Fibromyalgia Awareness Blog Train

The Digi Blog Train List is focusing on Fibromyalgia Awareness this month. As some of you know, I myself have fibromyalgia, so this month was special for me. We had a beautiful bright color palette to work with, too! Here is what I came up with:

You can download my portion HERE.

I'm sure some of you are wondering what is up with the spoons.... While you can learn about Fibromyalgia here, what you really MUST read is The Spoon Theory. Yes, The Spoon Theory. This story does a better job of explaining what it is like to live with chronic pain than anything I could ever come up with on my own. Please, take a minute to read it! It will help you to understand what its like to live with not just Fibromyalgia, but all types of chronic pain.

Some quick Fibromyalgia facts:

-The major symptoms of FM include: chronic, widespread body pain; moderate to severe fatigue; sleep disorders and disturbances; and problems with cognitive functioning and memory.

-Recent studies have suggested that FM patients have generalized disturbance in pain processing and an amplified response to stimuli that would not ordinarily be painful in healthy individuals.

-Since there is no known cure for FM, treatment focuses on relieving symptoms and improving function.

-Approximately 10 million Americans have fibromyalgia (FM) with a ratio of about 8 to 2, women over men, and it occurs in people of all ages, even children.

This is what awaits you if you follow along to all of the remaining stops:

The complete list of stops is as follows:

Patty B Scraps
Mama’s Designz
Becky’s Creations
Dakota Winds Graphics
Shuckclod’s Stuff
Xelax Scrap Free
Touched By A Butterfly
Sugarbutt Designs
Kreations By Sparky
Jenny’s Designz
Marniejo’s House Of Scraps
Star Creationz
CL Graphics
FB Queen JJ Creations
Aprilthescrapaholic
Leterati Artful Scraps
Caroline B.
Made By Keuntje
Speyegull Designs
Callaluna Creations
Misplaced Mermaid
Crazy Tiffs
Designed By Laura Wellighoff
Jody M Designs
Dezines2Amaze

Thank you for stopping by! Just a reminder that I have not one but TWO specials running in my shop right now! A sale and a coupon! Be sure to check them out! My store at Southern Comfort Scraps will be closing at the end of the month, and I will be having my grand opening at With Love Studio sometime in July!

June Triune Blog Train

As an ex-patriot (I hate that term - I am not an "ex" anything! I am still an American even if I lay my head down each night on foreign soil!), the 4th of July is bittersweet for me. It was always such an exciting day for me growing up, filled with family, fun, food, and fireworks! It makes me sad that most of the time my daughter doesn't get to experience that. Due to plenty of violence against Americans (yes, even in Europe!), I choose not to dress my half-American daughter in anything "American" unless we are staying at home. So the fourth generally passes by with little more than a quiet barbecue to mark it.

Last year was different, though. Last year we were in the states for Independence Day for the first time since Luna was born. We did it up in style, with a huge family party (family came from all over the states!), tons of food, a stars and stripes dress handmade by mama, and of course, her first fireworks (she liked them!). So many beautiful memories from that day!

Ok, ok, thank you for listening politely. Now its time for the freebie you came for. :) Here is the mini kit I used to create the simple layout I shared:

You can get it HERE.

Here is the complete list of stops for the Triune "I Will Make Them One Nation" train:

Sairi Designs
A-M Digital Designs
Cajun Diva Scraps
Triple J Designs
4OSAi
Speyegull Designs
Callaluna Creations
Digital Designs by Elisa
If you lose your way, head back to the Train Station at Sairi's blog!

Don't forget this month's special in my shop!

Thanks for stopping by!

Alopecia Areata Awareness Blog Train

I had never heard of Alopecia Areata prior to joining this blog train. One of the participants has a six year old daughter that suffers from the disease. Can you imagine being six years old and losing your hair? Children can be so cruel! I'm dedicating this mini kit to Jenny's daughter. You can read about her here.

According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, alopecia areata affects 2% of the population - that is more than five million people just in the U.S.! Alopecia areata is an autoimmune skin disease that causes bald spots on the scalp and other parts of the body, and in extreme cases can result in complete hair loss. I learned a lot about the disease by reading this article from the New England Journal of Medicine.

Here is my contribution to the blog train:

You can download it HERE.

There are so many beautiful creations for this train, have a look at the "master preview" made by Shannon of Shuckclod's Stuff:

Here is a complete list of stops on this blog train!

Leterati Artful Scraps

Touched By A Butterfly

Patty B Scraps

Sugarbutt Designs

Mandog Scraps

Shuckclod’s Stuff

Princess Mahi

Mama’s Designz

ABCreations

Yez Designs

Jenny’s Designz

Cindy’s Tags & Tuts

The Maltese Scrapper

Queenies Signatures N Kits

Dakota Winds Graphics

Crazy Tiffs

Dillie’s Designs

Becky’s Creations

Aprilthescrapaholic

Misplaced Mermaid

EmJay Scraps

Callaluna Creations <-----You are here!

Kreations By Sparky

Crafting With Jack

Shirly Ann’s Download

If you are new to my blog, please take a minute to look around. Plenty of freebies to be found! Also, please check out my store and my Facebook page (pssssst, more freebies!). Thank you for stopping by!

March 2013 Triune Blog Train

The theme for the March 2013 Triune blog train is "He Is Risen," and we have the most beautiful color palette this month! Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy my portion of this month's train. It can be downloaded HERE.

If you like my work, please visit my store! I am designer of the month at Southern Comfort Scraps, and everything in my store is 33% off to celebrate my daughter's third birthday on March 31st!

Here is the complete list of stops to help you find your way!

Sairi Designs
4OSAi
Cajun Diva Scraps
GraceBlossoms4U
A-M Digital Designs
Triple J Designs
Touched By A Butterfly
Scrappin' Sisters
Gray Dragonfly
Karen Diamond Designs
Callaluna Creations
Digital Designs By Elisa

BONUS STOP
Triune Blog Train on Facebook

If you lose your way, head back to the Train Station at Sairi's blog!

STS March 2013 Road Trip: Monsters, Monsters, Everywhere!

Amidst the chaos of Designer Darling, I took some time out to participate in the STS Road Trip. I simply could not pass this palette and theme up! Monsters! Bright colors! What's not to love? I wish I had had the time to do more, but this is what I came up with:

You can download my portion HERE. Enjoy, and please take the time to leave some love! I read and respond to every comment!

Please also check out my store at Southern Comfort Scraps! Here are some of the products available:

January STS Road Trip - Cocoa and Coffee

Happy New Year! As I write this, its twenty minutes to midnight in my time zone. And I'm hard at work on freebies for you all! :)

I wasn't thrilled about the theme this month, I'll be honest. But then, unbidden, the jazz classic "Java Jive" snuck into my head and wouldn't go away! If you haven't heard the song, check it out here!

That song was my inspiration, and here is what I came up with:

You can find it in two parts:

Part 1

Part 2

I also have a little bonus for you over on Facebook. I've packaged up the overlays I made when creating the papers!

If you want the overlays, go to my Facebook page and click on the STS RT January tab!

I'm the last stop this month, but if you missed anyone, here is a road map!

A-M Digital Designs
MDK Scraps
Desert Digi Scrap
Scrappin Serenity
Cajun Diva Scraps
Kana
Adriana's Cafe
Saphira's Scraps
Shuckclod's Stuff
DinkeeDoo Scraps
Created by Christin Thomas
KapiScrap & Art
WinksArt Graphics
Growing Pains Scrapped
Created by Jill Scraps
Callaluna Creations

Thanks for stopping by! Comments and emails are always appreciated!

December 2012 Triune Blog Train - Joy To The World

Welcome to the December 2012 Triune Blog Train! I was a bit of a slacker this month due to a number of personal issues, but I wanted to participate! Here is my portion:

You can snag it HERE!

I also managed to make a small paper pack and a set of layered overlays!

You can grab those from my Facebook page!

Thanks for stopping by! Next stop is Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center!

Sairi Designs
A-M Digital Designs
Touched By A Butterfly
Scrappin' Sisters
One Step Away International
GraceBlossoms4U
BlueCat
Cajun Diva Scraps
Karen Diamond Designs
Midnight Velvets
Callaluna Creations
Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center

If you lose your way, head back to the Train Station at Sairi's blog!

STS November Road Trip: At the Lodge

Here we go! I've had a crazy crazy month, but I managed to prepare something for the road trip! I really love this alpha and I cannot wait to use it on a page! I had a great time playing with some new CU actions to make the papers, and the cool sweater textures are some I made with the help of a tutorial/template by Sugarbutt Designs.

I'm doing things a little different this month. You can either download this as one large file (about 160mb) or you can download it in two parts.

Large file is HERE.

OR

Part 1 is HERE.

Part 2 is HERE.

I also have an exciting announcement (well, its exciting for me!). Callaluna Creations now has a Facebook Page!! I'd really like for you to come check it out and help me get some "likes." In fact, I want that so much that I've made this add-on to tempt you!

If you want the cute "knitted" elements and the additional knit papers, just pop over to my Facebook page and click on the Freebie link! You will have to like the page first.

Thank you for stopping by, and have a safe trip! Next stop is AK Designs. Here's your road map:

WinksArt Graphics
Desert Digi Scrap
Shuckclod's Stuff
Scrappy Chicka
Growing Pains Scrapped
Scrappin Serenity
Note-able Scraps
Adriana's Cafe
JMC Designs
Saphira's Scraps
Kana
The Scrappy Kat
DinkeeDoo
Scraps N Pieces
Callaluna Creations ***You are here!***
AK Designs
Sairi Designs
DSRCenter
KapiScrap

Triune Blog Train, November 2012: Thankful

I hope you all are ready for some really rich and gorgeous colors! I am in love with the palette this month! I have been practicing my extraction techniques recently, so I am sharing some of the efforts from that. I also made some papers that I am really proud of - I especially love the olive colored one with the leaves and the pink Damask... and I hate pink! Several of the papers are made using photographs I've taken as overlays. The olive paper uses a picture I took of some lovely ferns, the golden paper uses a picture I took a few days ago of the fall leaves, and that's a Belgian wheat field (or is it rye? I forget) on the ivory paper. I love to use photos in creative ways!

I'm looking forward to downloading everyone else's efforts as well and making something wonderful with these beautiful colors!

Here is my portion. Its in 2 parts, so be sure you grab BOTH PARTS! Download links are below the preview:

Part 1 is HERE!
Part 2 is HERE!

Please PLEASE grab both parts! I divide things up to make it easier for you all to download, but it bums me out when I see the download counts are off and people only got half of their free goodies!

While you're here, please take a look around! I have lots of freebies for you! I'd love it if you could leave some love and take a minute to subscribe to my blog so you can be the very first to know about new freebies! I am also still looking for more people to help me with QC, and if you have any LO's you've made with my freebies I would love to see them and to share them here! Email me at callalunacreations@mail.com.

Edited: My apologies to anyone who stopped by before this edit and didn't know where to head to next! I got the flu, and I had scheduled my blog post before the codes were posted. Here's your road map. NEXT STOP IS Outside the Box Design Studio!

Sairi Designs
Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center
GraceBlossoms4U
Scrappin' Sisters
BlueCat
Karen Diamond Designs
A-M Digital Designs
One Step Away International
http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.com/
Callaluna Creations
Outside the Box Design Studio
If you lose your way, head back to the Train Station at Sairi's blog!

STS November 2012 Road Trip - "Family Mealtime"

It's past my bedtime (hey, it's late in MY time zone!), but I nearly forgot to put up my STS Road Trip content! It's been that kind of a day...

The theme this month was "Family Mealtime." Initially, I was a bit uninspired by the theme and the color palette, and I considered not even participating. But I had this little niggling of an idea in the back of my head that kept bugging me. When I thought of the words "Family Mealtime," I thought about the never-ending battle we are in the thick of at our house - to teach our 2 year old some table manners! It seems hardly a meal passes without a spill or food on the floor or food smeared all over the clothes she JUST put on! I thought about all the photos I have of her covered in food (adorable and annoying at the same time!). And I realized, plenty of other people probably have pictures like that too. So I went with it.

Submitted for your approval, the "What a Mess" mini:

Download it HERE, and please take a minute to leave some love! It will only take you a minute and your comments mean so much to me! If you really want to send me into spasms of glee (I am not exaggerating here, I really do get that excited!), email me a layout you've made with some of my stuff at callalunacreations@mail.com!! If you are cool with it, I'll even post it here for everyone to see!

What's the rush? Why not take a few minutes to scroll down and discover some of the other FREE goodies I have for you? While you're at it, see that little box over there to the left that says "Follow By Email"? Why not pop your email address in so you will always be alerted when I put up a new freebie?

And one last bit of shameless begging: I am looking for volunteer quality checkers! My darling friend Sarah is overworked! I need a few more sets of eyes to look things over before they go live. Its not an especially complicated job, and you'll get to see new stuff before anyone else! I also might be persuaded to make some custom stuff for my helpers.... If you're interested, please email me at callalunacreations@mail.com.

I'm sure you're getting antsy by now, so put the pedal to the metal and speed on to your next stop at Mommy Me Time Scrapper. Here's a road map to tuck into your back pocket in case you take a wrong turn somewhere down the road:

Shuckclod's Stuff
DinkeeDoo Scraps
Desert Digi Scrap Gal
AK Designs
The Scrappy Kat
Karen Diamond Designs
Scrappin Serenity
Manda Lane Scraps
KapiScrap & Art
Digi-Designs by Nicole
Designs by Snowlady
kana
Saphira's Scraps
Queen Bee Scraps
Callaluna Creations <----Hey, look, that's me!
Mommy Me Time Scrapper
Growing Pains Scrapped
DoubleTrouble Scraps
WinksArt Graphics
Sairi Designs
Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center
Scraps by Missy
Note-able Scraps

Happy (belated) Halloween to you all, and thanks for stopping by! Please come again!

Summer Fun!

Here is a LO I made with the mini I created for the Triune Blog Train.

And here is a LO by Dani/NotAVampireLvr, who kindly acted as QC for me with this kit!

I'd really love to see any LO's you make with my stuff! Please email me at callalunacreations@mail.com!

Scroll down to find the link to the free mini!

First Trip With the Triune Blog Train!

This month marks the first trip for the Triune Blog Train hosted by my friend Sarah of Sairi Designs. I hope you will check out all the stops, leave plenty of love, and share the links with your friends! She's looking for more participants for next month! You do not have to be religious to participate (I am not), just respectful. She's organized it to leave in the middle of the month so its easier for designers to participate while still contributing to all the trains that start at the beginning of the month. So please, please, consider coming aboard! Anyone who is interested should contact Sarah via the Sairi Designs Facebook Page.

The theme this month was "Children Are a Gift From God." I focused on children! Those are my daughter's footprints I snuck in there! Here's what I came up with:

I had to break it into two parts, because its nearly a full kit. Be sure to grab both Part 1 and Part 2!

As always, I really really appreciate comments or emails (callalunacreations@mail.com), and make an effort to respond to every one! I would really love to see some pages people have made with my things, and I'd love to share them here!

Thanks for stopping by! Your next stop is the fabulous Karen Diamond Designs. Here's the whole list, to help you find your way around:

Sairi Designs
Touched By a Butterfly
Scrappin' Sisters
GraceBlossoms4U
Callaluna Creations
Karen Diamond Designs
Digiscraps n More

If you lose your way, head back to the train station at Sairi's blog!

October 2012 STS Road Trip

Road Trip!!!! The theme this month was "The Big City."

I've created two alphas this month. "City Skyline" lines up to create a really neat skyline effect along your border. I'm working on a scrap page of pictures I took recently in Bruges and it looks really cool with this alpha! I included blank buildings if you want to use them as elements, as well. The "Rush Hour" alpha was so much fun to make! I spent ages working on the cars, which I built by tracing basic shapes from pictures of cars and stacking them up until I had a complete vehicle. Then I added textures to make them look more "scrapbooky" (new word there) and colored them to match up with the Road Trip palette. I think I'll be offering a recolor of this alpha soon, as I would like it more with a wider color range. This alpha is really 5 alphas in one, as I included the complete alpha on each vehicle so you can mix and match as you like. Again, I included the blank vehicles for use as elements if you so desire. And I also included a handy road for you to line them all up on! It seems like these two alphas took ages to complete, they were both complicated in one way or the other. I'm really happy with how they turned out, though! I hope you all enjoy them! The papers I included are notable only because I used pictures I took as textures, so that was kind of fun to work with. I've been snapping "texture" pictures everywhere I go lately!

Snag my contribution here!

Now... on to the next stop!

Here's your road map!

3.. 2.. 1.. Scrap!
Nerdy Scrappers Studio
Joyful Expressions
Shuckclod's Stuff
DreamyNest Designs
WinksArt Graphics
Shel Belle Scraps
Sweet Maple Scraps
DinkeeDooScraps
Saphira's Scraps
Studio Linda Renee
This Little Missy
Desert Digi Scrap
Adriana's Cafe
Craft With Me
Scrappin Serenity
Callaluna Creations<---You are here!
Queen Bee Scraps
The Scrappy Kat
DoubleTrouble Scraps
Sairi Designs
Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center
Note-able Scraps
Growing Pains Scrapped
Scraps by Missy

Please take a minute to leave a comment, or if you'd rather, you can email me at callalunacreations@mail.com.

STS September 2012 Road Trip

The STS September Road Trip theme is Back To School! I wanted to come up with something original, something nobody else would be doing, and I may very well have shot right past "unique" and landed in "bizarre" with this! I was inspired by this photostream. I hope someone can find a use for my Bento Box Lunch - I had a fabulous time creating it!

Download my contribution here!

Thank you for stopping by, I'd really appreciate your feedback via comments or email - callalunacreations@mail.com.

Your next stop is Sairi Designs!

Here is a Road Map if you get lost!

Joyful Expressions
The Scrappy Kat
Desert Digi Scrap
My Digi Chocolate
Studio Linda Renee
MDK Scraps
Scraps by Andrea
Scrappin Serenity
DinkeeKDoo
Shuckclod's Stuff
3..2..1.. Scrap!
Growing Pains Scrapped
Karen Diamond Designs
Ladybug Pics n Scraps
Callaluna Creations<------- You Are Here! :)
Sairi Designs
DSRCenter
Let Me Scrapbook!
Queen Bee Scraps
DoubleTrouble Scraps
Scraps by Missy
Note-able Scraps

Farmer's Market Road Trip Exclusive!

To kick things off here, I have an exclusive freebie for you! This cute little frame was made to coordinate with my contribution to the Stuff to Scrap August 2012 Road Trip, but I am only offering it here on my blog!

Download it here!

And if you haven't already, be sure to jump over to Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center to pick up the main part of my contribution! I made another cool frame and fruits and veggies galore! Here's the preview:

Once again, I'd love to see anything you make with my creations! Email me at callalunacreations@mail.com. And please leave me some feedback!

It's A Jungle Out There!

Its almost time for the August 2012 STS Road Trip to hit the road! Its a great color palette and a fabulous theme: Farmer's Market. I'm excited, because in addition to the mini-kit I'm offering via the Digital Scrapbooking Resource Center, I have an exclusive freebie that will only be offered here on my blog.

In the meantime, check out the items I made for last month's Road Trip!

They are still available as a free download here! Enjoy! Comments are always appreciated and I'd love to see your creations via email: callalunacreations@mail.com.