In Memory of Zander

 

Today Zander would have been a year old

We miss you beautiful baby boy.

I am sure you are having a birthday party with the angels.

Grandma loves you.

A Christmas Gift for You

 

This beautiful is from Moonlight Journey's Christmas Collage Sheet

Well this year we will have a small Christmas dinner on Sunday. Just hubby and I. He had surgery on his prostate yesterday and will have surgery to repair a hiatal  (how the heck to you spell that word?) hernia on Monday so he will be on a liquid and soft diet for 6 weeks. Our children are in CA so we will celebrate a tiny bit on Sunday before Surgery on Monday.

We have so much to be thankful for although it is always lonely through the holiday without family.
Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here is your Christmas Gift of FREE backgrounds and images

Hope you can use them in your artwork

Happy Creating

FEELING CREATIVE

Feeling creative today.

I call it Natural Beauty.

The beauty of the mushroom and the beauty of Greta is amazing!

Gotta get crackin with the Christmas gifts this week and hubby will be having major surgery on the 23rd so we will be recovering with no tree, no lights, no family and no dinner since he will only be able to eat soft or liquid food for 6 weeks.

Keeping Busy

Keeping up with my orders in my two Esty Shops

 

Custom order for a cigar box for a lady who's boyfriend loves sax players

 Custom order for a tin box with the image of a ladies pit bull who she lost this year and it has a tag with his name and dates of birth and death on it.

Keeping up with challenges on my Digital Whisper site. This was for the photography group challenge this month. My grandson Vince is my model for this one.

Lots of things going on right now. Digital Whisper is getting ready to upgrade to Ning 3.0 which will be a nice change.  Looking forward to many more members and much more activity on my Art Network at www.digitalwhisper.ning.com
 

FREE CHRISTMAS JOURNAL AND SCRAPBOOK KIT

Digital Whispers  Journal Scrapbook Group is giving away a Christmas Kit.
All you have to do is go here,http://digitalwhisper.ning.com/ join the group Journal & Scrapbook, and get click on the December Challenge and get the link to download there. Use it to create your Christmas Cards, tags, blog posts or whatever you want.
Happy Creating!

PHOTOSHOP & ELEMENTS JUST GOT WAY MORE FUN !

Every year or so something BIG comes along in the photo-art world.

Something really, really good.

I recently came across this new Photoshop “Fine Art Grunge” course, and I am in love with it.

Another serious scrapbook artist(and member of my Digital Whisper Network, recommended the course and even wrote up a testimonial for it:

“Finally a class that teaches me things I can actually use in my digital art.  I’ve picked up so many new tips and tricks in Photoshop that I would never have thought of doing.  This stuff will amaze you!  For scrapbookers, this is a well-structured, truly must-have class!!!”  -- Teddi Rutschman (aka ‘foxeysquirrel’)

http://fineartgrunge.com/grungecanvas/?orid=4399&opid=2

The course is really about taking photo-editing and digital scrapbooking ... and pushing it all further:  creating artistic compositions worth printing to canvas or a serious fine art print.

And the style in this course is so beautiful and unique ...

He calls it “grunge,” but really it’s more about elaborate photo composites using advanced layer techniques, textures, vector files, shape layers, custom brushes, dramatic lighting effects, typography.

When you see this stuff, it’s not surprising that half of the page about the course is just one testimonial after another (after another, after another).

And that’s just not something you come across very often.

So — this is something you will DEFINITELY want to see:

http://fineartgrunge.com/grungecanvas/?orid=4399&opid=2

If you’re anything like me, and you love working with Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) to create artistic compositions, I really think you are going to love this.

I know I would love to see you join in the course.

PS:  This course is really BIG too.  As in, over 60 videos!  And nearly 5 gigabytes of bonus content alone!  AND there’s an exciting Photoshop Group and Flickr Group just for the students in the course, with fun “Weekly Challenges” and all sorts of other fun stuff coming out every week.  You are going to have the time of your life!

PPS:  Also, not only is the course set up for both Photoshop and Elements, you get lifetime access to all of the content and bonuses, so you can go through it at your own pace and come back as often as you like, whether to review a technique or to pick up new content or just to get re-inspired.  The new content just keeps coming, week after week.  This is the kind of serious artistic Photoshop training a lot of us have been looking for.

Hope to see you there!

 

Angela of Pennystamper is having a Give Away! 

Yes this beautiful piece of art will be given away and all you have to do is sign up!

Angela's work is amazing and it is all done by hand.

So go leave a comment and good luck

CHRISTMAS CARDS

There is an assortment of  12 cards from various artists now available in Digital Whispers Etsy Shop, Elegant Whispers.

The proceeds will help pay for the Ning fees to keep Digital Whisper open.
Here is the link for more information and to purchase your set. Get them while they last.

Elegant Whispers

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Stay safe on this scary creepy night!

EEEK A MOUSE !

What?

My hubby and I went to the home show this weekend mainly to look for a compressor that would keep our electricity on through the storms this winter . I really didn't want to go. It is always the same old thing. Countertops, windows, doors, faucets, hot tubs, oh yes lots of hot tubs, those special pots and pans and gutters that trap pine needles. Yep it is always the same old things but every time we go we end up finding something we didn't know we needed.

This year it was a new pest control company. We found it and what drew me in to the booth were these little guys that were displayed on the front table. They are little chocolate mice with almonds for ears, Cute as buttons (or should I say chocolate mice) and they were delicious!

I just had to share this with you all. These would make a really great trick or treat candy!

Oh and here is my entry to the Halloween Art Contest at Creative Souls this year.
The theme was cracked and crackle. 

I call it "Haunted Saints" and you can find the credits for this artwork at Creative Souls in the gallery

Gearing Up For Christmas

 Yes I am getting ready for the Christmas Rush in my Etsy Shop, Altered State of Tin
Over the past two days I created four new tins but these aren't just any old tins. They are kits!

Yep, two of them are Traveling Jewelry Maker Kits. They have a package of beads, the stretchy thread, needles, thread guide and sicissors. AND it all comes in a beautiful altered tin.

The other two tins have sewing kits inside. Thread, pins, tweezers, snaps, buttons, safety pin, needles and scissors, and it is all inside a beautiful altered tin box.

Both of these kits will make a great Christmas Gift or stocking stuffer.
To find them and more of my altered tin boxes click the link to the right of the page here or copy and paste this link in your browser. www.alteredstateoftin.etsy.com.

What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

I WAS VERY CLOSE TO DEATH

I saw my surgeon this week and he said I look good and am doing great. He wants me to take it slow and gradually get back to all my normal activities over the next 6 weeks. I will have to take a beta blocker for the rest of my life but I do have a healthy heart now.

I ask him just how close I was to death the day I arrived at Oregon Cardiovascular Center. He said that I was right there. If the procedure of placing that balloon in my heart to keep the pressure off until he could operate had not worked, there would have been nothing he could do.

Those words sent chills through me. I don't remember anything after I was put in the ambulance here to be taken to the airport and flown to Eugene. I was so scared so I am sure they gave me something to calm me down. It is such a strange feeling to know that there were 4 days gone from my memory. It is probably a good thing though.

I think back about that day I had my heart attack and I am so blessed to have made it to the doctors office before it happened. I was having lots of pain but it only became unbearable after I got to the doctors office.
God was with me, I just know it. He tried to warn me for a couple of months but I was in denial of the symptoms I was having. I absolutely believe in angels and I know there was one with me in the ICU.

I am so blessed that I was given a second chance at life. God loves me enough to keep me here for a while longer. I look at things differently now and I when I find myself complaining about something I have come to realize that hey, I am alive and I have nothing to complain about.

God is good, angels are all around us and prayer is so powerful.

I FEEL AMAZING

Hello friends
I wanted to let you know that I am feeling great since my open heart surgery.
I am doing Cardiac Rehab twice a week and have another month to go. It is nothing like Zumba which I miss very much. I expect to return by November but I am hearing that open heart patients do not completely recover for a year!! I will take what I can get.  I just feel so amazing and have so much energy and want to use it all but I know I have to take it easy, after all my heart just went through a very traumatic thing.

I will be seeing the Cardiac PA here in Coos Bay on Friday and then my surgeon on the 18th so I will know more then but I am hoping I can at least get my driving privileges back and be able to soak in a hot tub!

I am however, doing my normal house cleaning and laundry and cooking now and without any problems. My incision is healing and the bruising is almost gone. I have some pinching sensation now and then but rehab says that is my sternum healing.

I am back to creating new tins for my Etsy Shop Altered State of Tin and getting stocked up for the holidays.
I am back full time with my Artist Network, Digital Whisper and I my creative juices are flowing.

 This is a piece I did for my Things with Wings" Challenge

 

Anyway I am feeling better and hope you are all okay too.

Hugs

This was a piece I did just because my creative juices are flowing right now

"Lady in the Garden"

I AM SO BLESSED...I NOW HAVE TWO BIRTHDAYS!

My design team at Digital Whisper created this darling banner for me while I was in the hospital.

August 2nd I had a heart attack!. I had chest pain for a couple of months and thought it was indigestion. I guess I was in denial. It started with the first 15 minutes of my workouts and then it came when sweeping the sidewalk and woke me up a couple of times. I called the doctor on Wednesday and she was out of town so they fit me in on Thursday morning. By the time I arrived at 9AM I could hardly stand the pain. The nurse came out into the waiting room and then immediately got the doctor on call. They did an EKG and saw that I  had had a heart attack but didn't know when.They wheeled me to the ER next door and did blood work after giving me 5 baby aspirin. The blood work showed triple red enzymes which meant I was having a heart attack. They took me via ambulance to the airport where I was transported by Life Flight to Riverbend Oregon Cardiac Center. I don't remember the flight at all. They did an angeogram which showed 4 completely blocked arteries. My heart had started to harvest tiny veins on its own to get blood supply to my heart. What an amazing thing our body is!

On August 4th 2013 I had open heart surgery. They sawed open my sternum to get to my heart. The rib spreaders caused so much brusing I looked like I had been hit by a Mack Truck ! They put me on a heart lung machine and took a vein from my leg as well as a mammo veins and bypassed the blocked arteries. God is good. He gave me a new life. My husband said I was close to death and he was so scared. I was unconscious for two days and on a breathing machine.

I have always been healthy as a horse. Strong and never sick other than a cold. My kids were shocked and still can't believe Mom had a heart attack.

Because of all of my husbands health problems these past two years I always kept baby aspirin in my night stand, desk drawer and purse but when it came time to use them, it never crossed my mind!

I had a friend in her 30's in the 90's that came to work with what she described as "terrible indigestion" and dropped dead at our bosses desk.  

My warning to you all is this....if you have pain, a feeling that you need to burp, a heavy squeezing feeling in the middle of your chest radiating down the back of your left arm and up in to your jaw area, DO NOT IGNORE IT. Go to the doctor and get checked out or go to the ER and have it checked. God was watching me. I was blessed. I could have dropped dead in those two months I was having this pain. Two week prior I was in Las Vegas where my 6 month old great grandson was dying and I could have easily died there with all the stress.

I am thankful beyond words for this second life God has blessed me with. My second birthday is August 4th.
Thank You Jesus

I am on the mend. Starting Cardiac rehab today. Up and walking and doing a little more each day. I feel fantastic and can't wait to use this new energy with the blood pumping through my heart as it should have been doing for who knows how long. I am excited and so very thankful.
Love you all, please take care of yourself and never ignore signs that your body is trying to tell you.

New Challenge at Digital Whisper

A collage I did for the Music Challenge this week at Digital Whisper.

Would you like to join Digital Whisper?

Click the Digital Whisper button on the sidebar here and join in the fun!

Free Vintage Images

I wanted to share these vintage images with all of you.

Use them in your next collage and post it on Digital Whisper !

 

Happy Creating Everyone!

Thank You from Melissa and Justin

 Melissa and Justin want to thank all of you for your thoughtfulness, prayers and flowers.
Time heals all wounds and I ask that you keep them in your prayers.

 

This photo was taken the day they brought Zander home from the hospital. It is the only photo of the four of them they have.

Zander Justin Elwanger 12-30-13 - 7-2-13

Our beautiful baby Zander passed away in his Mother's arms only an hour after life support was removed.

We may not have received a miracle of a healthy life for Zander but we did receive a miracle of peace and no suffering and were able to say good bye.
Thanks to each of you for your support and prayers.

Services will be held at 2pm on Monday, July 8th at
Davis Funeral Home
6200 South Eastern Ave
Las Vegas, NV

We need a miracle for our baby Zander

 Two weeks ago my granddaughter took her baby, Zander, my great grandson in for his 6 months check up
When she saw the doctor he ask why she was holding his head up and she said because he can't hold it up very long by himself. The doctor walked my granddaughter, Melissa and Zander across the parking lot to the ER. They admitted him and did blood tests, MRI and CAT scan if his neck and spine. The said all the test came back normal but were waiting for two of the test that would probably not be in for at least 10 days. They sent him home.

Last Saturday he stopped breathing and my granddaughter gave him CPR and called 911. He was rushed to the hospital. They put in a breathing tube and did more CAT Scans and another MRI and a chest Xray. The Xray showed pneumonia. They had to intubate and sedate him so the breathing machine can work for him.

Yesterday morning the pediatrician said that with all the tests and all the doctors that have looked at Zander's case and with the tests that have finally come in he has  MSA Muscular Spinal Atrophy. There are three types of this disease. Type 1 which usually affects babies up to two years old and the life expectancy is two years due to respiratory complications such as pneumonia. Type 2 is not as serious but with many complications and life expectancy is longer. Type 3 is the least serious and life expectancy is a full one.

http://ehealthwall.com/spinal-muscular-atrophy-life-expectancy-treatment-symptoms/

The last test came in and Zander has Type 1. My granddaughter and her husband have to decide weather to put him on life support for as long as his little life will be or to remove all tubes and let "nature take its course". How does a parent decide something as heart wrenching as this?

God preforms miracles. He has made the blind see, the crippled walk, healed leprosy and made crazy people sane. I know this is Satan and I cannot tell you how much I hate Satan. How dare he attack this sweet little baby!! I am praying that God will give us a miracle and push Satan out of the way and save our baby Zander.

Up until two weeks ago he was a happy healthy baby and now according to the doctors he is dying.
The panel of doctors that have seen Zanders case along with a genetic specialist will be meeting with Melissa and Justin tomorrow to go over this disease and the options that they, as parents have.

We are all devastated and heartbroken. It is so hard to see my granddaughter in such pain and her daddy, my Son and Zander's Grandfather is a mess. He feels so helpless that he is not able to fix this for his baby girl.

They have a two year old daughter (Ava June) that was there when all of this happened and she ask her Mommy on the phone if brother was dying. Bless her heart, how did she know about death and dying. She saw a counselor yesterday.

I am going out to Vegas to be with my family on Thursday. My heart is so heavy right now.
There are many prayers going up for Zander so I am prying that God will hear them and give us a miracle. That is the only thing that will save this baby. I am asking for Prayers for the family too. We have to be strong for Melissa and Justin and this is going to be so very hard.
Thank you all

Please pray with everything you have.

HAPPY SUMMER

I want to Thank Kym Decker for doing the Blog Hop and all those members that participated in it. Digital Whisper will be having more blog hops in the future.

Today is the FIRST day of summer! Finally it is here!

I would like to take a SURVEY from all of you on what you would like to see here at Digital Whisper. Weather it be mixed media, more challenges. contests, Artist Trading Cards or whatever ideas you might have to keep our site fresh and active.

Our goal is to have happy members so if you would be so kind as to leave a comment in the blog area below on what YOU would like to see here I will be happy to consider all ideas.

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE !!

Digital Whisper Blog Hop Day 3

Mid-Summer Dream # 3 .
To enjoy everyday without rain. Stand in the warm sun on my front porch and take in the beauty of Oregon.
Here in Coos Bay we have approx 5 full months without rain. The rain is necessary to keep all the evergreen trees green and healthy. Coming from CA I must say that the beauty of Oregon and the mild temperatures are a blessing. You will hear me complain about all the rain here but when the mid summer months arrive it is heaven. This photo was taken from one corner of my front porch. We have 9 acres and every inch is appreciated. So this Mid-Summers Dream is to celebrate the beautiful dry days.
Credit: Background is my own photograph
The butterfly is from Free wallpapers
Thanks to all who participated in the Blog Hop and to Kym Decker for organizing it.
You are all awesome and you make Digital Whisper ROCK!

Digital Whisper Blog Hop Day 2

Mid-Summers Eve should have a little romance . Don't forget to hug your honey :)
Credits: Background from Su Hall. Silhouette is from Free Stock, Photoshop brushes

Digital Whisper's Blog Hop

It's Time To Hop!!!!!!

 Have a fantastic time hopping from one blog to another as you read each member's post and see the fantastic Midsummers Eve art work they have ready to share with you!

This is my contribution.
One of my mid-summers dreams is to enjoy my property and all of it's beauty before the rains return.
Credits: Background is from Digital Whisper's Journey of the Butterfly Kit
Image is from my private stock

Here's your Blog Hop List:

http://artistbrendasalzano.blogspot.com

http://csummersdigital.blogspot.com

http://digital-collage.org/

 http://lostinwhimsyart.blogspot.com/

http://missannesvintageart.blogspot.com/

http://moonlightjourney.blogspot.com/

http://rustymermaiddolls.blogspot.ca/

http://wwwsueann.blogspot.com/  

http://whymsicalmusings.blogspot.com

http://wishiniknewhowtoblog.blogspot.ca/

http://wjcsdigitalworld.blogspot.com/

Happy Father's Day !

 

I wish all the Father's out there a Happy and Fun day filled with love.

This is a collage I did back in 2010.

It reminds me of my Son's and what wonderful Fathers they are.

I am so proud of all three of them.

Much Love

Mom

A FREE IMAGE FOR YOU

 

Free Image to you from me.

Love those feathers!

THIS MONTH"S FEATURED ARTIST ON DIGITAL WHISPER

This month's Featured Artist is Diane Smith with her beautiful Sketch "The Path"

 

I love the depth of this piece!

Officially Old

Okay today I am officially old, 65 and on Medicare!
I can't believe how time flies by so fast. It seems like yesterday I was 15 years old and anxious to be 18.
The good thing is I don't have to pay that 400.00 a month for healthy insurance anymore:)

Beleive me since I retired in 2006 my days are not long enough. I thought retirement would be relaxing and travel and fun but instead I have a shop on Etsy that is successful, an artist network that keeps me hopping, two dogs that have a routine I better be on top of or they let me know about it, Etsy meetings with my friends, Zumba twice a week and a blog that is going to get more attention this year and life in general. I am very blessed and thank God everyday that I have my health and the capability to do all that is required of me each day.
Do I feel old? Not at all. it is just strange to say that I am now 65 years old when I feel like I am still 20.
Happy Birthday to me!

I CHANGED MY MIND

 I have been having some problems with changing my background on my blog.
I have asked Blogger about it but of course I will NEVER get an answer.

I have deleted many posts to see that helps, but it didn't so I thought I would just start an new blog but then after looking back at all my posts I have changed my mind.
Over 800 posts and almost 90,000 page views, I don't think so.

So even though my background is red with hearts, my readers will have to deal with it. I am not deleting this blog and starting over. I opened my blog in 2008! That is a lot of information!

So I am going to keep the blog even though lately I have been quite lack at posting. My new Network Digital Whisper keeps me busy. That and my Etsy Shop which I noticed in looking back through my posts, you all participated in helping me with a name for it [ ALTERED STATE OF TIN.]

So I will continue to keep this blog and try to make it interesting for you all. Please come back often. I plan to have some free stuff for you and share more of my life.

So stick around and see what I am up to.
Love you all and thanks for making my blog a really neat place to meet people, share ideas and life.

Here are some free Wings for you to use in your artwork 

HAPPY CREATING !

I created this using pieces of the digital collage "Oz" kit
Different for me. I have never used a kit before when creating but this was my point in designing this kit
To bring the creativity out in digital artists. Use you imagination and it will all come together.
You can find this kit in Digital Whisper's Etsy shop, Elegantt Whispers www.elegantwhispers.etsy.com
Hope you can come join us in our challenges and use our kit.