Merry Christmas in Heaven to my Angels

This year we decorated our girls' graves in a Snowman theme.  It turned out very cute with all of the different snowman decorations.  We went over last night on Christmas Eve to light their lanterns so they would be lit on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  And to take over their metal signs with their photos on it.

You can't see their photos in the pictuere of the graves.  I did a Snow Princess theme for their photos.  This is what they looked like.

I am sharing their Snow Princess stuff with you here.

Download here.
Enjoy!

A Little Christmas Freebie for ya! Some Mickey and Minnie Clip Art

Merry Christmas!  I wanted to share something with you today.  Here are some Mickey and Minnie Christmas clip art images that I scanned and handpainted in photoshop.  I hope you can use them.

Download here
Please note that I do not sell my designs and claim no copyright to any Disney images.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!  Thanks for any comments.  I really do appreciate them!
Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to my friends out there!

I always hate the Christmas card thing.  It's so hard to represent the girls when they are not here to photograph.  So this year, I used the Disney fairies to represent them.  My son and I argued about which one is which girl!  He thinks Chloee is Tinkerbell but I think Bree is.  It's not your traditional card, but it let me be creative and still include them somehow.  And I actually took a family photo - which is also hard for me.  So yay!  Sending love to you this Christmas :)

My son has been putting the Happy in Happy Holidays.  He just LOVES the holidays and decorates our house with little crafts and colored pictures!  He is such a joy and helps me smile even if I am also crying because I miss my daughters.  I scrapped a page for him using Delicious Scraps' Happy Holidays kit.  He's making a gingerbread man to hang on the wall.  You should see our house.  It has taped drawings hung up in the most random places!

I've taken a break from scrappin' this month (more info on that later) which has been super nice and let me get Christmas stuff done.  We've been busy getting the last gifts done.  My son is 6 and I always want him to be involved with the gifts because we teach that Christmas is about giving.  We did "angel" gifts for 3 kids his age and he picked out presents for them.  And we're taking donations to the children's hospital where the girls lived on Christmas again this year.  He fabric painted some hot pads for each family member to go with his own "Tyson's Tasty Treats" Christmas Trail Mix.  (He's a little chef in the kitchen and he always claims to be making a tasty treat!)  We went to the store and he just picked out his favorite things like MnM's, fruit snacks, marshmallows, pretzels, cereal, etc.  Then we came home and mixed it up and packaged it to give to his friends and family.  I've been busy making a hybrid craft - a new bow box for the hospital's infant unit (more about that later!)  Then I made this cute little tag for his Christmas Trail Mix.

And scrapped a page of him with his little gifties!

As for what my son wanted this year, he decided he didn't need any more presents and that "he's taking a break from Santa this year"!  Seriously!  He really said that...  He wants to go to LegoLand instead.  So we will be off on Christmas to go to his favorite place on Earth (it's sooo not Disneyland).

Have a merry Christmas from me to you with this freebie kit - Tasty Treats 4 Christmas

Download here

I hope that you will get to spend Christmas with the ones you love.
Hugs,
Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

Mickey's Ice Cream Word Art - Disney Digital Scrapbooking Freebie!

You've got 2 more days to get your layout done for the MouseScrappers challenge and get this Mickey Ice Cream Kit made by me!!

Join us over at MouseScrappers!  Click here

Here's some matching Mickey's Ice Cream Kit wordart for you that you can download here!

Enjoy! 

Hugs :)

Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

Some Pages

Some pages I made this week:

Kit Credit: Haynay Designs

Another page I made this week:

Kit Credit: Kellybell

I bought a few CU things over Black Friday so hopefully I'll be back quick with some more freebies!!

Disney Digital Scrapbooking Freebie Alert!!! Disney Masks :)

I'm super excited to host another challenge this week! I know it's a busy week for those of us in the states (with the Thanksgiving holiday and Black Friday) but hopefully you all can join me :)


I'm not big on the Thanksgiving holiday.  It's just hard to spend a whole day thinking about being thankful when you're supposed to be spending your day with family and half of my family is dead...
But I actually do work hard in my life to find things to be thankful for. And one thing I am VERY thankful for is scrapbooking. It is my hobby, and joy, and therapy! I truly love it and love learning new techniques and styles. Lately, I have fallen in love with photomasks! Photomasks are just a black/gray shape that you clip your photo to - giving your photo that same shape. I think they are super fun and can be really useful to highlight your photo or crop someone or something out with a cool look to it.
So this week, I'm keeping it super simple. The only rule is to use a photomask on your layout and I've even made a bunch of Disney masks for you to use!  Join me over at MouseScrappers here for the challenge.
Here are the Disney masks I've made for you:

Download here

Download here

Download here

Hope you like them and give them a try!
Some instructions for clipping your photo to the photomask:
In Photoshop Elements, put the photo layer on top of the photomask layer in the layer list. Then hit CTL-G.
In Photoshop CS, put the photo layer on top of the photomask layer in the layer list. Then hit CTL-ALT-G.

Your Prize Package if you complete the challenge is this Mickey's Ice Cream Kit I made:

Hope you like the masks and join me in the challenge at MouseScrappers!
Hugs,
Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

A few new kits and a Wild Disney Digital Scrapbooking Freebie!

My good friends Natalie and Kelly have some new kits out!
Natalie has an awesome dinosaur/fossil kit called Fun with Fossils.  Find it on her blog here
I used it to make this page of my son digging for fossils at our local children's museum!

And Kellybell has a wild kit out that's perfect for Animal Kingdom pics called Safari Expedition. I scrapped a LegoLand safari page with it:

And I have a wild freebie for you!  Some wild Mickey Heads!  Hopefully you can use them for your Animal Kingdom layouts :)

Download them here (for a limited time).

Thanks for comments if you like them!

Hugs,

Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

BumbleBree's Angel Day and a Winnie the Pooh Digital Scrapbooking Freebie

We spent Bree's Angel Day together as a family, just being together, enjoying our son, and remembering her.  Here's a page I made for her:

While his Dad slept in, my son and I went to McDonald's for breakfast.  We donated to the Ronald McDonald House and filled out papers with the girls' names on them to hang on the wall in their memory.
Then we went home to wake up Dad and my son made my day!  He's getting so big now and understands that Angel Days make me sad because I miss the girls (I cry a lot) and this year he made us all presents.  So the first thing we did was open his presents.  He had one for Dad, one for me, one for "BreeL and Cloee" and of course one for himself.  He had given us some of his own toys and each of us a drawn picture :)  He opened the one for Bree and Chloee since "they can't open it."

Here's my picture.  Did you ever notice that MoM written by a kindergartener is WoW?? he he

Here's the family picture he made for the girls.  (Bree-Elle is the one in the bee stripes and Chloee is a ladybug.)

It is moments like these that I just know the girls have to be here with us somehow.  How could they miss out on their sweet brother's gift for them?  If I were dead, there is nothing that could keep me away from watching over my son.
Then of course we ate - what we usually do to combat the pain - stuff ourselves with mind numbing food.  And donated all of our cash to the donation box at the restaurant for a local girl who is fighting cancer.
Then we took Tyson to a Bounce House place to play and just enjoyed every minute of him.  And we did a balloon release for her too.
That night, while the boys played the PS3, I finished up the kit I made in loving memory of her.  The pages above all use the new kit.
I knew I wanted to do a bumblebee kit.  Bree-Elle was first nicknamed BumbleBree by her aunt Natalie, my sister.  It caught on and soon became "BumBum" and Bees became a part of who she was/is.  She was a bumblebee for Halloween and now we decorate her grave and things with bees.  So when I thought about bees, Winnie the Pooh Bear came to mind.  I love PoohBear and have used many of his quotes in our home and in scrapbook pages.  And so that's what I made!
Here are my Disney pages I scrapped with it of my little boy when he was a baby:

Here is my kit in memory of my daughter Bree-Elle called "BumbleBree".  It's my favorite kit I've done so far.  Very bright and colorful, heavenlike, and meaningful to me.  I hope you like it and can use it :)
Download it here (for a limited time)

Thank you to my digi-friends and grieving friends for your support during this hard time.  Love you all.
Hugs,
A Grieving Mommy

Ariel and Her Daddy: A Little Mermaid Digital Scrapbooking Freebie

It always makes me cry at the end of the movie when Ariel says goodbye to her father, "I love you Daddy."
It makes me think about our goodbye to Bree 3 years ago from right now.  I know from the timing of her death that she was thinking that exact thing.  She was thinking of her Daddy and how much she loved him.  It wasn't coincidence that she died at the moment that she did.  And honey if you read this, know that she loves you and the night she died was proof of her love for you.

I wanted to make an Ariel and Triton tonight since I was working on Natalie's new kit Seascape and thinking of my daughter and her daddy.  I made them and used them on this page with her kit:

And I'm giving them out as a freebie because love can be stronger than pain.
Download Ariel and Her Daddy here

Hugs,
A Grieving Mommy

PS - Thanks so much to those of you that leave kind comments here on my blog.  It really does help to know that someone cares.

A Special Page for My Little Fairy Daughter - and a Disney Digital Scrapbooking Freebie

When I think of Tinkerbell, I think of my daughter Bree-Elle.  I remember, in utero, she was my most active child.  I said at her funeral that she kicked like a little ninja.  She was spunky and giggled and laughed and smiled her little heart out.  Her daddy could get her to laugh the best!  I just know that she would have been our Tinkerbell, spunky and cute and sweet but a little wild and fun too.

Tomorrow is the day that she died.  November 13th.  Her 7 month birthday.  There are no words to say how much my heart hurts.  She is dead and never coming back and that KILLS me.  It is physical pain, nausea, headaches, tears, and lots of numbness in the end because I just can't take any more.

But if I am able to do something, I always find some happiness in scrapping.  Thank goodness for that.  And for my hubby and sweet son - the reasons I'm still here.

Today, I made a page for my Bree-Elle and her big brother.  He loved her so much.  He wanted to always be around her and it surprised me but he was never jealous or anything.  I guess he understood even then that she was special and wasn't going to be around long.  He still misses her but he's forgetting her and that hurts too.  So I did a page for him to help remember her and included Tink as a special memory of my spunky Baby Bree.

Kit Credit: Kellybell

The fairies on my page were scanned (at 300dpi), extracted, and embellished by me.  I have them as a special freebie for you in memory of my Bree.  Download them here.

My plan is to spend some time making a freebie kit in memory of Bree tomorrow on her Angel Day so hopefully I can dig out of the pit of grief and do that.
Sending hugs to you,
Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

Wanna Free Disney Digital Scrapbooking Template?

I'm hosting a template challenge over at MouseScrappers.  Come join me!  I have a participation prize and a freebie Disney template for you.  This time I wanted to do a template that could be used many different ways :) When I paper scrapped, I used to cut photos out of letters so I wanted to create a template that you could use in that way... or other ways too.

Here's my page I made for an example using the template. It's a cover page for our 2008 - 2009 Disney album featuring favorite pics of my boy that year.

(Page made using some of my own elements and some from Chelle's Creations kit Happy.)
This is a great template for cover pages, or for Disney characters, Disney treats, Disney souvenirs, etc. Be creative! You can also fill the letters with patterned or colored papers instead of photos.
Here's the template! Hope you like it and can use it :)  Download direct here

Instuctions for Filling the Letters aka Clipping Masks: The easiest way to use this kind of template is to place the photo or paper you want to take place of the letter (or whatever) - let's say the "D" - on top of the D in the layers list. Then hit CTRL-G for PSE or CTRL-ALT-G for PSCS to create a clipping mask. You can also use that to change the color of the Starburst background.

And if you make a page using the template and leave love for others in the MouseScrappers forum, I have a little something for you.... some Disney Doodles made by me!

Check out the Template Challenge at MouseScrappers here
Hope to see you there :)
A Grieving Mommy

Queen of Hearts Paper Pack! Disney Digital Scrapbooking Kit

I'm back with the paper pack for the Queen of Hearts I promised!
I've made 14 different Queen of Hearts themed papers for you :)  Two that are specifically Disney themed with a Queen of Hearts on one and a large mickey head on another.  You can add it to the element set (scroll down to the next post if you don't have it) to make a little Queen of Hearts Digital Scrapbooking minikit :)  Or these papers would be great for any Valentines or Love themed pages.  

Here's a page I did using one of the darker patterned papers in the set.  See, perfect for other layouts too!
It's a page for my hubby and son because they are my life and my love and my reason for living.

Some of the elements on the page are from Toys for Boys by MandaBean and Zoe Pearn.  Some were made by me.

Here's the paper pack!  I am in love with a bunch of those papers :)
Remember that I claim no rights to Disney's copyrighted images.  This is a site for entertainment and educational purposes only.  I do not sell my designs and do not make any money from them.  I share because I want to help other scrappers and to spread good in the world in honor of my girls. 
I choose to keep doing freebies because of the kind comments I receive from people.  So if you like it, please leave a comment :)

Download them here
Please don't share, refer others to my blog to get it!  And if you make something with it, I'd love to see it!
Sending hugs to you :)
Denise, aka A Grieving Mommy

A Queen of Hearts Freebie! Disney Digital Scrapbooking :)

I'm all about the Queen of Hearts today :)  She really is one of the coolest villains!  I have a freebie element set for you but first here's my page that I did using a kit by Kellybell.

And here's a freebie for you by me!  I have an element pack for the Queen of Hearts.  I was going to try to do a paper pack too - but it's going to have to wait since we are heading to Denver right now for a Broncos game.  When I get back I'll finish up the papers and then you can have a Queen of Hearts mini kit!  For now, here is the element set including all of the things you see separately and also in a wordart too.
Download here

Remember that I use a direct download link instead of 4shared to protect people from sharing the link - so if you get an error, please try again in a few minutes!

Enjoy!!!  Hope you can use it :)  And, I just want to thank those of you that leave kind comments and are "digi-friends."  Thank you so much for your kindness and love.  I appreciate it more than you know!

Sending hugs to you :)
Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

Shark and Aquarium Freebies

I've got some freebies for you again :)  I was doing some aquarium and Jaws pages of my son and thought someone might be able to use the word art and some shark sillhouettes.
Here's the page I made from when my son "met" Jaws for the first time at Universal Studios.  I soooo wish I would have caught that on video!!!  He was so scared.

And a page from the aquarium.

Both pages made using Bean Bunny Designs kit Shark Tails

And here are the freebie wordart and shark sillhouettes for you:

Hope someone can use it :)  Download here
Sending hugs to you - A Grieving Mommy

Tonight I am missing my ChloeeBug

I suffer from depression a lot - which comes from the heartache I have over my girls' dying and leaving a hole in my heart.  Tonight I am especially missing my ChloeeBug.  I just can't get over the fact that she would be 5.  Her birthday was last month.  I keep dwelling on the things that I will just never know - her hair color and her likes and dislikes, would she be a picky eater, would she love or hate soccer and dance? would she be a daddy's girl or a mama's girl? would she dress up or be a tomboy?  what would her favorite toy be?
Of some things, I can be somewhat certain.  I know that her eyes would be blue and I think she would have been my shyest child.... quiet and sweet.  But I don't know and that is killing me.  It literally feels like a knife in my heart when I think about it.
I scrapped this page awhile ago for her called A Beautiful DayDream:

Journaling: It has been exactly 4 years 6 months and 2 weeks since you died. You sometimes feel like a beautiful daydream and sometimes it feels like a horrible nightmare without you here. You should be celebrating your 5th birthday next week, going to preschool and doing big girl things like learning to ride a bike and having playdates. Sooo many things I wonder and want to be doing with you. Instead, I daydream and can only wonder and wish that I knew and that you were here so I didn’t have to daydream about you and wonder. No matter what though, alive or dead... ...you are one
beautiful daydream
Love,
Mommy

Kit Credit: Project B
 
I've also been thinking a lot about how our lives changed forever the moment she was hospitalized.  I became a different person and my life is organized by "before Chloee" and "after Chloee".  I did a page recently using Creations by Rachael's kit Ouchies to document that:
 

Journaling: On November 15, 2005, our world was rocked and torn apart forever.  We took Chloee to the ear, nose, throat doctor that day to try to find out why she was having so many problems breathing. It was called stridorous breathing and it was so hard to see that her little body had to work so hard to breathe. They had to put a little camera down her throat to see what was wrong. We found out that she had laryngomalacia which is when the voicebox collapses on itself and causes an airway obstruction. It was so bad that they had to schedule her for surgery right then. We were scared and worried but had no idea what was ahead
of us that night. We got her bloodwork done, and left the hospital to grab a bite to eat at McDonald’s down the street. At McDonald’s, I received the phone call that rocked our world. Chloee’s bloodwork was wrong and we had to go back to the ER to get it checked. As we drove back, I had a bad feeling inside of me. And when they checked her bloodwork in the ER, they knew something was horribly, horribly wrong with her
We were admitted to the hospital that night and found out in the next days that our precious daughter had a
terminal illness. That day changed our lives forever.

On her birthday, I spent a few hours making a kit in her memory.  And tonight I decorated my blog using it.  It made me feel a little better and I'd like to give that kit out tonight as a special gift to the world in her memory :)
Here's my kit Princess Chloee:

Enjoy :)  And instead of paying for this kit, next time you hear about a sick kid or children's hospital drive, donate something!

Download Expired - it will be a Charity Kit soon!

Hugs to you :) Denise aka A Grieving Mommy

It's that time again! Halloweentime is here :)

I'm not a fan of Halloween. Tombstones and dead bodies don't really appeal to me since I have purchased 2 real tombstones and held 2 dead bodies in my arms...

But my dear son, being the boy that he is, loves it.... so I do my best to enjoy the holiday with him and try to ignore the gore and death.

He loves everything spooky and scary like bats and spiders as well as dressing up in a different costume for each event we go to :)

I've been doing a bunch of Halloween scrapbook pages, as this is the time of the year for that and wanted to share the awesome kits out there! Plus I have some freebies for you too!

Here are my journal/notebook type pages documenting my son's love for spiders and bats! He's been obsessed with them since he could talk and I'm so happy to have finally done some pages about them :)

And another one:

Using Ildi Geist's kits  
And a few more pages of my cute boy as a bat in 2007 and a skeleton in 2008 :)
 

Made using a Bean Bunny kit
 
And I couldn't resist doing a page for my favorite, spookiest ride!  Tower of Terror!!

Made using Natalie's newest kits Spooktastic, Frightful and Haunted!

And, I have a Halloween wordart freebie for ya!
Download it here.

Sending hugs to you :) A Grieving Mommy