A.J.'s Digi Shoppe Blog

Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop

2013-05-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am proud to be apart of this wonderful blog hop. Operation Write Home is an amazing organization that provides handmade cards to our service men and women. I have several friends who are currently over seas serving our country and I feel this is the least I can do for the service men and women who are serving.

The card I created was from Sketch Challenge #127.

Red Lines from A.J.'s Digi Shoppe (Free Download Available Here)

Red Pinwheels from A.J.'s Digi Shoppe

Pinwheel Thank You Digi from A.J.'s Digi Shoppe (Free Download Available Here)

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Festive Berries

White Card Stock

Red Ribbon

Thank you for stopping, Happy Memorial Day and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop - Freebies

2013-05-24T23:30:00.000-04:00

Each year I create a special digi and paper for the Operation Write Home Blog Hop. I happen to love pinwheels and thought it was time to create a pinwheel digi and paper. I am also releasing a full set of the pinwheel paper that is currently for sale on the Digi Shoppe. The first two images are Free Downloads the last image will take you to the Digi Shoppe where you can purchase the Pinwheel Paper.

Click on the picture to download your stamps

Click on the picture to download your paper

This paper pack is available for purchase (click on the picture to check out the paper pack on the shop.)

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Page, when we hit 150 Fans we will be doing a give-a-way. We will also do another give-a-way once we hit 50 blog followers!

Freebie Friday - Poppy

2013-05-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

Every year as a child I remember going to the VFW with my grandmother and we would make paper red poppies. My memory of this is vague but I do remember a bunch of red crape paper and floral wire, a lot of laughing and candy. Those veterans always had candy till this day I associate butterscotch hard candy with helping at the VFW as a child.

I always try to go to shopping somewhere the weekend before Memorial Day so I can make my donation and get my poppy. I even got my kids into getting the flowers, my daughter asked me this week when can she get her red flower from the nice guys outside the store. I told her soon.

Tomorrow is the Operation Write Home Blog Hop which is an amazing blog hop for an amazing cause. If you have any spare time this weekend please hop on through and and leave some love (I will also have a special Freebie for the Blog Hop.)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, my family and I will be hosting a neighborhood BBQ with family and friends. It is important to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day and I hope y'all take a moment to remember those and their families who sacrificed so much for us.

Click on the picture to download your digital stamp.

Sending Thoughts and Prayers

2013-05-21T14:46:00.000-04:00

I am truly sadden by the events in Oklahoma yesterday, I can not even begin to comprehend the damage, heartbreak and horror they are going through right now. I have not watched much TV coverage, having two small children and one who is terrified of thunderstorms already, I feel it is for the best. I have been drawing quite a bit and this tragedy really made an impression on me, so I drew up a special digital stamp for everyone.

My PSA for today: Sadly during this time of grief, people will try to take advantage of others and their generosity (these tragedies bring out the worst in people). Please make sure the charity you are giving to is a legitimate charity.

If you are looking to communicate with loved ones, please use www.safeandwell.org.

If you would like to donate please check out this link of reputable organizations to help the people affected by the tornadoes.

Click on the picture to download the digital stamps.

Monday Release - Graduation Dollar Stamps

2013-05-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

Graduation time is here and the Digi Shoppe has a fresh new line of Graduation items to help celebrate that special time with the graduate of your life. The new Dollar Graduation Stamps will help you create memories that will last a lifetime for that special grad.

Freebie Friday - Graduation 2013

2013-05-17T00:13:00.000-04:00

Congratulations and we are very proud of all the Graduates of 2013 (especially my cousin Katlyn and my neighbor Caroline)!

Your journey has just begun, remember to stop smell the roses, listen to stories of your elders (they won't be around forever), laugh everyday, listen to music, doodle, money isn't the only thing that matters in life, be kind (to animals, plants, people) and remember if you put it on the internet it isn't private.

"Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans." ~John Lennon

Congratulations and we are very proud of all the Graduates of 2013!

Click on the picture to download your digital stamps

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Page, when we hit 150 Fans we will be doing a give-a-way. We will also do another give-a-way once we hit 50 blog followers!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Monday Release - Insects

2013-05-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic Mother's Day Weekend. We went to the pool (I got sun burned) and my amazing husband finished trimming my azalea bushes back, brought me breakfast in bed and made a fantastic meal for me. I also got to work on some new items as well as read which was a very nice change of pace for me.

I decided to change the Butterflies Section of the Digi Shoppe to Insects because it allows me to add Bees, Lady Bugs, and Moths to the collection.

I also updated the Freebie Friday Section so all the Freebies are in one place. You can visit that section here.

I hope everyone like the new releases and don't forget to check back on Friday for another Freebie.

If you click on the photos it will take you to the Shoppe.

Freebie Friday - Forget-Me-Not

2013-05-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

I am on a flower kick recently and with Mother's Day on Sunday I thought I would add to my flowers. I drew Forget-Me-Nots in honor of my great-grandmother. Mimi (my great grandma) loved Forget-Me-Nots matter of fact the first one I ever saw was on her grave. Over the years I never thought much about them until I got a packet of seeds in the mail with a note from my grandma.

"Now that you are a mother you will always look for ways to be remembered long after you are gone. The seeds are for Forget-Me-Nots, Mimi's favorite flower. She would go around with a packet of seeds and sprinkle them unsuspectedly as she passed (like a seed bomb). So I am giving you the seeds to remember Mimi and to make the most of those Forget-Me-Not moments. Love, Grandma Dona"

I never met Mimi, I knew of her she was a fabulous cook, a nurse, and she had a beautiful voice. This story of the seeds helped me make a connection with her, a connection I never had before. I love to think about Mimi walking (dancing) along sprinkling seeds along the way.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day, I will hopefully get to spend time in my garden digging in the dirt, sipping Mint Juleps (it sounds so good).

Click on the picture to download your digis

Don't forget about our Giveaway if we reach 150 Fans on Facebook I will be doing a Giveaway! We will also be doing a second Giveaway if we reach 50 Followers on our blog!

Monday Release - NEW Dollar Stamps

2013-05-06T01:00:00.000-04:00

New Dollar Stamps!

I have been working on so many new styles and stamps, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the cartoon style stamps.

I hope everyone has a great week and don't forget to stop by on Friday for our Freebie Friday :)

Freebie Friday - Irises

2013-05-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

I love irises they were the flowers for my wedding. I have had problems growing them in the Deep South, I am sure if winter would have actually visited us this year they might have bloomed. I am aware that some people are still in winter mode (the U.P. of Michigan and Northern Minnesota) and Florida is already in summer, we are having a pleasant spring (almost too pleasant) which means July and August are going to be brutal.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend we have a busy weekend but it should be fun!

Don't forget about our Giveaway if we reach 150 Fans on Facebook I will be doing a Giveaway! We will also be doing a second Giveaway if we reach 50 Followers on our blog!

Click on the picture to download your digital files

Freebie Friday - Baseball

2013-04-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

I love baseball, through the game's highs and lows, I love the stats, the history, the smell of a newly oiled glove, the field, the dogs and beer. If you have never been to a professional game it is an amazing experience because you can not comprehend on television how big the field really is. My first game Major League Game was the Milwaukee Brewers VS the Boston Red Sox in Milwaukee at the old County Stadium. My dad took me for my birthday on our way to Colorado (my dad is a truck driver and I wanted to see the mountains so he took me with, the baseball game was a HUGE bonus). I got to see Wade Boggs play which was pretty cool, I remember the chills I got when I first saw the field it was amazing and I also remember the awful Brewers uniforms (they were UGLY!) I can't remember who won it was all a blur, I do remember Wade Boggs hitting a home run and I also remember my brother dropping my camera when I got home, exposing the whole roll of film from the game and the Colorado trip with my dad. I still to this day have no photos taken by me of the Rocky Mountains.

I love being able to share this game with my husband and my kids love it too. Booga (my son) is a Tigers Fan (poor kid). When he was a baby I was watching ESPN and the only thing that quieted him was Jim Leyland's voice. He wears a Tigers hat every night to bed (he sleeps in it) and he tore the head off one of his toys when he found out Valverde was called back up from the minors (not kidding on this one either).

Remember to check out our Facebook Page and sign up for our Newsletter that comes out May 1st! I release a New unreleased stamp every month for a limited time.

Click on the picture to download your digital stamps

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday Release - Herbs

2013-04-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Earth Day! I love to garden and I have always loved the old drawings of plants and herbs. I decided to draw some herbs (rosemary, basil and thyme), I do plan on drawing more. The oregano, sage and cilantro are all outside. I don't have any lavender because I kill lavender or Jeff runs it over with the lawn mower.

I hope everyone like the new digis and don't forget Friday I will have a new Freebie for everyone so check it out!

Freebie Friday - Wish

2013-04-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

I like most people were extremely shocked and saddened by the events that took place Monday the fiftieth and the explosion in Texas on the seventieth. I personally have never been to Boston or Texas, (it is on my list) but I do know several people who live and work in Boston and in Texas, none around the explosion area. I had friends running the marathon, one of my friends was a half block away when the second blast went off. Thank God she is fine (physically fine still very shaken). I have been to a couple of races, never running but cheering friends on at the Finish Line. If you have never been to a marathon the Finish Line is an amazing atmosphere, clapping, cheering, hugging, crying tears of joy because they made it. They just ran 26 miles and they have every right to have applause and cheering.

I am reminded of a quote that was floating around this week on Facebook:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." ~Fred Rogers

I try to keep this blog uplifting and tell funny stories sadly events far to often seem to change the mood of everyone and everything. I have been avoiding the news (no TV) because it is depressing I started listening to Classical Music and creating things trying not to dwell on the bad.

I got this idea from my son and one of his friends yesterday. They were in our backyard and finding dandelions (only the "white" ones the yellow ones go to mommy). Each of them would pick up the white dandelion and start blowing, the other would say WWWWWIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!! (Yes it was that long and that loud.) The happiness and pure joy saying wish gave them makes me smile as I type this. I decided after a long day of watching two three year old boys to sit and draw a Wish!

So what do I wish for: I wish for love, I wish for happiness, I wish to inspire and above all I wish for peace.

Did you see the butterflies I uploaded to the Shoppe on Monday? I was told by my daughter they are her favorite, along with the peacock of course.

Become a Fan on our Facebook Page and be the first to see works in progress once we hit 150 Fans we will be do a giveaway. Become a Follower on a blog and once we hit 50 Followers we will do another giveaway!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday Release - Butterflies

2013-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

I love butterflies and always have, this weekend we created a butterfly garden in our backyard. In honor of our garden I created the butterflies. These will be up on the Shoppe this week due to bad weather I was unable to upload them this weekend. I also plan on drawing more and adding them as I finish them. I will let everyone know once they are up on the Shoppe!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Manda :)

Freebie Friday - Giant Ice Cream Cone

2013-04-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

My grandmother owns an ice cream shop in Michigan (yes it does seem like an oxymoron but she does, yes it is only open for 6 months out of the year and yes it is the coolest job ever.) I have been asking my grandmother for 20 years to design the logo for her shop and she has never let me do it. After the last t-shirt design which she was not pleased with she finally let me have a go at it (yesterday). She told me she wanted a little boy holding the giant ice cream cone. The ice cream cone is significant they are known as the Biggest Cone in Town - the photo below shows how big one of their large cones are - yes that is me I was 16 when the photo was taken.)

I decided that the cone should be held by Booga (my son) because if anyone would run away with an ice cream cone that big it would be him.

So here is the design I did for my grandma's shop (yes that is how she spells dairy and cream). So if you ever find yourself in Escanaba, Michigan (my hometown) look up Jim's Dari Kreme and stop in for a giant cone or an E.T. Sundae (chocolate ice cream, peanut butter topping that is homemade and Reece's Pieces - it is a whole lot of heaven in one container).

If you click on the logo it will take you to their Facebook Page - they do not have a website.

Since my grandma is an awesome lady she said I could offer the little boy with the cone as a Freebie for the Digi Shoppe.

Click on the picture to download your stamps.

The ice cream is blue, it is actually Bluemoon which is a flavor for soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt. Bluemoon flavoring was invented in my grandma's kitchen in the 1950s by my grandfather and a couple of his "mad scientist" buddies, who owned Bancroft Dairy in Escanaba, Michigan. Bancroft Dairy was sold to John Jilbert of Marquette, Michigan and is known today as Jilbert's Dairy. Jilbert's sold the recipe to National, which supplies flavorings to Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Shops all over the country. I personally love Bluemoon Ice Cream but it is a love it or hate it flavor of ice cream. I recommend if you ever have a chance to try Bluemoon Ice Cream it is worth it!

Don't forget to like the Digi Shoppe Fan Page once we hit 150 likes on our Facebook Page I will be doing a Giveaway. Also if you become a Follower on our Blog once we hit 50 Followers I will do another Giveaway!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Oz Collection that was released on Monday, if you haven't click on over to the Digi Shoppe to check it out.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Monday Release - The Oz Collection

2013-04-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

I have always been inspired by pen and ink drawings, we have also been reading Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz (again) and I decided I need to do a "vintage" set of Oz stamps. The Oz Collection is a collection of ten (10) different images, the complete collection consists of forty (40) digital images - 20 black/white (10 PNG 10 JPEG) 20 - color (10 PNG 10 JPEG). Each image is available separately or as a complete collection.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Page to see Sneak Peeks of what I am working on.

Freebie Friday - Clapboard and Film Canister

2013-04-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday like so many others found out about the passing of Roger Ebert. As a kid I watched Siskle and Ebert, I was personally a fan of the two thumbs down, I loved the horrible cheesiness of it all. I always thought that is was really cool he had a painting of Siskle after his passing. When I got a Twitter account he was the first person I followed on Twitter, I read his blog religiously and saw very few movies he gave two thumbs down (there are a several we disagreed on over the years.) If you are looking for the Best of the Best of Roger Ebert check out this article from Jezebel.

I admit I have tried several times to do a roll of film digi and I never liked how they turned out until this one. The clapboard is based on a real clapboard that belongs to my husband (if you have never played with a real one they are really cool!) They are two separate digital stamps and both are quite large (almost 7"x7").

I have also been creating some fun new digital stamps and have been giving sneak peaks on the Facebook Page. I have two new sets almost finished as well as several others in the sketching phase. I am going to do a giveaway once the Facebook Page reaches 150 fans. I will do a second giveaway once the blog reaches 50 fans. The giveaways will be for one complete set of stamps or two sets of Digital Paper of your choice from the Digi Shoppe.

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend, I am looking forward to some baseball, gardening and a welcome home party for one of my dear friend's husband.

Click on the picture to download your digital stamps

Monday Release - The Genki Collection

2013-04-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Genki Collection are inspired by Japanese Wood Block Prints. Each image was hand drawn with a Micron 08 Pen, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

Don't forget our Newsletter is released the first of every month and there is a new unreleased free digi.

Freebie Friday - Gerbera Daisy

2013-03-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

I love Gerbera Daises, actually I love ALL daisies. As a child I would pick my neighbor's daisies and would paint and draw them. She said she never realized until I went off to college how many daisies I actually picked.

My favorite were her orange and pink Gerbera Daisies, I would mix them with Shasta Daisies and give the bouquet to my grandma once I was finished. When I had knee surgery in high school Angie picked all her orange Gerbera Daisies for me and the gift also included Micron Pens and a sketchbook. I sketched those daisies for days. This week I managed to sprain my knee (the same knee I had surgery on) so I have been laid up all week. I decided to pull out my Micron Pens and start sketching. Once I sketched the daisy I brought it into Photoshop and practiced my digital painting. I am extremely pleased with how it turned out and expect to see a lot more pen and ink drawing style digis in the future.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Page and sign up for our Newsletter that comes out April 1st! My goal for April is to start posting and utilizing the Facebook page more and do the Monday Release again.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Click on picture to download you Freebie

Freebie Friday - Bunny

2013-03-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Easter is closing in fast and I decided to tackle another home improvement project. I'm not sure why I am concentrating so much on my home recently maybe it is because I have seen all the imperfections for 5 years and I am tired of it. I ripped out my ugly, poorly installed, crooked (very crooked) kitchen back splash and am installing a new one. This backsplash isn't your run of the mill glass tile backsplash it consists of pennies, beer bottles and left over glass tile from my bathroom. I am very pleased with the progress and can not wait to finish it. I am also wondering what the bank teller is going to say when we go in and buy $30 worth of pennies.

Hopefully this weekend I will get some more digis created and Easter Projects done. I have high hope and it is suppose to be raining here so I have a vast check list.

Happy Spring and Weekend Everyone :)

Click on the picture to download your digi.

Freebie Friday - Leprechaun Jumping

2013-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

With St. Patrick's Day on Sunday I decided to release the design I did as a shirt for my daughter. I have never done anything like this combining past digis to create a new image.

The reason why I did this was because I found myself last weekend with a little girl who was in desperate need of a St. Patrick's Day Shirt. I had the iron-on transfer paper and had to come up with something quick. Usually when I do stuff like that I never save the file this time however I did save it because I liked how it turned out. The image is quite large I did them as an 8"x10" so they can be printed on the transfer paper.

I also wanted to share the St. Patrick's Day Shirt I created for my daughter with the Leprechaun and Pot O Gold. I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe St. Patrick's Day Weekend. I plan on not leaving my house and maybe even get some gardening done.

The Princess and her shirt

Click on the picture to download your digi

Freebie Friday - Green Beer

2013-03-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

St. Patrick's Day is next weekend and to celebrate I created "Green Beer!" I personally have never drank green beer but I have seen many people drink green beer. Hard to believe I live in a city where one of the largest St. Patrick's Day Celebrations is held. Maybe this year I will actually get around to hoisting a mug with some green beer in it.

I am still trying to get everything back in order from the bathroom renovation. I hope to have that done this weekend so I can back to creating more digis. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Click on the picture to download your PNG files

Freebie Friday - Pot O Gold!

2013-03-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

It is March! Which brings the coming of spring and St. Patrick's Day. If you signed up for our Newsletter you actually received a special Freebie that will go fantastic with this digi.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook Page to see what I am working on (I admit with the giant bathroom renovation I have not been posting much recently.) I do plan on posting more sneak peeks so everyone can see what I am working on in the coming weeks. Happy Friday and Happy March!

Click on the picture to download your freebie

Freebie Friday - Whale

2013-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had originally had hope to get a different digi done for today but unfortunately my bathroom decided this was a fantastic week to fall apart (down to the floor). It started with a "simple" faucet repair and eventually lead to us ripping out the floor. I have not spent a lot of time at my computer this week because I have been painting and now scrapping a bathroom floor. I guess on the bright side I will have a brand new bathroom.

So in honor of my bathroom I thought I would share this cute whale because my bathroom has become a whale of a project.

Click the picture to download your Freebie

Freebie Friday - Emerald Basket Weave Paper

2013-02-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone I hope y'all had a fantastic Valentine's Day! I did I got a new washer (I know not very romantic but when yours of 14 years decided to die, you will take it) I also got a circular saw, which I am in love with. I know circular saw for Valentine's Day, what? I really, really wanted one so my husband got me a nice pretty red one I have several DIY projects in the planning stage.

I have also been working on several paper packs for the month of March including a fantastic Emerald Pack inspired by Pantone Color of the Year - Emerald. I personally love the color and am having so much fun creating this set. Here are just a sample of the up coming set, I hope everyone enjoys them:

Click the picture to download your copy of this paper pack.