The PS2 look ...

[Click here to see layout and credits.]

Do you have one of these at your house? A teenager? A PS2? A Ninetendo DS? A Gameboy? If you do, then you will recognize this look, lol. Totally zoning out, totally in another time and space!

Tomorrow the peace ends ... the girl comes home, and the bickering and squabbling, the extra dirty washing, the noise, the energy ... all this returns to our very quiet existence. I am thinking she will be sleeping part of the day away, so it is a good thing Friday is my day off. Her father is picking her up at school early ... and picking up his new (this season) skis which have travelled back from the snow. Of course, I like to think he is firstly pleased to see his daughter, and secondly, remembering to bring his skis home, lol.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day ... I'll be finishing off my Friday Freebie ... Summer Sorbet ... maybe a little housework, maybe a dvd or two. Sounds very relaxing to me ... so I will leave you with that thought, and catch up with you all tomorrow!

A memory ...

[Memory Cards set by Lanne, at Sweet Dreams Shoppe.]

Found a photo of my mum on her honeymoon, and thought I would create a little memory, using one of Lanne's memory cards. Isn't she gorgeous? My parents are celebrating their 47th wedding anniversay this month ... not bad, huh?

Now Cass ... are you out there? I need to tell you that I would rather cut off my mouse fingers (you know, the fingers you use to click on the mouse with?) than tear up magazines, but it really came down to the fact that very little in the mags can be used, so tear (yes, tear!) the pages out, and make room for new pages. Once I started, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, lol. Scrapping five or six years ago is verrrry different to scrapping today ... mostly plain cardstock, very squared and block-like, bad photos, lots of cut-out titles, little journaling, and what little there was couldn't be read easily. So anything older than 2 years is going to get a good going over, and then binned. I'll take some photos of my 'inspiration book' when I am home next with good light and share. Which reminds me ... it has a nasty black cover that I want to paint ... wait for it ... green. Any suggestions on the type of paint I can use? Oooops, I've just seen the time ... time to go to work ... more next time! :)

No image, no blog ...

[Click here to see layout and credits.]

I tried last night, actually early this morning, to blog. Really, I did try ... but I couldn't even blog, forget about adding an image. So here is yesterday's blog ... today! Tracy Ann has some pretty new kits coming soon to SBB, and you can click here to visit her blog to check one of the kits out. I've actually used one that she hasn't shown you, it is gorgeous, so check back on her blog to see when it is put on the shelves at SBB.

The other day, as I was sitting by the pool filling up an hour while my daughter powered up and down, I found an old file on my laptop. It contained Inspirational layouts that I had collected when I first started digiscrapping three years ago. It was an interesting exercise to look at what I had saved, and I edited it, keeping only about three layouts. Interesting, huh? I think digiscrapping and my 'style' for what it's worth has changed enormously over this time.

I picked up one of my first CK mags last night and was struck again with how dated it was. So I put on my Return of the King dvd, chose to listen to the directors' commentary, and waded my way through five years of CK mags, ripped out what I wanted, glued the clippings in my big 'Inspiration Folder', then tossed the mags. You need to realize that I have a magazine addiction, and this is a big thing for me, lol. But I feel much happier ... space on my bookshelf for more new mags (did I just say more mags?), no outdated CKs hanging around, and a fat black inspiration folder. I gleaned layout ideas, paper ideas, doodle ideas ... lotsa good schtuff. Guess since it is a school morning I should stop blogging and start getting ready for school ... more next time!

Baby girl ...

[Click here to see layout and credits.]

Here is the baby layout I promised you yesterday, using one of Tracy Ann's pretty new kits ...

Lots of pretty stuff in it, I have barely scratched the surface ... you can find it here. More next time ...

Family fun ...

[This week's Ad Challenge with a cute freebie, by Kellie Mize, at DesignerDigitals. Click here to see layout and credits, click here to see Challenge.]

Pink ...

You may have noticed a new cute blinkie at the side of my blog. I am very pleased to be part of my friend Lanne's creative team, to play with her very beautiful storyboards. The one above is from her Fairy Tale pack, which you can see here. Sooo easy to use, and they make your photos look very good. That's it for Sunday, I'm off to tackle the ironing. More next time ...

Sites I love ...

[Click here to see layout and credits.]

Boring schtuff ...

[Click here to see layout and credits.]

The coop ...

[ Click here to see layout and credits.]

Great excitement at Sweet Shoppe Designs ... Suzy Nunes is joining the team as a designer, and yesterday, her kits hit the shoppe shelves. She is offering a special deal with 20% off at the moment, so take some time to wander over and see her pretty schtuff ... click here. I am totally loving her two new kits ... the first is called Crisp Cotton Hideaway! Such gorgeous colours and textures ...

I posted a layout here in my blog yesterday using this kit ... and I can tell you, I will be back to use it again. It totally rocks! The second new kit is called Winterberry Wood ... great boy kit, but equally versatile as a girly kit, as you can see by the layout of the girl above. Again, gorgeous colours and textures ...

So today's program is a little housework, a little scrapping, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I am going to use some beautiful new DesignerDigital kits to work on my five (or is it six now?) late Simply You prompts, and then I have a Tracy Ann beautiful kit to use with a baby page that is floating round in my head. So check back later tonight, might be some pretties up to look at. More next time ...

Shhhhh ...

(See layout and credits here ...)

Friday Freebie - Arctic Breeze

Here is this week's freebie, called Arctic Breeze, and inspired by the snow holiday we have just enjoyed. [Thank you for your interest in my freebie, but these freebie links have expired.]

(Click here to see layout and credits.)

Just so there is no confusion, this is the princess in our family, just about to come down a black diamond run. Her mother was safely indoors a long way away, enjoying a coffee and trying not to think of her only daughter throwing herself off a cliff in the interests of beating her father's record. I did send my Canon 300D up the mountain to record the moment for posterity, and of course, to scrap!!!

Busy but relaxing day ... the princess leaves on a week-long year 7 trip tomorrow night, and everything has to be named. Absolutely everything. And I have collected some little surprises for her, a little package for each day that she is away from home. I know she is going to have a fabulous time, but she is going to be sooooo tired when she gets home. She is an 'in bed by 8 pm' little girl, and that is NOT going to happen while she is away. They arrived back by bus Friday morning, and the school wisely sends them home to recover from the trip away. Must finish ... movie date has started without me ... more next time!

Grumble, grumble ...

(Layout and credits can be found here.)

If you've stopped in for lightness, froth and bubble ... you've come to the wrong blog, lol! I'm sooooo tired and grumpy and uninspired at the moment ... still not recovered from our 'holiday', still nowhere caught up with my scrapping commitments, still staying up way too late at night! Work is hard and relentless, my house is still chaotic after the unpacking took place in the middle of it, kids are grumpy too, DH has a heavy cold and is exhausted ... ok, I did warn you, lol!

The daughter and I did an enforced shopping trip tonight. She has a week long excursion starting this weekend, back down to the cold parts of the country, and of course, she has grown so much in the last few months that none of her jeans fit her any more. Length-wise, I mean. She is a total stringbean, but very tall for her age. I started this shopping trip with fear and trepidation, because even though it is still winter, all the shops have their summer range out on the shelves. And yes, we did find some jeans, but waaaaay up in the expensive range, and not what I had in mind. Moving on ...

I'm wondering tonight why more people don't look in their mirrors in the morning and decide to stay indoors, in the interests of not offending the rest of the world. I saw a girl walking along with her denim skirt down sooo low, I could see two inches of stuff I really shouldn't have to look at that late in the day (or any time in the day, for that matter!), and left with the certainty that should someone give her skirt a gentle tug, it would slither down to sit comfortably on her shoes, along with her undergarments ... if she was wearing any.

I saw strange and singularly unattractive combinations of summer and winter garb! I saw shoppers with obscene language on the tshirts, in very large and easy to read fonts. I notice fonts, you know! I saw really baaaaad colour combinations ... I saw it was time to take myself and my daughter home ... so after the essentials ... jeans, a new book, dinner of a Sweet Banana Crepe (crepe, bananas, syrup, whipped cream, chocolate ice-cream) ... we did just that.

I've just looked at the time ... 11.47 pm, so I spose I had better chase that essay-writing DH off to bed, and myself as well. Tomorrow, a new freebie and a new layout or two ... catch you then!

My girl ...

Another of Lanne’s gorgeous storyboards, this time #5 in the ‘Snow White and the 7 Storyboards’ series. You can see this storyboard by clicking here. The beautiful flower is from Tracy Ann's Megaset at SBB. More next time ...

Sick of ski talk yet?

(Click here for layout and credits.)

So how was your Tuesday or Monday, for that matter? Mine was busy, still not recovered from all the to-ing and fro-ing of holidays. Majorly exhausted still, bruised and battered, and that's just from the carpark, lol. And of course tonight I was out having a haircut ... I lost count of the number of loads of washing I did on Sunday, mountains of clothes to put away in the 'skiing boxes' ... not much call for ski gear in the topics where we live. Heaps of ironing to do that I ignored BEFORE we went away on holidays, lol. All done now, so here's to a week of trying desperately to catch up on scrapping commitments. Sooooo much has happened in the last week ...
Tracy Ann has a beautiful new set out, the M Collection ... this is Mignon!

And this, my favourite, is Miniver ... aren't the blues gorgeous?

And this is Minuet ...

Can you believe this ... Blogger has let me load FOUR images ... without even a hiccup! World record for me ... hope you enjoy looking at these pretties! Visit SBB here to see the M Collection up close. I'll share some more of the pretty kits I am playing with maybe tomorrow, if Blogger is still playing nice, lol. More next time ...

Mum and me ...

(Click here to see layout and credits.)

Is it too much to ask ...

that I be allowed to add an image, Mr Blogger? It's not a BIG image, just a little to middle-sized one! I get SO frustrated with Blogger spitting the dummy and refusing to add my images to my postings, so I guess this is as good a time as any to let you know that soon my blog will have a new home. I am in the process of shifting schtuff, so check back in the next week or so to find out where I have gone!

Tash and Granddad ...

The trip ...

(Click here to see layout credits.)

Guess you are all dying to hear about our holiday, lol ... it happens this way each year ... We turn out of our driveway, turn left, and seventeen hours later, we hit the snowfields. We drive through four states, several cities, many small towns, and past what seems like hundreds of McDonalds. I know this … because the boy sees each and every one of these establishments, and points them out to us! (His first word ever was ‘McDongalds’, not Mum or Dad or even Gran.)

And why do we make this annual trek to the snow? So that we can strap long skinny lumps of plastic to our feet, ride up to the top of tall mountains in blizzards, and throw ourselves off cliffs, hoping we can keep our balance all the way down to the bottom, where we stand in queues in sub-zero conditions so we can do it all over again. Hmmmm ... gotta love skiing!

Actually we do love skiing … my DH and his family have been doing this trip for about 40 years now, and we as a family started when the boy was nine months old, and have made the yearly pilgramage almost yearly since then. This first year, Michael rode the mountains in a backpack on his father’s back, with a pacifier stuck in the middle of his mouth, offering him a little protection from the wind. He had an absolute ball, and didn’t want to come inside. The next year, he skiied on a tiny pair of skis between his father’s legs. He only had one aim, to get to the bottom of the hill as quickly as he could, so we had to watch him very carefully.

Me? Well, I do suffer a little … I lack that subcutaneous layer of fat that keeps the cold out, as I am a shade under six feet and weigh a little more than a pair of ski boots and a wet towel, so I feel the cold profoundly, and not in a good way. This year I managed to end the week with a badly strained neck and shoulder, and chunks taken out of my knees. And I didn’t even ski … let me share a little word picture with you here.

Just as we were about to finish the week’s skiing, I caught up with the family standing in the lift queue, about to catch the last ride of the day and year, when Michael reminded me he was ’souvenir-less’ and what was I going to do about it? I sighed. Then I walked back to the gift shop, and shopped. On my way out the door into the frigid ‘end of day’ weather, I saw the family stomping through the carpark, headed towards the car. So here I am, camera on one hit, carrying a glass ornament in the other hand, pointing the remote control at the car … running! Yes, running as it started to snow, in a carpark covered with broken asphalt, snow, ice and mud RUNNING (did I mention the heavy back-pack I was also wearing?) chanting to myself, ‘I mustn’t fall, I mustn’t fall!’ Of course, you know I fell. BUT… and this is the good part … I fell so that I protected my camera and glass souvenir! Success … but of course I am hobbling today, lol!

The girl had a great skiing week … her dad skied a black diamond run called The Olympic when he was 12, so all Tash has wanted to do for the last couple of years is ski this run. Her technique was such this year that she could safely come down the run, but of course this year we are light on snow, and half the hill wasn’t covered in snow. So unhappy, lol! Then after four days of sunlight and fine conditions, we had a day of blizzarding conditions, and Friday morning the mountain was skiable. After her three hour morning lesson, she and dad and my good camera caught a lift to as high as they could get and then walked straight up the last 25 vertical metres. And yes, I have photos to prove it … Tashy did the Olympic at 11 years of age, much to the delight of her father. There is one more difficult run to do, called The Kamakazi, which is basically a vertical drop full of moguls, but it wasn’t open this year, not enough snow, so the ski enthusiasts will have to wait for another year.

The boy also had a great skiing week … he had private lessons with a great girl called Gemma. And he did most of the Olympic run too, earlier in the week, when there was less snow, unbenownst to him, which is the best way to do it with him. When he got back from his lesson, we were very entertained to find out he had been down that black diamond run too, though if Gemma had asked him at the time, he would have said no thanks, not today. He is a much more careful and restrained skier than Tash, she is just outrageously adventurous, and thrives on a challenge. She loves the boxes and jumps in the terrain parks. And now you know why I watch from the sidelines now … after a bad fall a couple of years ago, and the knowledge that my kids outski me, I am happy to sit next to the coffee shop indoors, and feed/rest/entertain kids and dads when they come in for a break.
DH had a ball too this year … he always does! He has the ability of a ski instructor, and often gets offered a job down on the snow, which he reluctanly refuses, basically cos if his wife had to spend longer than a week at the snow, she would freeze to death! And the pay of a ski instructor stinks! He enjoys an advanced class each morning, and basically romps all over the mountainside with a bunch of other skiing enthusiasts. So that is our skiing holiday in a nutshell, and Christmas 2007 we are off to ski Canada, probably at Silver Star. DH has started planning it already … sigh! I’m guessing it gets REALLY cold in Canada, rotflol!!! OK, all done ... congrats if you lasted all the way down the page to here ... more next time!

Friday Freebie - Happy Flowers

Yes, I am back ... thanks to the internet fairies, my blog has been updated for me while we were away on a family skiing holiday. We have just driven in from a 17 hour drive back from the snow, and I'm kinda exhausted, but I did promise a freebie, so here it is ... Happy Flowers! Enjoy it, won't you? Drop me a link here on my blog if you make something pretty with it. [Thank you for your interest in my freebie,
but these freebie links have expired.]

The Ice Age

has come to an end. Proper blog entries shall resume soon...

and of course -

The friday freebie - shall arrive tommorrow!

Thanks for staying tuned :)

more soon...

The WOW factor #15

(Layout credits - Papers, stamps, flower, ribbon from Shabby Princess' Olivia Collection. Fonts: Pea Stefanieva. MISC: Alpha Stamps: Tracey Lee's Inky Dinky Doo. Long flower doodle: Fee Jardine.)

Doesn’t this just make you go ‘ohhhhhhh …’ Such a pretty page, I do love this kit. A very kind friend sent me a gift voucher from TSS recently, and I bought the Olivia kit, and this reminds me that I have yet to play with it. I love the soft pretty feel to the layout, verywhimsical, very feminine. Very WOW factor, I think. The layout is by Angela, and is called ‘Nature Beautiful’. You can visit it by clicking here . Angela’s stunning gallery can be found here.

(Now I am off to see what happened to yesterdays post.. which seems to have disappeared!!)

The WOW factor #14

(Layout credits - Kit: Streetwear Collection Flirt by Tracy Ann, at SBB. Stitching by Dani Mogstad.)

Eye-catching, huh? Love the casual arrangement of photos cascading down the page, the stitching frame across the photo, the great colours here. Nice one, Peta. You can find the layout called ‘all grown up’ here

Miss Sparkling Eyes

Just a quick storyboard of my favourite girl … Lanne’s beautiful boards are so easy and super quick to use. They make my photos look soooooo good. Thanks, Lanne. This storyboard is No. 7 in her series called ‘Snow White and the 7 Storyboards’, and you can find it by clicking here.

The WOW factor #13 …

(Layout credits – Kit: Mud Monster Kit by Dawn Wilson, at SBB. Paper Clip by Dawn Wilson in her File It Pack found at PDW. 4x6 Art Frame by Dawn Wilson found at PDW. Metal R by Sara Carling found in her Boyish Charm kit. Buttons from Dawn Wilson's Flourish Kit, at SBB. Font: Escape Typewriter.)

Isn’t this gorgeous? Of course, all that mud fills my soul with horror, and straight away I am looking for something to clean that little face, but oh, what a great layout! Wonderful colours, textures, page design! This is called ‘Puddle Jumper’, by missys3lilbugs, and can be found here. You can visit her gallery by clicking here. More next time …

Teeny little break ...

(Layout credits - Kit: Streetwear Moth by Tracy Ann, at SBB. Messy Cream Stitching by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. My photo edging. Font: 39 Smooth.)
Just a quick post to let you know that I will be taking a quick digiscrapping break to do some family schtuff ... I will still be posting daily, but just a snippet of a blog. Friday Freebie will become Saturday Freebie, so check back Saturday pm, to see what is up for grabs. Have a GREAT week everyone! More next time ..

Friday Freebie - Pink Kisses

(Layout credits - Sparkle from Art Deco USA by Anna Aspnes, at DesignerDigitals. My freebie, Pink Kisses, available here on my blog. Fonts: Futurist Fixed Width, Arial.)

Happy Friday to one and all, and yes, it is Friday Freebie time. This week I have some pretty girly pink and blue papers up for grabs. Along with five papers, there are some staples, a little tag, and a piece of paper edging. Please enjoy ... you can download the freebie here or here or here.

Today started off with a bang. I sat down at the computer, typed up a letter to a teacher, plugged the boy's flashdisk in to print off something he had done in PS for a class, and the power went off. It was a local blackout, and I wasn't too worried until I realized that it was almost time to drop the kidlets off at school, and the car was behind the garage door which was powered by electricity. Hmmmm ... too far to walk, what to do, what to do?

I know, ring the hubby who has had the good sense to recently change jobs and relocate a mere 15 mins away. He came home, rescued the damsel in distress by getting the car out of the garage using brute strength and mighty intelligence, jammed two screwdrivers inside the garage so that the door couldn't be raised by a passing thief while I was away, and headed off back to work. Of course, all the traffic lights were out as well, which was a little daunting ... lots of late parents getting their progeny to school in a hurry without the help of traffic lights!!!

We made it ... on time! All the way home, I chanted quietly to myself ... don't press the button to open the garage door, there are screwdrivers jamming it!!! And I didn't! Then when the power went on, I tried to 'hook' the door up again ... finally got there. Are you exhausted yet? It's only 9.15 am ... lol. Lots of things to do today ... some of which involved the shops. Do you know how sad it is to move out of kids' wear into adults' wear ... the boy has outgrown the kids' section and it is quite a strange feeling to hunt for clothes for him in the 'grown-up' section. *sigh* ... just another sign that our childhood is rapidly coming to an end! Must finish off ... I have a layout to finish off, and then I hear my bed calling. More next time ...

A promise ...

(Layout credits - Blue flower and Drop Shadow Action by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. Stitching by Shannon at SBB. My kraft paper and clip. Font: Tangerine and Century Gothic.)

I saw this 'clipping flowers' idea a while back, and thought what a cool idea, and tonight, it popped up in my layout. Don't know if there is a technical way of doing it, I just chopped a couple of flowers up, added some drop shadows and clipped them! Voila! I love the rich colours in Katie's flowers, and the blue matches the girl's eyes perfectly.

I thought of several interesting things to blog about today, but now ... I have nothing, lol. I DO know that one of my designers has a new fab collection out tomorrow. I'm setting aside part of my day to do several layouts ... just have to find some fresh photos. So do check back tomorrow night, and I should be able to show previews. It's also Freebie Friday, and my little offering for tomorrow is all zipped up ready to go ... I'm off to watch 'Bones' ... I love Kathy Reich's books. Till tomorrow ...

Design mags, afternoon tea, little snippets!

Thank you all for your suggestions of good design mags ... I went wandering on the 'net looking, looking, looking, and my favourite pick had to be Before & After. Check it out, such a cool mag. Guess I shouldn't tell you I succumbed and subscribed and downloaded. Can't wait for some time to sit down and work through the great-looking articles.

Quiet but productive day ... finished up by enjoying afternoon tea with my boys. The young boy has a science prac he has to design and complete. He chose researching 4WDs, so he and his father spent the afternoon interview car salesmen, sitting in the cars, and taking photos. We managed to catch up for afternoon tea ... don't remember the last time we did that, so it was nice. Of course, it cost me a LEGO Bionicle, cos K-Mart is right next door to the coffee shop! Then I visited a sick friend, who has a deadly viral infection, which attacked her along with the flu. So I stood at the door and passed my 'get well' gift to her daughter ... we spent all Friday together, so maybe it is my fate to get sick too, maybe not, lol. We will see.

How about a little snippet of a clue to this week's freebie, incidentally called 'Pink Kisses'. Yes? Here it is, the colour selection I have worked with, so do stop back on Friday to snaffle it, if you like girly pinks, with a pretty blue and cocoa thrown in too. More next time ...

Colours for this week's freebie ... coming Friday!

A thousand words ...

(Layout credits - Paper from Betty Paper Pack (coming soon), arrow from Arrow Stamps by Jackie Eckles, at DesignerDigitals. Black stitching from Story Time kit (coming soon), Drop Shadow Action by Katie Pertiet at DesignerDigitals. Font: Tom's New Roman, Tangerine.)

I really do have the most patient and long-suffering children where my photography is concerned. To date, we haven't had any 'going on strike and refusing to co-operate with Mum' episodes, though I must admit to seeing a very resigned look in this boy's eyes here. I often think that I am very fortunate to have relatively photogenic children ... imagine how tough it would have to be if I had to pester my friends and relations, just to get photos. I think this is the hardest thing where my scrapping commitments are concerned ... getting enough photos to scrap on a daily basis. My digital layouts are inching up to #1,000, and that's a lot of photos, huh? Guess I should be grateful that I am basically a 'one photo' scrapper ... I would really go through the photos if I had more than one on a page.

I picked up the latest Simple Scrapbooks mag this week ... though it is the July/August edition, a downside to living on the other side of the world to where it is produced. Lots of inspiration, new ideas, layouts ... and I recognize so many of the names under the layouts. I love SS and CK ... if I was only able to buy TWO scrapping mags, those would be the two. What I would really like now to find is a good design mag, with outstanding ads, colour combinations, good font work ... so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Must away ... more next time!

PS. I've reset the paper pack freebie, Summer Sweetness ... if you missed out and would like to pick it up, click here.

A little pink ...

(Layout credits - Frame Parts Brushes'n'Stamps Freebie by Katie Pertiet, for the Web Challenge at DesignerDigitals. Fonts: Myriad Pro, Selfish, Typist.)

Everyone needs a little pink in their lives, don't you think? The above layout is in response to this week's web challenge at DesignerDigitals. Such a cool website to inspire us ...

And guess what? Katie has made some cool brushes'n'stamps to help with the creative process involved. So make sure you check out the web, ad and quote challenges this week. More next time ...

It's all about ...

(Layout credits - Flower from Tracy Ann's Megaset, from SBB. Dots from Gina Cabrera's Pretty in Camo kit. Fonts: Arriere Garde, Avante.)

I'm playing 'catch-up' with the ScrapArtist Simply You challenge tonight. I skipped a week a while back because I couldn't think of what to do, but it came to me, so here you go. It is hard sometimes to think of things that bore me, as my mind is always going flat out, but I think it is the repetitive things in my life, that never seem to be over and done with that bore me.

I was chatting to Jodie tonight in Hello ... I've been telling her for ages that she needs to move over to Photoshop, and I think she has seen the light, lol. She is trialing Elements, and I think it won't be long ... I wanted to show you her layout using 'All Boy', but would you believe Blogger is spitting the dummy after ONE image and won't load it. But where there is a will, there is a way. Thank you to all my blog visitors today who popped in, and downloaded my freebie. I'm looking forward to seeing some layouts in the galleries ... it is always fun to spot them.Next Friday's offering will be pretty and pink, so check back then, wont' you?

Here is Jodie's layout ... credits - 'All Boy' freebie by ksharonk. File folder and notepaper by Gina Cabrera. Fonts: Hootie and dear joe.

Shameless plug, lol!

I know you have seen Lanne's beautiful storyboards floating around the digiworld ... but did you know that she has a new set out? She has had requests for BIG storyboards, that can be printed and hung on walls, and in response to these requests, a new set has just been released. Above is one of the Garden Wall Art Pack ... so new, it is still warm, lol. In Lanne's words ...

Even Jack would be surprised at the size of our Giant storyboards, but there is no need to climb a beanstalk to see large storyboards! We have sprinkled some magic beans on some - and they have grown into beautiful big wall art sizes. These are templates, not actions, and you will still be able to use them in most programs which support .png and layers. The storyboards vary from 10 x 20 inches; 11 x 14 inches up to 15 x 30 inches. There are seven templates in this pack! All are easily resized if you wish to work on smaller projects. Please follow the link to view the templates.

Her storyboards are so easy to use ... I resized the above 11x14 inch template to an 8x10 that I wanted to scrap, and hey presto, instant layout. Kinda quick and easy and definitely fun to use ... so don't forget to check them out! End of shameless plug ...

The WOW Factor, Layout #13 ..

(Credits - Background paper is from Doodle Daydreams kit by Katie Pertiet. Arrow is a DesignerDigital freebie by Jackie Eckles. Denim Fabric by Jackie Eckles from American Jubilee kit. Messy stitches by Jackie Eckles from her Scratch kit. Swirl Doodles and ric-rac from Ida at catscraps (freebie kit). Cardboard at side by ksharonk (that's me) at her blog! Fonts are Tia Bennett - Grocery List, Doodle Sticks, Scratch It.)

How cool is this? Is there NOTHING in the scrapping world that Kim isn't good at, lol? I am always drawn to the free-style doodling layout, so creative, and something I can't seem to do, so this caught my attention immediately this morning. THEN I noticed it was by Kim, a friend I made at PBase a couple of years ago. I posted some DD layouts in my PBase gallery, she asked about them, then raced over to DD and the digiscrapping world. And NOW we are both on the creative team for DD ... how cool is that?

But wait, there's more ... do you see that sliver of cardboard down the left side of her layout? ROTFLOL ... it's from my freebie! Lots of smiles my end to see stuff created with my little bits and pieces. To visit this layout called Spiffy Owen at DesignerDigitals, click here, and to visit Kim's amazing gallery, click here! More next time ...

Baby alert!

(Layout credits - Kit: Antique Wallpaper Sampler by Dana Zarling, at DesignerDigitals. Messy White Stitching, Drop Shadow Action, XOX from Magnotia kit by Katie Pertiet, at DesignerDigitals. Paper Tear by Stephanie Krush (steph730) at Digital Paper Tearing. Inked Edges action by Atomic Cupcake. My photo edge. Font: Loosie Script. Inspiration from a layout called 'Heartful of Love' by nbeaudreau.)

Now that's a mouthful and a half of credits, isn't it? I am always terrified when I credit a layout that I will leave something out, and someone will come along and say ... hey, you bad scrapper you, you forgot to mention that you have used MY STAPLE! And then the scrapping police will get me, and it will be all over and done with, bar the whimpering of the victim in the holding cell of a scrapping detention centre with NO ACCESS TO A COMPUTER AND PSCS2. That would be just the worst possible thing to happen, don't you think?

Hmmm ... I seem to have wandered away somewhat from my layout, haven't I? I heavily borrowed inspiration from nbeaudreau's lovely piece of art called 'Heartful of Love' ... which you can see here. Isn't it sweet? Dana Zarling has joined the designer team at DesignerDigitals ... and her schtuff is hitting the shoppe shelves this weekend.

Some pretty things in this kit ... now, what else can I tempt you with? Oh, guess who is having a big sale cos it's her daughter's 10th birthday? Yes, Tracy Ann is, at Scrapbook-bytes ... and as Blogger won't let me add my third image to this post (TypePad is looking better and betterer, let me tell you! Are you listening to this, Blogger?) I will add it below, through Hello.

Now that's a sale worth visiting, don't you think? They are such huge kits and well worth the money. Catch you next time ...

Friday Freebie - All Boy

(Layout credits - All Boy by ksharonk, a freebie on my blog. Inked edges from Atomic Cupcake. Fonts: 2Peas Empire Dress, Century Gothic.)

I thought I would sneak my freebie and layouts in early tonight, in the hope that Blogger doesn't notice, and is nice to me, and actually lets me add images to my blog without too much drama. This week's freebie is a grungy boy affair ... in the layout above, I've used last week's black frame, and some goodies from this week's freebie. I am thoroughly enjoying stretching my creative muscles making schtuff each week ... but do remember that I am a beginner at all this, so don't be too hard on me, lol. If you have constructive criticism to offer, please do. I am always open to helpful suggestions ... of a digital scrapping nature! ;

[Can you hear me screaming ... this is cos Blogger won't let me add a third image, no matter how many times I try ... look below this post for another layout using the freebie! Grrrr!]

There are some firsts in my freebie this week ... my first staples (which are a touch dodgy, I know), my first alpha, my first corrugated cardboard. Do enjoy the little package, and I'd love to hear from you if you use my schtuff! So here it is ... download 'All Boy' by clicking here.

I had a great day off today ... started with coffee with my Friday coffee mate, then an amble through the shops, some moderate purchasing for the boys in our family, a little folding and washing and tidying up, a little creative 'finishing off' of the freebie! And some new music ... always a bonus for me. I feel quite relaxed tonight ... going to watch a dvd with the man of the house soon, as the kiddies drift off into snoreland. Ahhhh! Every day should be like this! More next time ...

(Layout credits - Kit: All Boy by ksharonk, a freebie on my blog. Font: Courier New.)

I snaffled the black clip from last week's freebie, too. I see this clip popping up in the digital galleries a bit at the moment, lol!