DigiJen Scraps: April 2018

As I write this, my feline furboy is on the couch behind my head, kneading the fuzzy blanket that I keep thrown across the back of the couch, purring, sometimes chirping at me.

In other words, he's being a good boy.

Five minutes from now could be a completely different story. And I'm sure that tonight, after my husband goes to bed, King Richard will start his nightly routine of scratching at the doors to get out, then trying to knock things off of shelves or off of the kitchen counter to let me know his displeasure at life in general. And I'll fuss at him, and threaten to take him back to the shelter (even though I've had him for five years now). And then when it's time to go to bed, he'll curl up next to my head, I'll lay my hand on him to feel him purring, and all will be forgiven.

And tomorrow it will start all over again.

Yes, we love our pets, whether they have fur, fins or feathers...or scales.

The designers of the Scrap Designers Blog Train know this, so this month's theme is "Pet-astic!" This month, we were given no specific palette to work with, but simply went with the colors that naturally occur in our non-human children.

Be sure to visit all of these designers to pull together an awesome pet-themed collection:

And to give a special touch to your layouts created with the kits and papers from the other designers, use some of the word art available here:

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Have fun doing layouts about your pets...and be sure to scroll down for another blog post and some other freebies (and sales!) just because I'm a fan girl. 😉

All I can think of is...

Ladies and Gents,

this is the moment you've waited for!

From the moment I first stepped into the theater last December to see "The Greatest Showman" - and had to fight with myself to NOT turn around and go right back in for a 2nd showing - I've been waiting for this day.

April 10th - DVD/Blu-Ray Release Day here in the US.

It has been a very long time since I had a movie grab me the way this one has. And I have NEVER paid to see a movie 9...or was it 10?...I lost count...times at the theater.

(featuring: "Big Top Bundle" by Kate Hadfield Designs)

Despite the complaints about historical accuracy or just what kind of person the real PT Barnum was, this movie is full of messages about living your dreams, being proud of who you are, and accepting others who are different from you.

I could go on and on about the "dream" aspect of it, including the fact that it was a dream project for star Hugh Jackman, taking nearly a decade from start to screen....or the fact that this little movie musical should have folded by mid-January based on its opening weekend box office totals when it didn't even make back 1/10 of its production cost, but instead has been in movie theaters for 15 weeks, made back 5 times its cost, spawned a sing-along version, and - at least locally - has finally been pulled from the theater less than a week before its disk release.

(featuring: "School of Wizardry" by Magical Scraps Galore)

But mostly, it's the music that has grabbed people. I had to wait a month because Amazon had the CD on back order. The soundtrack has been at the top of the album charts since early January and is already projected to be the biggest selling US album of 2018. It tied (or maybe beat?) the record set by Adele's "21" at the top of the charts in the UK. The anthemic "This Is Me" won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar.

And it's the best **** CD to blast and sing to as you drive along the interstate.

So yeah...I'm a bit obsessed with it - so obsessed that I felt compelled to create some word art reflecting some of the key messages of the music.

(featuring: "Courage" by MagsGraphics)

What's more, I've pulled some of my designer friends into the fun. These three lovely ladies all have circus-themed kits available and have offered to create sales of them so you can match the "Big Top Fun" word art to their designs. Please check out: