Well....five years later I finally make another post. :)

Sorry it has been so long. I have continued to keep busy with my digi-scrapbooking but haven't had the opportunity to post here. With the Christmas holidays though a lot of designers have freebies on their blogs and I couldn't forget to tell you. Here are some of my favs....

#1: Meghan Mullens... She has a bunch of different alphas on there as well as a couple templates and QPs (quick pages- where you just have to add pictures and journaling).

#2: Eva Kipler... Her CT just come out with a bunch of QPs that they posted on their website for Christmas. Love the layouts they chose. Be sure to head over and download them.

#3: Sweet Shoppe... Okay, technically not a designer but every day the release a new free template until Christmas. They are only good for that day so be sure to head over and get the ones that are left. Sorry I am posting this so late. If you want the set they are selling it.

and

#4: Lyndsay Riches... Her CT has been putting out a bunch of freebies this month along with alphas and such from Lyndsay herself. Make sure you check it out before the links are disabled.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and spend as much time as you can with your family so that you can spend most of next year scrapping all the pictures. :)

New kit out....

Laura (aka. simply.scraps) has a new kit that came out today called "Rockstar in Training - Girl". This kit is so versatile and can be used for musically inspired pages as well as the everyday.

I'm getting CRAFTY

So I am the Relief Society Night Coordinator (isn't that a mouthful) for our ward. We have a craft night coming up that I am planning and I have been all over the Internet getting ideas for different projects. In the process I have seriously caught the crafting bug. I have so many projects that I want to do now. The first one on my list that I finally finished is from How Does She?. It is a birthday wreath. The idea is that when it is close to a member of the family's birthday you put out the wreath so that everyone knows and can celebrate with you...and you can't forget to get them a present too...not saying that Andrew has ever forgotten because I would never let him. LOL

The picture that they have on their blog looked kind of big to me so I bought the biggest wreath (18")...I don't think that is necessary if you decided to do this project. I wanted it to be large enough to hang on the door and look proportional but I think that could be easily accomplished with a smaller one...plus you use a lot less balloons and pins. I got the balloons at the dollar store and for the greening pins I started out buying them a Michaels and after I had used all of the ones they had I finally found some at Walmart for a dollar less AND they had twice as much in them. So if you do this please go to Walmart and look by their fake flowers and don't pay as much as I did because I seriously feel stupid now that I could have saved money. :)

Hope you like it. As I do other crafts I may be adding them here so keep an eye out.

Layouts and a Freebie Alert

First up is layouts that I have done lately. The first being a layout I did for Laura Banasiak (a.k.a. simply.scraps). She re-released a kit at the Digi Chick called "Take it Back". It has great colors to it that will work for any layout or you could use the little word art prompts to dig a little deeper.

The next two are using kits by Bella Gypsy. Bella Gypsy is made up of two sisters who design together kits and templates. They have some really amazing and fun stuff. You got to check out their store here. The first layout uses their kit "Family Tree" that they made with Jessica Edwards (another fabulous designer by the way). I love the colors of it and the papers are darling. The second one uses "Tiki Tiki Shake". I LOVE the hawaiin theme and all the elements are awesome. For this layout I also used a free template from Manda Girl. If you want to check them out go here.

Finally for the freebie alert...Jennifer Barrett has a fun new summer kit called "Ice Ice Baby". With it's release she has made freebie wordart sticks. They are darling. You have to head over and pick them up before the link is disabled. Go here if you want to get them.

Blog Award...YEA!!!!

So I recently got a blog award from Sarah. It is for, in her words, being unique and different as well as one she reads more frequently and follows. I was so happy when I received the message. A HUGE thanks to Sarah. You have totally made my day. :)

Now for the rules that go along with the award....

1. Thank the person that gave it to you. (Thanks again Sarah!!!)

2. Share 7 Things About Yourself

3. Nominate 15 other blogs.

Okay hmmm 7 things.....I am never really good at this part.

1. I am addicted to Slurpees. :)

2. I am afraid of heights.

3. I like to eat the peanut seperate from the shell when eating M&Ms.

4. I am a picky eater...I know, big surprise there. ;)

5. I am turning 30 this month. *sigh* :(

6. Am practicing photography so I can see if I really want to make a business of it...so if you need pictures let me know. :D

7. Read the following on another blog and love it...so I am going to steal it: "I am a skinny girl trapped in a curvy body." :) hehe

Now for my nominations...it is really hard to come up with 15 craft blogs. I had a lot of them bookmarked...I know I should have been "following" them but now can't find them again. So, if you don't see your site here please don't get offended....leave me your link. :)

1. Always Crafting Something

2. The Paper Pony

3. Mandagirl

4. How Does She?

There are a lot of family blogs that I love and follow. I wish that it was included because I would have a problem limiting it to 15 instead of the opposite. As for the sites that I chose...I have been following each of them and have found so many wonderful ideas and techniques. They are all great references of one sort or another. Some are just starting out and others have been around a while. I love when I am presented with a new idea and I can't wait to try it out myself. Enjoy!

"About a Girl" by simply.scraps Designs and a challenge...

Simply.scraps is re-releasing her kit called "About a Girl" today and I think it is FABULOUS. I love the colors and all the elements.

I don't have very many pictures of me because I am generally the one behind the camera. So a lot of my pages don't have me anywhere in them. When I do find a picture that I don't mind too terribly I try to scrap it so that my kids will be able to show their children who I was.

I challenge you to take time and do a page either from your perspective or just about you (what you like, dislike, etc). I think you will enjoy the end result and your family will cherish it as they get older. Who doesn't want to know about their family? If you end up do it please post a link because I would love to see what you come up with.

Elemental Scraps Clearance

Elemental Scraps has awesome prices normally. Now they are having this great clearance. Also you guys know I am a big fan of templates and Chrissy W. has a free template too. Go to her store here. If you have never worked with them this would be a great opportunity to try them out.

Great deal....

There are a bunch of deals going on right now. I will post them as I see them. First of all is Wimpychompers. She has some adorable kits out right now. Including one that was inspired by "Fancy Nancy" called "Fancy Pants". Check out my layout and a preview of the kit. :)

Free Templates

So I was browsing at Persnickety Prints (which is one of my favorite place to get things printed...by the way). Anyhow in their freebie section they had a link to a gal's blog for free templates. Can I just say, THEY ARE AWESOME. I like her designs and the fact that they are FREE is totally cool. If you get a chance head over to her blog here.

FREE KIT...END TODAY (May 25th)

Over at Persnickety Prints they were running a contest with a kit by Suzy Q Scraps. It turned out adorable. Head over there soon to snag this free kit. They will be disabling the links later today.




Persnickety Prints also has really great printing prices. If you were a paper scrapper and ended up switching to digital and need to get those pages printed be sure to check out their site. They are so friendly and great to work with.

PYP Blog: Artscow: 10 Free 8*8 Photo Books

I found out about a deal through Artscow where you can get 10 FREE 8x8 books (20 pages each). They are made in China so don't expect them back really soon, but everyone that I know that has ordered through them has loved how cheap yet nice they are. If you want to give it a try click this link: PYP Blog: Artscow: 10 Free 8*8 Photo Books.

Lots of New LOs..

I have a bunch to share. So here we go...

I am trying to get a bunch of layouts done so that I can get 2009 printed. I think I have maybe 10-20 left. That may sound like a lot but we went to Disneyland and I have some of the holidays left to scrap.

The first one I am sharing is actually one I just finished. It is using a REALLY cute kit by Jessica Edwards called "Day at the Zoo". Also, right now my mojo is missing so I am using a lot of templates lately it seems. I think that Chrissy W. always designs some really classy LOs and I love the one I ended up using. It comes from her "Sample Pack 15"

Next we have a really cute kit by Wimpychompers called "Dog-Gone". It has the most adorable little dogs in it. I also used a template by GSD by Nikki Epperson called "Playing With Layers".

As for the next two....Down This Road Designs (a local digial designer) asked me if I would work with an LDS themed kit called "Missionary Memories: Sister". Previously I had worked with the Elder kit and I loved this one just as much. It is so darling and can be used to scrap missionary photos OR pictures of your future little missionaries. You will noticed that I even used it for a ward activity. The first LO is using another awesome template by Chrissy W. "Sample Pack 16". The second one is from "Playing With Layers" by GSD by Nikki Epperson...can you tell that I love her templates? :)

So....

I realize that the past couple of weeks I haven't really posted much other than the sales that I come across. Sorry. We are starting the baseball season and we will pretty much be out of the house 5 days a week with it for 2 months. If you know any quick and easy recipes I would greatly appreciate it because if it isn't quick then we resort to a drive-up. :)

I have done a lot of layouts though. Part of the problem is that I need to wait until the kit is released so that I don't ruin the surprise of what the designer has coming up.

Here are a couple of my favorite though.

This is one of my all-time favorites. I love the use/lack of color. I used "Are You Game?" by Wimpychompers that she had over at Polkadotplum before she left. I am sure she will be re-releasing it over at Scrap Matters and will let you know when she does.

This one is using a kit by Wimpychompers called "No Girls Allowed". It has some really fun elements in it. SIDE NOTE: She is now selling exclusively at Scrap Matters. It is a really nice store and when you post your layouts everyone there is so nice and comments so quickly on them. Check it out!

This one is using a lot of different designers' Color Play items over at Elemental Scraps. Each month they give the designers a color scheme to work with and they make what ever they wish with it. I used Amanda Carlson's alpha "Like Totally", Bella Gypsy's "Afternoon Cuddles" Embellishments and Template AND Albums to Remember "Stripes" paper.

For this layout I actually worked with a designer at Brownie Scraps who was looking for someone to make a LDS themed LO. It is called "Missionary Memories Elder" by Down This Road Designs. I also used a template by Bella Gypsy called "Lookie Here". If you would like to read my journaling please go here.

This one I actually did today. Madame Wing is a guest designer right now over at Elemental Scraps. For this I used "Hugs and Sunshine". I LOVE the flowers she has in this kit. Make sure you head over there and see what she has up in her store.

This is another really recent LO. I used a collab kit by Connie Prince and Armina Designs. It is appropriately called "Chick Magnet". It has a lot of different papers and elements. I just used only a small portion of them. Head over to Connie's store when you can. She is a fabulous designer and she has a lot of really cool stuff.

Winkflash Deal...

They are having their flat-rate sale again. If you have pages that you want made into a book make sure you take advantage of this deal!

www.winkflash.com/books/ Only good until April 20th. :)

Free kits....

Designs in Digital is having a contest for designers and we all score free kits in the process. :) Make sure you head over to pick up the kits that catch your fancy. I am not sure how long that they will be available so go there now. :) http://www.designsindigital.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=562

Freebie Desktop Wallpaper....

I made desktop wallpaper for March. It is over at Danielle Corbitt's site. Make sure you head over and download it. (Click here to go to her site). It is like a QP (quick page) where you just slip your picture in behind the main layer and save as a .jpg. If you have any questions let me know. :)

Lots and lots of new layouts...

There are a bunch of layouts that I have done but had to wait for the kits to be released before I could post them. Today I am going to only be posting layouts from kits at Elemental Scraps. There are a bunch of them so I figure it will probably be easier this way.

The first layout is using another kit by Captivated Visions. If you haven't heard of her designs...she is fabulous. Her name is Rachel and she is very nice and designs some of the most awesome stuff. The kit I used is call "Happy Being Me". I also used her stacked papers which are SO COOL. In fact, she actually sells the templates now to them. Also, I did use a template by BZB Designs called "Kiss: January". She is also a vey talented designer. Check her out if you get the chance.

For journaling go here.

Next, I did a two-page layout about when we went to the Children's Museum. I used two different templates from Chrissy W's "A Photo A Day Template Set" and "d00d" by Angie Kovacs and simply.scraps. I love the colors in this kit. They have the funnest elements and the templates that Chrissy has in this set are so clean. I just love it.

For journaling go here.

Now we have a layout I did about getting a new haircut. I just had the twins and was feeling rather unattrative. Andrew suggested I got out and get a haircut and it was FABULOUS. I felt like a new person. Meredith Cardall came out with a fun Spring kit that I thought was perfect for how I felt. It is called "Sweet Spring". She is a local gal here in Utah and has a lot of fun kits in her store.

Last we have a layout about Emma's first trip to the dentist. She was such a champ and SO excited to get a prize at the end. For this I used two products by Bella Gypsy and Connie Prince. They team up a lot and it always ends up fabulous. The kit is called "Tooth Brush Tango" and the kit is "Living on the Edge".