Welcome Wednesday is now open ALL WEEK and starts NEW every Wednesday!  The Welcome Wednesday blog hop is hosted by Take It From Me, Happy Hour Projects and Making Memories with the McClellen Family!  Welcome Wednesday is a great way to meet new people and learn new things, as well as increase your blog followers!  So let's have some fun!

If you want to be a part of Welcome Wednesday, just follow these five (5) simple steps:

• Follow the Welcome Wednesday sponsors (as well as me too!) via Google Friend Connect, Google+, LinkyFollowers, Facebook or Twitter, as well as the Spotlight Blog of the Week!
• Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it will be seen on all the blog hops participating!)
• Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.
• Go to as many blogs on the Linky list as you want and follow them.  Be sure to leave them a comment and tell them you are hopping by from Welcome Wednesday!
• Be sure to follow back any new followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!

This week our Spotlight Blog is:

Dana from Luv'N Lambert Life writes -

I am 30, Momma to three beautiful kids, a boy and two girls.  I am currently expecting baby number 4.  I'm engaged to Joshua.  I homeschool and am a stay-at-home Mom.  Love to read, hand paint ceramics and take pictures all the time.

What is neat about our Blog Hop:

• Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list show up!
• Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on everyone's lists!
• By adding your blog, YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!
• Leave a comment with your blog address if you are new to our hop so we can follow you back!

There is a new R2G Blog Design available at the MCM Store!  Stop by and take a look!  Here's a preview to entice you!

I subscribe or follow well over 240+ blogs either via Google Friend Connect or via my Google Reader subscriptions.  When you are attempting to get "caught up" on your blog reading, there is absolutely nothing more annoying then loading a blog and being bombarded with an onslaught of music.  I am talking about the musical bloggers out there who love to share their favorite tracks and artists with their readers.  I know there are a multitude of players out there that can be embedded into your blog that allow your readers to listen along, but these players also have the option to embed them and allow the READER the choice to listen to what you have in your player or to continue listening to what YOU are listening to while YOU surf the internet.

It also seriously bogs down the load time on your blog.  When you have several windows open so that you can view your reader list, read a particular blog post, have email open to email something cool you come across - that adds to the lag time and possibly crashing your entire system.

I understand that we creative types love to listen to music or their favorite television episodes playing in the background - it helps our 'creative muse' get into gear and enable us to crank out the wonderful things that music inspires in us to share with you.

So if you wish to share your music with the world, the songs that inspire and motivate and keep your feet tapping - by all means please do!!!  We love that you share a part of you with us, your readers.  Just please remember to give us the option to listen - or not - if we choose to.

Decided to have a bit of a play with some pretty daisies today and designed these extras.  Hope that you like them!

If you are anything like me, you have a gazillion bookmarks and links to everything in the world in your toolbar and finding the really important stuff can sometimes be a pain.  I have created a toolbar powered by Alexa which you can download here.  Not sure it is what you want or need?  Go ahead and click the link and check it out!

There is a section for all things related to My Creative Muse, a section for all things related to Life in a House of Testosterone, Google search, Yahoo search, Facebook, iHeart Radio, your own Twitter account, Bitly to shorten those URLs for sharing - everything rolled into one handy toolbar!

Want to see something else added to the toolbar?  Drop me a line and let me know!  If it can be done - I will gladly add it for you, my faithful readers and fans!

Enjoy!

Fall is one of my most favorite times of the year.  It runs neck-and-neck with spring as my favorite and it is a hard choice when someone asks me to pick just one favorite season of the year!  I absolutely love this beautiful scrap kit entitled "November Woods" from Myst Designs though.  All of the beautifully rich colors of fall are represented in this astonishing kit.  If you would like to pick up this kit in the store, just click the preview below to find out how!

I created the following layout using the kit above and a photograph of my son, Tre, from his fall festival at school.

In addition, I created a simple bordered letter for use with Incredimail using the papers and ribbons from this kit which you can download by clicking on the preview below:

Mother's Day is always a bit bittersweet for me.  Yes, I have my own children who bless me constantly, but there will always be a small piece of me that feels empty and alone, like a lost child in the darkness.  My mother passed away 20 years ago this year, and there is not a day that goes by when I don't wish that I could have her back, even for just a few moments - to hold her in my arms once more and tell her how very much I love her.

This is a timeline cover I made in tribute of my own beloved mother, Gloria Wildermuth.  You can click the image to view it on my Facebook page.  In addition, don't miss the tribute to Mothers everywhere at Life in a House of Testosterone.

I am very pleased to announce that My Creative Muse (both the shop and the blog) are now copyright registered and protected with MyFreeCopyright.com.

What is Mother's Day without a message from our favorite swashbuckling' pirate?  A rather large Incredimail letter, but one I hope that you'll enjoy sharing with your friends today!

Show mom you love her with this Happy Mother's Day Facebook Timeline freebie!

Wishing you and your Mother a very happy Mother's Day!

We are on a temporary hiatus at the moment due to illness in the family.  Whatever "it" is seems to have gotten to everyone.  We should be back operational again Monday.  My beloved youngest son, Tre, woke up with "it" on Monday morning (coughing as though he had bronchitis, pneumonia, and the croup all rolled into one as well as vomiting up this nasty junk ... sorry, hope that wasn't TMI!).  By Wednesday he was feeling better and back at school, but by then he had already managed to "share" whatever "it" is with Dad and I.  Hopefully we'll all be right as rain again on Monday!

* Update * (5/13/2012)

The Man Thing (aka Hubby) was hit so hard with "it" that he was home from work Thursday and Friday (which meant, naturally, that I got absolutely nothing done because we all know that men are HUGE babies when they get sick and need to be waited on hand and foot!) I started feeling bad myself on Thursday, but since I'm 'da mom' in this house, I had no choice but to muddle through.  My eldest, Jonathan, started showing signs Thursday evening with the coughing.  By Friday evening he was hit head-on with "it" and started running a fever.  Woke me up at 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning screaming because he thought that ghosts were coming up the side of his bed after him and he had jumped up and was trying to climb the wall to get away from them.  His temperature ranged between 101 and 103 most all day Saturday and into late Saturday evening when it finally broke last night a little after midnight.

The dawning of Mother's Day has all my chicks feeling better, Mom is feeling better, and TMT (The Man Thing) is doing better as well.  Can I call 'em or what?

I am a huge fan of Myst Designs truly beautiful scrap kits because we simply have the same tastes in what we like in a kit!  Myst designs kits that are not only truly beautiful but evokes inspiration, fantasy, and mystical qualities that are within each and every one of us.  Her latest kit, A Spell of Spring, is certainly no exception.  I truly enjoyed working with this stunning kit that fits perfectly in with the theme of spring.  You can pick up this beautiful kit in all of Myst's stores here.

Below are two layouts that I have done using the elements and papers in this beautiful kit, as well as a simple signature tag.  (The beautiful fairy and flower child used are courtesy of SwtMeloDe and can be purchased here and here, respectively.)