Visual Designs by Chris

Chris Durnan

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Private Princess Party

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The benefit to being the only girl grandchild out of 5 grandchildren is….
Private Princess Party!!
last week Nanna and Boppa had a private party for my niece P. (Pea)  because they would be out of town.
It was tons of fun. When Pea went home she told her Mom that she was to tired because my kiddo had played with her to much. I found this amusing as did my sister, her Mom.
And then…. when we were on the way home… My kiddo told me that he was going to contact Nanna about having his own Private party next year for his birthday. Because to have two birthday parties should be for every grandchild. I tried to explain to him that it was because N&B were out of town so that is why and the big party was on Saturday. My little one just smiled and said. I am gonna tell Nanna. To cute. Really I just rolled my eyes. It was fun!
And notice the squirt gun… next to the ice cream cake.. Necessary for all Private Princess Parties. Necessary also when there are so many boy cousins. haha.

And this is my lovely sister. It seems when my Aunt is away and not around to steal the crown (or tiara as it was explained to us by our Mom. woops total social faux pah to call it a crown). When the Aunt Jill. is away we all have time with the crown. Well those of us who want it… I expect soon my Sis will be asking Nanna for her own Private Princess Party as well. hahaha.

Love our lives.. filled with smiles.. parties.. fun and … “Tiaras”

Enjoy!
Chris

Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!

My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!

And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.

Godparents…

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 This past weekend we were asked to be Godparents to a friend’s daughter. They are that type of friend that are so close they are family. This was a great honor for us. This is the cross I made for her to hang on her wall. When she gets older she can undo the pink bow and use the metal cross on her keychain or wherever she’d like. It looks almost white here but is a pale pink. I had most of the pieces in my craftroom and my hubby took a walk for me through the craft aisle and came home with the metal cross and heart in the center. Which I thought was the perfect addition to it. As I was laying it out. The hubby said. I think it needs more of the bling. Cute! Love him. As soon as she opened it. It went up on the wall in her room per her request. Awesome.

We had a great time and below are some pictures of the girls and us.

I love Bear Hugs. My Dad always did a Bear Hug which is everyone together as tight as possible.Love it.
And this is totally my goddaughter M, she just does her thing. Love it. Her sister R has hair to die for. I was staring at it and wondering if someone had given her extensions. I should have taken a better picture.

And this is M and I. Whenever we see her, she knows I want a hug so she says
GIVE ME HUGS!. It’s the best.
A moment in our life. enjoy!
Chris
Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!
My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!
And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.

Brandied, peppered, sauced. wow… Pears!

By

So tonight I start canning the tons of pears on my counter. I had to giggle
when I layed them all out on the table to start with the most ripe ones
first. They are spread all over the table and I could just imagine my friend
Heidi's kids asking me if I had robbed a pear store. As they believed I had
robbed an apple store a few months ago when the table was covered with
apples.

So now I am trying to decide on recipes.
First my friend Jan sent me the link for pineapple pear jam. The
recommendation was made to me because the review she received when she made
it was "it was the best ever tasted". I have found that a lot of recipes
call for canning pears with pineapple juice or something of the like. I find
this interesting. I would never normally put these two together, but I can
imagine the flavors melding together.

And then I was thinking about trying pearsauce, but will do that last I
think. variation of apple sauce.

Brandied Pears, although one book I have says to can pears with crème de
menthe. So that is an option. However, I don't have crème de menthe in the
cupboard, but I have seen a bottle of brandy that I don't know where it came
from so we'll use that up. (Not the whole bottle yikes!!)

Also, I found some pear recipes I had never seen before and thought hmmm. I
am looking for variety in my canning. One was a Peppery Pear Salsa for a
condiment use on chicken and other items and another was for a pear chutney.
Also a good accompaniment to chicken, but pork chops also.

I am addicted to my canning books, but I really like the smaller batch
versions. Since I like to do a little in the evening when I am cooking
dinner or my boys are watching a movie.. probably star wars. So if you have
a book you really like for canning. I would love to check it out. And really
I check them out from the library and see if it is one I can't live without.
I have two I sent back right away. Totally boring recipes. I saw one listed
as contemporary canning with rave reviews because of its uniqueness, but it
isn't a library book yet. So maybe in the future.

I must admit pears are not the first fruit I pick up in the store. I wonder
why I have a table covered in them at the present. It will probably take me
through the weekend to get them all processed. But really the positive
feeling I get after I can and look at the pretty jars I have filled with
goodies makes my chest swell in pride. I hope you have that thing in your
life that makes your chest swell in pride…. I just love my life..

Enjoy!
Chris

Vegetable Garden using CD00770

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I love Chris’s Sparkle files and this one was no exception. I always have to give Halloween themed files a little extra thought as we don’t really celebrate Halloween here in Australia. I am a huge fan of Scarecrows and was thrilled to see one in this collection of Sparkle files, which also includes a Witch, Witches Hat, Crow and a Skull. This latest file collection CD00770 – Halloween Sparkles is another fabulous file that Chris has as a part of her QMC for this last quarter for 2010.
 
I have created this layout in Photoshop CS3. Styles, textures and shadows have been added to create dimension to the layout. We have recently spent a couple of weeks creating a vegetable garden and when I saw Chris’s Scarecrow with Sparkles, I knew I needed to use it with my photos of our new garden.
 
Thankyou for looking,
 
cheers, caz

Bingo Begins tomorrow!! Sign up today…

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Tomorrow Bingo starts so visit the  forum and sign up today. Ginger is continuing on the Anniversary celebration in the forum. But today is the last day to sign up! Look at these great prizes she posted. Thankkkkk you! Ginger!!

 

I am off to finish picking winners in the forum and see who will be receiving all our goodies.

 

Thank you as always to everyone who celebrated with us! We couldn’t do it without you.

 

Tomorrow I draw the grandprize winner so make sure your list is up to date today!

 

Enjoy!

Chris

Love Love Love this pup!

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A layout using the VDBC file #CD00550 Love Title.  This looked a bit different in my head but oh well.  Instead of the flower in the file, I used a very similar punch from 2Grrls.  Added a little bling and some white highlights with a gel pen.  The ribbons are cut from a lighter lavendar paper and blended with some Concord Grape Distress ink.  If you can’t see, her shirt says “Puppy love is real”.  I wrote that on a strip of white..  Sierra had given her a mohawk with purple doggie hair gel.  I think she looks like a stuffed animal in the wallet sized photo.  Fun layout to do.

~Angie~
~I am blessed!!~

Visual Designs by Chris Creative Team Member
http://www.visualdesignsbychris.com
(all images are cut using the Blue Wishblade)

My file for you today

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UPDATE: 2 more freebies posted in the forum for other designers… and the Paper Temptress $25.00 Gift Certificate drawing!!
Hey guys. It is late in the day, but it is Sunday and I made it in with my file to offer you. Sunday is usually my day of rest and relaxation, but the forum is hopping and hopping. Scroll down and read a few previous posts to get all the details, but for now here is my file for you today.

THIS HAS EXPIRED!

So here is a car pattern for you that cuts in one piece. The files comes in dxf gsd knk wpc ai svg. And the password is iagreetou.
“Off we go” is a saying I say lots with my little one when we are ready to ride off in the truck and I would like to say Off we go to another great year!!!
Thank you to everyone who partied with us in the forum and our blogs. We will have a few things  left to clean up around the forum. Like mailing prizes and posting winners. Wooohoo! Was a phenomenal weekend.
Enjoy!
Chris

Prizes Galore.. today enter to win..

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Today is the day to get it all in….Here is the link to the anniversary forum. you are gonna want it today!
Well here are some of the prizes…. These are just the general challenge prizes. I am going to group them into bundles and send them out to the winners.
These ones were offered by RSMobley Designs and her amiga. Jill & Sharon sent in some fantastic prizes. Thank you Ladies!!
This one below is offered up by Lori of Beloved Keepsakes in her Grand Theft Challenge
Also there is a grand prize which is an external hard drive 120 GB for you to keep all your download files on and store. A great size to put in your purse or scrapping supplies to keep your files backed up and with you always. Sponsored by me.. Visual Designs by Chris. (Yes I am the practical one of the bunch. Since i have reformatted my pc so many times this year! haha)

And Lori of Beloved keepsakes has offered up a photo star for the 2nd place grand prize winner. These are beautiful! I know because I drool over them often. One day I will have the perfect pics to send and have a western style one done for on my wall.

I will be back after brunch to get more freebies uploaded and join in the partying. Did you think we were done? nope I have more.

For now don’t forget to scroll down and visit all the designers offering files in the forum and on their blogs to celebrate! And I’ll be back with more!

Brunch? Yes brunch… last night I had the honor of being asked to be a Godmother again. Last night was mass and today we celebrate for brunch. Woohoo! I will post lots of pictures later this week.

Enjoy!!!
Chris

Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!

My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!

And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.

My Second post today… anniversary freebie

By

Digi-Cutter Files offered in SCUT, GSD, KNK, WPC & AI (SVG) at www.visualdesignsbychris.com

First if you haven’t been here today… you should scroll down and see the drawing going on for a $25.00 gift certificate.

And now on to today…. My anniversary file for you. the password is iagreetou . The file in whole will be posted to the membership for the QMC. However, for my blog visitors today you can pick up this cute lamp that you could put on a front of a card, moving layout, new home card, child moving to college anything where heavy lifting of furniture is involved and you “light up my life”
THIS HAS EXPIRED
Also, Don’t forget to stop by the other blogs and the forum to grab a few more freebies. There are two posted in the forum today. One by LisaJane of Filekutz and Kitty’s Cuttings…

RSMobley Designs aka Sharon Mobley
http://rsmobleysdesigns.blogspot.com/

Kandrew Designs aka Getting Cricky with KAndrew Designs Blog
http://www.kandrewdesigns.blogspot.com/

Beloved Keepsakes aka Lori McDonald’s Blog
http://www.belovedkeepsakes.blogspot.com/

While you are in the forum don’t forget to check out the challenges.
They are easy peasy so you can get entered in the grand drawing… Some are…
Post your favorite project, quote, photo, tool and we also have the Grand Theft Challenge. Always fun with a huge prize!!!

Every drawing you enter gives you another entry in the grand prize which is an external hard drive to save all your fabulous files on.

And stopy Cuttin’ Up Designs to see the winners from yesterdays prize giveaways… http://www.cuttinupdesigns.com/

I got an email from a handful of people asking me to extend the $2.00 collections one more day as they had to work Friday. So they are still up if you want to add a ton of files to your collections for cheap cheap. $2.00 anniversary prices.

With that I must go!!! On to play and party in the forum.

Enjoy!
Chris

Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (#CD00337)

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Yes, another recipe page.  Here and there I like to do one.  My plan is to give each of the girls a book of family favorites.  I hope it is a long time before the gift is given but I don’t want to wait till the last minute. 
 
This layout uses Visual Designs by Chris file #CD00337 Henny Hen.  Pretty simple layout… ribbons, brads and some cut up strips to make straw. 
~Angie~
~I am blessed!!~

Visual Designs by Chris Creative Team Member
http://www.visualdesignsbychris.com
(all images are cut using the Blue Wishblade)