QUICK PAGE FREEBIE - PAPILLONS

Hope you're having a Holly-Jolly Christmas season with your loved ones! As you can see, my well-laid plans for giving a template freebie daily until Christmas went haywire about a week ago! I will make up for that by simply continuing to post my free templates as often as possible until I achieve where I wanted to be mentally with sharing my designs.

For today, I have a Quick Page FREEBIE for you! I accepted the invitation to participate again in the monthly QP contest over at Cool Scraps Digital. We were given the kit, PAPILLONS by Scrapper's Delights, to work with, and our pages are due in on Dec. 28th (tomorrow). Needless to say, with all the hub-bub of the holidays, I had to stop and focus on making my page last night. Here is a preview of the full-size kit . . .

I made my QP in both 12x12" and 8x8" sizes at 300 dpi, and you can select what you like from the download links below.  Here is my page preview . . .

Of course, the actual QP will not have the CSD logo on it that you see in the lower left corner above.

DOWNLOADS from BOX

Get the 8 x 8-inch page HERE

Get the 12 x 12-inch page HERE

DOWNLOAD from 4Shared:

Both sizes in one zip HERE

If you like to collect free cohesive quick pages for an album, be sure to visit CSD and check out the Quick Page Contest Gallery for this month to view all the pages designed by the rest of the contestants.  They are available for free direct download, and the links are posted in the Quick Page Contest thread in the forum. 

Meantime, more Vet appointments revealed that my youngest Yorkie (14 yrs. old) has four different health issues going on simultaneously.  We are, of course, hoping that all of them can be dealt with and brought under control.  Our kitchen counter is loaded with her medications, and my DH and I are taking turns daily with her regimen.  She seems to have two good days, then one bad day . . . repeatedly.  We can't tell yet if we are making progress, but we are still hopeful.  Will keep you posted. 

I'll return in the next few days with more FREE TEMPLATES!  My DH is off for 5-6 days of vacation here at the house; and that, no doubt, will again throw me somewhat off my blogging schedule!

Talk soon!

TOOTLES!! 

FREEBIE - TEMPLATE #23

How is your Christmas schedule going? I'm sure we all realize how fast December is speeding by, and we are now only a week away from Christmas Eve!

Today I have my TEMPLATE #23 for you. I guess by now we all kind of know that I most often scrap and design in the 12 x 12-inch format, 300 dpi. This download includes a layered psd, tiff, and all pngs. I do this in hope that most everyone will be able to use my things no matter what scrapping software you work in. Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

I hope you will enjoy using my collection of template designs somewhere in your future scrapping.  Don't forget to leave some love if you download.  Stated love keeps us going! 

I'm having all kinds of problems today on the "puter" with everything being way too touchy and jumpy.  Think my memory needs a boost and I need to clean a bunch of stuff off the internal drives.  Ugh, love that chore! 

Hopefully, I'll return tomorrow with another template freebie for you, so drop back by.

I took a little time toay and gathered up the Traditions collab from the Blog Train Blog.  That took a little time, but it's so cute!  Go check it out; you may want to make the rounds before they expire on Dec. 31st.

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIES - TEMPLATES #21 & #22

I missed posting yesterday completely. I had my mind on other things and attended "Taste Of Our Church" last evening which was their big Christmas musical production after which lots of homemade goodies were served. This goes on for an entire week each evening, and they serve probably over 2,000 folks each evening. Tons of work goes into it, and it was simply joyous to be in the congregation and soak it all in. I really enjoyed it and was moved to tears by the resounding carols sung by one female performer in particular. Wow! What talent!

Okay, today I will catch you up with two FREEBIES.    First, I have my Template #21 for you.  It's a 12 x 12 inch, 300 dpi and includes a layered psd, tiff, and all pngs.  There are two download sites for you to choose from, too.  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Second, I have my Template #22 for you.  It also is a 12 x 12 inch, 300 dpi and includes a psd, tiff, and all pngs.  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

I hope you have fun now or later scrapping up some pages with my templates. 

I've tucked a special discount coupon in the files for you which is good at my Etsy Shop in case you need or want anything from there for Christmas.  The coupon is good through the month of December.  I've had a few sales there now, and that's encouraging! 

One of my pooches is still sick, and I'm not having a good feeling about what's going on with her.  She is 14 yrs. old, and my inner instincts are telling me what I don't want to face.  Lord, be merciful.

I'll try to post again tomorrow with another template for you.  Meantime, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and keep scrapping as your time allows.

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIE - TEMPLATE #20

Well, the night-owl is back with your next FREE TEMPLATE, and at least I did make it slightly before the stroke of midnight.

Without delay, I have my TEMPLATE #20 for you, a 12x12 inch, 300 dpi which includes a psd, tiff, all pngs, and even a sample layout. Here is the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

It's a rather strange bird, if I must say so myself, so see what you can do with it!  LOL!  Judging by the number of downloads, it looks like plenty of you are playing with the Christmas Tree Quick Page.  That's good!  Glad you like it!

Be back tomorrow with Template #21.  Stop back by!

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIES - TEMPLATE #19 + 7 QUICK PAGES

Greetings! Happy Day #9 of my attempt to post a bunch of FREEBIES for the Holiday Season for you! I hope you are enjoying this!

Today I have a Christmas Tree Quick Page in 7 different colors for you! I got stuck playing with the design (which is not over yet!), and then couldn't decide what background paper I liked best! So why decide? Take them all. Seven is my personal lucky number anyway! I left it otherwise plain so you could add your own elements and journaling until you're happy with it. Here's a preview of what's in the download . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Have fun with that, and I'd love to see your finished pages if you want to email them back to me.  I'll post them here.

Next up is my TEMPLATE #19.  Again, it's 12 x 12", 300 dpi, and includes a psd, tiff, and all pngs so anybody can use it.  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, I'm making an effort to provide two download sites so you don't go without if I run out of bandwidth at one site.

Hopefully, I'll see you here again tomorrow with another goodie!  Hope all is well in your home! 

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIE - TEMPLATE #18, DAY 8

Here I am posting in the late night again, just before midnight. Would love to get my posts up at about 6 a.m. so they are there for you all day, but I'd have to set them up on "automatic scheduled posting", and that's okay, but if I'm doing it live I sometimes just take that opportunity to talk. I took care of one of my grandsons after school today, and he literally is able to eat me out of house and home. I raised girls so am not used to the way boys can eat when they are growing and playing sports, etc! Wow! I had to scrounge and get creative to fill him up today, and that's just his after-school snack eating!

I played designing a little tonight, and if you visit back tomorrow you'll benefit from what I played with. I will have 7 Quick Pages for you!

Your FREEBIE tonight is TEMPLATE #18, a 12x12", 300 dpi, and the zip includes the psd, tiff, and all pngs. I even have a web size sample layout in there for you to see. Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, I'm providing downloads from Box and from 4Shared as I expect to run short of monthly bandwidth at least on one of the accounts, and don't want you to have to wait on that to renew at the first of each month.

Hope things are going well for all of you as the holidays progress.  Stay safe!  Be back tomorrow!

Please leave a little love if you download.  Your comments help to fuel the desire to give things away for free.  I did have a sweet lady send me a layout she made with one of my QPs in email today, and she expressed how much she loved everything about the vintage looking QP I had done.  I will resize her layout and maybe post it tomorrow.  It made my scrappy day!

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIE - TEMPLATE #17, DAY 7

I'm back, later than I'd like to be, but at least I made it to my post today before midnight strikes! No matter how hard I try, I just don't get peace and quiet until the very late night. Full day, even for a Sunday. Also had my grandbabes over for dinner this evening while parents attended company Christmas parties. We got into some Christmas crafts together, and my 9-yr. old grandson loves the art of paper folding and is so precise at it. He got one of his projects completed this evening to the point that it's ready for spray glue and glitter! Aahh, another evening's project, hopefully outside on the patio in the sun! LOL!

For you, I have my TEMPLATE #17 which is a little different.  It is very simplistic but will make a good vacation page for some of you.  It's 12 x 12 inches, 300 dpi and includes a psd, tiff, pngs, plus a bonus Quick Page version and the bonus background paper which is my shot of the local ocean here.  I've included a sample of my layout with the zip too so you can see how I used it.  In the psd I have that background paper sitting at 60% opacity, but you can bump it all the way up to 100% and judge which way you like it personally.  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE

I have only one download site for you to use on this one because the zip file was too large to upload to my free box account.  Hope you don't mind the waiting at 4Shared to get it.  Sorry about that and will try to keep most of these remaining templates on the smaller file size if possible.

Hope your days during the pre-Christmas are going well and you feel happy!

Be back tomorrow with Template #18 for you!

TOOTLES!!

FREE TEMPLATES #15 & #16, DAY 5 & 6

Well, I knew it would happen during the busiest month of the year! I missed posting completely yesterday, so I'll make up here today.  I have two templates for you to download today, and we won't get into any other chatty topics 'cause I have a ton of things that I have to jump on today or else!

Here is my TEMPLATE #15, a 12 x 12", 300 dpi which includes a psd, tiff, and all pngs in the zip.

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Next up for you is my TEMPLATE #16, a 12 x 12", 300 dpi also including a psd, tiff and all pngs.

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

See, I can be brief and to the point!  LOL!

Be back bright and early tomorrow morning with another FREE TEMPLATE for you, and the next one will include a Quick Page with it!  It's kind of different.  Don't forget to leave some love if you download.  Afterall, this is the season for spreading LOVE!

TOOTLES!!

FREEBIE - TEMPLATE #14, DAY 4

Hi all! Glad to see you back! It's DAY 4 of my template gifts already! Hope I can keep up with myself! I'm just under the wire today as it's heading toward midnight here. YIPES!

No fooling around tonight, I still have some digital class work to do yet. I had a good day; busy but good. Even talked with my girlfriend for a nice late afternoon catch-up type chat. That's always good. Fixed tacos for dinner tonight, soft and hard shell; and I put my own twist on them this time around by putting everything in the skillet with the meat to heat in the seasoning; sauce, tomatoes, cheese, (didn't use any lettuce), and used some Taco flavoring rice (from a packet) instead. This made a much heavier bunch of bulk along with my 2 pounds of burger. I have a Hungry Jack to feed daily, and he liked my Twisted Tacos this evening. All is well in the world.

Here's your GIFT, TEMPLATE #14, which is again 12x12", 300 dpi. The zip includes the psd, tiff, and all pngs so just about everybody can use it no matter what program you use to scrap. I designed these back in early 2010, and they've been sitting on my hard drive since, so I need to catch up to date. You'll note as we get deeper into this template catch-up project of freebies that the designs get a little more complex and fun. So stay tuned in here. Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, two different download sites to choose from.  I anticipate running out of bandwidth before December is over, so you need options, not delays.  Yes?

Okay, I'm going to show you just one layout I whipped out today for inspiration. 

I ran across this wonderful template last night in the forum at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking, and it's free if you do the December Template Challenge there.  It was designed by Scrappily Ever After and is free only until Dec. 15th if you would like to hop over there and pick it up for yourself.  I'm making a 12 x 12" album in the class I'm taking now, and wanted to include some pages about past Christmases.  Now I like it so well I'm going to do one for each member of the family capturing lots of their Christmas faces through the years.  Each will have their own tree page.  Cool, huh?

Okay, my peeps, that's all for now.  Talk again in the morning with another template!

TOOTLES!!

DECEMBER PAPERS + TEMPLATE #13 FREEBIES !!

Sorry I'm late posting today, but it was a busy day filled with unexpected things happening. I won't get into all that and promise to keep this on the brief side. Here's a short funny side story; well, funny to me. I have a brand new nickname which is "2.5" and I'm afraid it's going to hang on forever! I accompanied my DD and friends to our annual Christmas boat regatta (parade of boats on the waterway, all decked out in Christmas lights). We had to get to our chosen viewing site early because traffic for this event was hideous, naturally. We decided to view the waterway from a nice local restaurant on its shores, so we had sushi and a good chardonnay while we waited for the parade to begin. It's not news to me (who drinks very little) that wine goes a long way with me. However, I've managed to keep that secret from my kids for over 30+ years. I never get too loose in front of my own children; it's just the way I was raised I guess. Anyway, this particular evening the bar was wonderful and full of lots of folks we've known for years here, good music, good food, etc. Time seemed to stop for awhile as we tried lots of different shushi. Before the regatta got underway, I had finished two large goblets of chardonnay; and, of course, my great bartender had filled 'er up again. I consumed just a little over half of that third glass before we headed outside to the lawn along the waterway to watch the parade of decorated boats. I took lots of pictures, night shots. Later as we were walking to our vehicle leaving, words started coming off my tongue backwards, and everybody in my group got a huge kick out of me. Hence, my new nickname is "2.5", my cut-off point which they now all know and are feeling so smug about knowing. Heck, I've known that all my life!!

I do love wines though and recently have been turned on by the Moscato which has a wonderfully smooth, light, and sweet taste.  One I particularly favor is by Castillo del Poggio which I tried when dining at the Olive Garden not long ago.  There are lots of less expensive brands which are good (I've been testing them out), and so far I can highly recommend the Moscato by Barefoot which is comparable to a more expensive brand. 

Okay, onward with my FREEBIES for you for today. First, I've completed my December Paper Pack for you, inspired by my desire to create some paper with text on it (doing the months of the year right now).  Here you get 9 background papers made with the holiday season in mind.  They are 12 x 12", 300 dpi.  Here's the preview . . .

I had to divide this zip file into two parts to get it uploaded to my box file sharing account, so be sure to pick up both packs if downloading from there.  Or you can download just one larger file from 4Shared, your choice.

From box:

Dec Paper 1

Dec Paper 2

From 4Shared:  HERE

Next up I have another template for you in my daily effort from now till Christmas!  Here you get my TEMPLATE #13, and below is the preview and download link.  Enjoy! 

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, providing two sites for downloading in case I run short of monthly bandwidth.

That's all I have for you, my peeps, today.  Hopefully, I'll be back earlier tomorrow with another template for you.  I'm off to do some of my own digi-scrapping right now!  Can't wait for this time of the evening!  Yeah, it's here finally . . . my time!

Talk soon!

TOOTLES!!

ANOTHER TEMPLATE FREEBIE !!

I'm back already, Peeps! I'm really going to take a stab at posting a template for you every day until Christmas, so here is my second one in this current lineup. I give you my Template #12. This is a 12x12", 300 dpi, and the zip includes a layered psd file, a tiff file, and all pngs. This one is simplistic, crisp and clean. Remember, templates are just a starting idea, like a prompt to get you going. Feel free to deck them out with as much of your digi stash as your heart desires; change the template around to suit yourself, add to it, delete parts of it. For me to get one posted each day, I won't have time to make you a sample layout right now. Too much "elfing" to be done in December, and I am the HEAD ELF! Here's the preview of my Template #12 . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, I'm providing two different download sites as I expect to run out of bandwidth at one of them because of the number of FREEBIES I'll be posting and the number of downloads.   I love  using box.net for file sharing, but my free account there has some limitations on bandwidth.  When you run out of bandwidth for a particular month, you have to wait for it to renew the following month.  For that reason, I am backing you up with 4Shared, although I despise their "waiting routine" and the irritating pop-ups, etc.

I will be back in tomorrow morning early to post a great FREEBIE paper pack I made for December.  Here's a look at the one text paper I made as my December inspiration . . .

Pretty wild, right?  Hopefully I will have another template prepped and ready to post tomorrow also.  My FREEBIES don't expire, so feel free here to gather goodies until your heart is happy!  If you find any links that are not working, please leave me a note about it in the comments so I can fix it right away.  Visit often, and leave some love.

Oh, and have I mentioned I am loving my Tiffany Tillman's Holiday Template 2011 class??!!!  It's being taught at the Renee Pearson website, and we are having a blast!  So happy I got involved.  I'm getting a jump on a major project!!  Yipee!!  Also, taking some classes over at Jessica Sprague and can't say enough good things about that whole group of awesome folks!!  Check 'em out!!

Be back soon!

TOOTLES!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS + TEMPLATE FREEBIE

Alas, the busiest month of the year has arrived, good ole DECEMBER! I'm going to keep my posts short and to the point this month to save us all some time!  My brief highlights include that I've been playing nurse to my youngest Yorkie, who is 13 yrs. old and who has had a severe head cold or sinus infection since early October!!  I've always had lots of dogs all my life, but I've never had a dog get sick like this; it's been brutal, and I've felt so sorry for her.  We've had two visits to the Vet, lots of phone conversations with the Vet, lots of pills to give, and I've been running a warm steam Vicks vaporizer now for over two weeks.  The liquid Vicks Vaposteam is awesome, and the vaporizer seems to be the thing that has done my dog the most good.  It has actually produced some results by helping to break up the mucus in her head which she has been expelling over the last few days now by doing some actual doggie sneezing.  You can't begin to imagine the cleaning I've been doing, and luckily I have mostly tiled flooring!  No matter how hard I think this has been for me to play nurse-made to her around the clock, I am compassionate that this has been harder for her.  She was so clogged up that getting her air sounded like croop as she was breathing through her throat rather than her nose.  She would get so choked up that she has had several faint away episodes which scared the life out of me!  We were worried it was pneumonia or something worse in her lungs.  A good Vet check laid those fears to rest, and the rest of this has just been dealing with getting her meds in her, keeping the vaporizer going and cleaning.  It's not over yet, but it's getting better.  Darn thing is; she's a house dog so we don't know how or why she got so sick.  I am going to blame this on a new liquid floor cleaner my DH brought home and used while I was away up north for two weeks in October.  She came down sick shortly after I returned home.  I began to hunt for answers, thinking she may have an allergy to something.  When I read the back of that jug of floor cleaner, I noted that it contains bacilla and live spores and may cause respiratory irritation.  Well, that was enough for me!!  I read that to my DH and told him we were discontinuing the use of that no matter how well it cleans!  My Vet even seems perplexed by the duration and severity of this illness and said we may need to take her to a specialist.  I'm going to trust my instincts and my homeopathic type treatment.  Will give you an update post on this later as she hopefully gets completely well.

I've started my treat as of Dec. 1st, my Tiffany Tillman's class, Holiday Templates 2011, so I'm deep into that with my spare time at night!  Yeah!  We are making a 12x12 post-bound album, complete with a cover we each design.  Hope to have it completed and ready for print by early January.  We have mega discount coupons for that from Persnickety Prints, and they do have a late January expiration date, so the push is ON!!  My album will totally document this December's happenings in my immediate and extended family, as much as I can capture photos thereof.  It's already a ton of fun, and I ALWAYS take oodles of pictures anyway, so I'm all set for sure!

Also, be sure to check in over at Jessica Sprague!  She has new classes on sale now, inspiration galore, a new rewards program, a free holiday project class starting today, Free Template Tuesday every week, and just so much fun going on in the forum and throughout her blogs and entire site!!  By the way, she announced the return of PhotoShop Friday episodes starting in January 2012, available now by subscription!  I'm hoping Santa will put this in my stocking, oh yeah!!  I've loved those from the start!!

Okay, that's enough chatter from me right  now.  On to your FREEBIE!  Working with the class templates of Tiffany's inspired me to make one of my own for use with some vertical shots I wanted to use of my grandson, Mason.  I wanted to show his little body, the expressions on his face, and not so much of the background of the photos.  So here is the layout I did . . .

Supplies used in this LO are from our Tiffany's class kit, a collaboration kit called "Oh Joy" by both Creashens and Paisley Press.  From this layout, I decided to whip up the template of it to share.  This is a 12 x 12 inch, 300 dpi psd and the download includes the a tiff file and all pngs, so you can use it in just about any scrapping software.  Here is the template preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, I'm providing two different download sites in case I run short of bandwidth at either.  Leave some love if you download.  It means a lot to get a feedback for the time we spend creating things to share for free!

I will be back soon with a DECEMBER PAPER PACK.  I designed the focal text paper back in August, so I'm working on the rest of the papers for the pack for you!  Check back! 

I'm also thinking of bringing another effort up-to-date really quick-like this month.  I have up to 40-some templates already designed and used to post one each Tuesday ("Template Tuesdays"), but I somehow fell off the wagon on getting those posted for you.  I LOVE templates, and I'm sorry I let that run aground.  I'm a template junkie, so I should do better for you.  What say I post one each day for the next 20 days or so???  Good deal???  If so, leave some love about it; and, if there is enough interest and love, I will push to get 'er done!!  Remember, templates are just having a starting point, like a sketch to work with.  You can change anything and everything about them, so it just makes scrapping quicker and easier on occasion when you need to make the most of your time.

Have a great month and "Happy Holidays" to you and your loved ones.  I have lots to show you, so do drop back by!

TOOTLES!!

HORIZON QUICK PAGE FREEBIE

Greetings my peeps, and happy middle of November already! Turkey Day is almost here, the stores are brimming with the flood of Christmas merchandise, and my DH is drooling as he watches TV commercials that show roasted turkey. He did tell me that he would settle for nothing but plenty of pumpkin pie though! LOL! This year we will cook. I've gotten in the habit of alternating years of cooking at home, dining out, and traveling to enjoy the holiday with relatives. This is also a month of mega birthdays in our family, so bringing all the loose ends together is an intricate affair.

I received an invitation from Addie over at Cool Scraps Digital to join this month's Quick Page Contest, so I jumped in and worked up my QP layout yesterday.  We used the kit, HORIZON, by Mariscrap; and here is a preview of the kit . . .

This is a huge kit, the papers are beautiful, it's loaded with elements to play with which I don't believe are all contained in this preview.  If you hop over to the forum at CSD and check out the Quick Page Contest thread or the Quick Page Contest Gallery, you'll be able to collect all the QPs from all the participants right there by direct download links.  This is a great way to collect enough pages for one or two complete albums that match!!  There are usually over 40 participants monthly in this CSD contest, so it's well worth your time to grab a cup of java and visit their site!!

I've made my QP in two sizes, an 8x8" and a 12x12" which are both included in my download.  I got totally hooked on the little boat cluster element and built my whole page around featuring that element!  I had no clue what I was going to do when I started, but that element was my inspiration for this page, and here's how it turned out . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

I'm providing two download sites in case I run out of bandwidth at one.  Participants in this contest have until Nov. 20th to get their QPs uploaded at CSD, so check back after that date to be sure you collected all of them.  They are usually available to download for the entire following month after the contest ends (i.e., these should be available through December).  A poll will also go up in the forum after Nov. 20th so you can vote for your favorite QP.  The winner gets a prize!!  It's a really neat contest, I love the way it works, and we ultimately are all winners for getting to play with a beautiful kit!  It doesn't get much better than that when you love to scrap!!

Leave some love if you download, it spurs me on to make more for you!  Also, unzip promptly to find a special time dated discount coupon from me to you, good at my Etsy shop online, where I feature my handmade items.  Do come by there for a visit too, especially if you're shopping for something unique for someone special, even a pet! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Talk again soon!

TOOTLES!!

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY + NOVEMBER PAPERS FREEBIE !!

Lord knows I should celebrate "Digital Scrapbooking Day" since over the years it's become such a main hobby in my life!  I'll try to make this short as my day seems to be slipping away quickly, and I have a long "to-do" list yet to go!

We'll jump right into the FREEBIE I have for you!  It's my paper pack for NOVEMBER!  As with my previous monthly paper packs, there are 9 papers, 12x12", 300 dpi, and focused around my chosen color scheme for this month; blends of brown, beige, rust.  Very Fall-ish for your scrapping.  Once again, here is the paper with text that sparked the entire pack . . .

Yeah, I get kind of crazy during my late night design sessions!  I never know what's going to come off my brain.  Here's the preview of the whole paper pack . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Again, I'm providing two sites for downloading since I may run out of bandwidth due to popularity.  I try very hard to keep all my freebie links working and active at all times. 

Next up, I'll simply and hopefully give you some inspiration through showing you what I've scrapped just recently.  I travel with my kids and grandkids on Halloween for the candy gathering, and we have one great huge neighborhood we always go to for that every year.  I'm the designated picture taker, and below is just a small smathering of what I took.  I got hooked on doing the pumpkin templates this year, love them!

Above shows my precious preemie grandson as "Spiderman" (top left).  He didn't want to wear the mask, so his daddy painted an awesome Spiderman face on his with makeup, etc.  Very artistic with web and lots of color!  My other two grandkids are "Skeledono" and "Draculeena", you can also see Amy Winehouse and Damon Wayans, a second adult change on my DD in the bottom, and the pumpkins carved.  An oh yeah, that's me up in the stem!  This template was free from the Template Tuesday Challenges at Jessica Sprague.  I used actual photos of the kid's candy dumped on the floor for my background paper.  Paper and elements used from kits available at Jessica Sprague and also one called Halloween Fun by Scrap N Sassy at Go Digital Scrapbooking.

Above shows a pumpkin filled with the 5 years of Halloweening done by my preemie grandson, Mason.  This is how scrapping can help one to heal from the pain of loss.  I found an old photo of Mason's mommy (my oldest DD) who only lived long enough to see  three of Mason's Halloweens.  I loved the photo of her in the witch's hat as she hosted Halloween festivities at her home one year, so I extracted her from that photo and placed her in this layout as if she were watching over her son.  I think Mason will be pleased with this page when he gets it from me someday as a man.  The whole purpose of digital scrapbooking is leaving something for posterity.  This template was purchased from GDS.

I did this last layout last night as I ran across a great free template at Gotta Pixel in their Project 52 category in their forum.  I could visualize this one as I looked at the template, it just was already in my head, perfect!  Yes, I'm just like you, love to gather the freebies to work with!  However, I've purchased my fair share over time, and this year I added a giant Halloween kit to my paid-for stash!  Just needed some new things to work with that make me happy!

And, to end, I will advise you that I have signed up today for Tiffany Tillman's upcoming class at Renee Pearson called "Holiday Templates 2011", a 25 day class chocked full of 24 templates, a mega holiday kit, and plenty of daily video lessons.  You can just never stop learning, and this will be an awesome class (i.e., Christmas gift to myself)!!  You should check it out, today is the last day for a discount off the registration cost.  You have until midnight to get that!

Okay, I'm off to hit my chore list for the rest of this day!  Thanks for stopping by.  Leave some love if you download.  And don't forget to unzip my freebies ASAP, I have special timely coupons in there for you!! 

TOOTLES!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN + FREEBIE !!

Can you believe October is at an end? It's been a busy month here which included a trip up North to visit with my parents and help them with their overwhelming Fall yardwork! I was way more active physically up there on their property than I ever am here at home in my small environment. I happened to hit a really great seasonal time up there. The leaves were gorgeous colors, and millions of them came tumbling down in two consecutive days, thus the raking began. One of their 50+ years old apple trees was over-laden with delicious apples with hundreds hitting the ground beneath the tree daily. Their huge black walnut tree was the same as the apple in its bounty, and the chestnut trees were running a tight third place. I worked out in the yard every day until I didn't think my spine could take anymore. We got the lawn cleaned up of produce, gave lots of it away, sold some to the local markets, and I returned home with a truckbed full to cook and can. That's done now too!  I took lots of Fall photos!  Think I'll take November a little easier!  Here's a LO of the black walnut tree . . . and this template was free from the Template Tuesday challenges over at Jessica Sprague . . . (if you're a template addict, like I am, you should check that out since you get a free one each Tuesday) . . .

And here is a LO of a great odd shot I took while traveling across one of our popular mountain ridges up home, this being shot upward from the forest floor . . .

And here is a LO of our favorite roadside market only a little over 2 hrs. into our journey going North; I always have to stop here and browse all the goodies . . . (another free template from JS) . . .

And here is the last LO for now, just a couple of the trip moments I luckily captured; mom with one of her geraniums, yours truly with my DD on the mountain-top lookout, and my dad pulling a bucket of apples up the driveway in the old red wagon . . .  (another JS free template) . . .

November is full of family birthdays, so that will set a pace of sorts to my schedule.  Better put my mind on some homemade cake recipes!!

I've been enjoying some quality time with my three grandchildren doing pre-Halloween activities like making some party crafts, Halloween cards, candy apples and popcorn balls.  Here's a LO of one of those evenings with them "mugging for the camera", of course.  There are getting pretty self-conscious these days in front of the lens . . . (free template from Tiffany Tillman's blog) . . .

Okay, enough about me!  Here is something for you!  I was spurred by ghosts, goblins, and ghouls and knowing October is ending to make you something for scrapping those photos you'll be taking tonight of your own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or all those kids coming to your door for candy (I take pictures of them, too).  I present your FREEBIE, another in my large collection of photo mat/clipping masks, this one "SPOOKTACULAR".  This is a png file, 300 dpi, aproximately 8 x 6" and can be used in most software programs.  It can be easily resized to larger or smaller, easily recolored to use as a photo mat, or you can clip your favorite paper to it, or you can clip your photo to it directly making the photo take on the png's shape for an interesting effect.  Hope you can use it and have some fun with it.  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

I'm providing two different download sites as the freebies have been so popular lately that I run out of bandwidth using just one download site.  So I hope this helps. 

Until next time, TRICK OR TREAT!  (I prefer TREATS!)

TOOTLES!!

CHALLENGE FREEBIE + OCTOBER PAPERS FREEBIE

Happy October, one and all! Time is certainly flying! I tried something new for me and got involved in a neat challenge over at Cool Scraps Digital and tried my hand at a little design work. The challenge is called "CU for a PU Freebie".  The hostess of the challenge, Addie's Designs, provided a pack of CU (commercial use) elements, and the contest participants had to make something with them.  I'm definitely a newbie at this, but I worked up a pack of 6 papers and 10 elements.  The papers are full size, 12x12", 300 dpi; and the elements include 1 invitation, 2 frames, 2 recipe cards, 2 stickers, 2 brads, and 1 journaling card.  Hope you like!  Here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

Hop over and visit the CSD forum to collect all the other freebies available in this challenge!  There are some beauties!  Better still, if you hurry, you can participate in this challenge yourself.  The winner gets a $5.00 gift certificate to the store, and all participants get to keep the CU Pack of goodies!

By the way, from my last post, nobody guessed my middle name correctly so I suppose we'll just keep that a secret for another time!  LOL!  There were some good attempts!

Next up, I have a second FREEBIE for my faithful followers!  I present to you my OCTOBER PAPER PACK.  I've assembled 9 pretty full size papers with fitting color for this month, so I hope you can use them!  I also hope to keep this going throughout the year.  It started with me trying to design a paper with some text on it for the month, and it sort of grew from that.  These are 12x12", 300 dpi, and here is the preview . . .

and here is a closer look at the one paper idea that started this, the focal point of this pack:

DOWNLOAD HERE OR HERE

I'm providing two places to download for these freebies, as I experienced running out of bandwidth for my downloads last month, and that's such a bummer for anyone trying to gather up some goodies!

Unzip your downloads promptly, as I've included a little something special in them!

I believe I've got a busy month ahead, but I hope to check back in before the goblins hit my front door!  Take care and enjoy the cool crisp air of Fall!

TOOTLES!

REMEMBERING 9/11 + FREEBIE + CONTEST !!

I'm going to begin this post with two New York City skyline photos taken before 9/11/01, so have a look at these and stop a moment to remember . . .

"Ten years ago I watched those beautiful towers fall.  I sat on my couch and cried.  Not just at the destruction of those landmarks, or from fear, or from anger, but at the loss of something precious that I will never be able to truly share with my children. - - What I will share with my children is what the towers stand for:  Our freedom.  A freedom that was hard-fought, that continues to be hard-fought, and that is something priceless.  Freedom can be taken away; we take it so for granted, but it is not and has never been free. - - On 9.11.11 I will remember the towers.  I will remember our freedom.  I will remember those who died to grant us freedom, to protect our freedom, and to preserve our freedom.  - - I know this day will be different for all of us, but I invite you to reflect and share your memories.  I leave you with favorite photos of NYC before 9.11.01 at twilight with the twin towers lit in all their glory." - - exerpt from The Studio newsletter by Toiny Westberry

So appropriate that I had to post most of it for you, my peeps.  Toiny's favorite photo is the middle one, and I added my favorite NYC skyline, the bottom photo, and another Studio member just added the top photo for us.  Thanks, "rabbitrun"!  The Studio's newsletters are so good, that if you aren't currently subscribed to them, you should do so.  I always look forward to reading Toiny's personal stories and seeing the photos of her family while living the military life in Germany now.

Today also marks many other happier special events, so lets mention those also!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my BFF, and you know who you are!  I hope you have a very special day to remember!  This is also my youngest DD's wedding anniversary, so to you, have a HAPPY DAY!

Last, but surely not least, this just happens to be my 100th blog post!  Woohoo!!  So to celebrate that, I have another FREEBIE for you, and I've also decided to have a little fun contest complete with a digi-prize!  During a recent dabbling design session,  I played around making colorful flowers, oodles of them!  For you I picked out 27 of my favorites.  WARNING:  Some of them are pretty bright and cheerful!  I figured this would help lift your spirits today!  True to our American philosophy, we must keep our spirits high and keep on plowing forth to our dreams!  So I hope you can find use for these to brighten up your scrapping pages; enjoy FLOWER FUN #1, and here's the preview . . .

DOWNLOAD HERE

If the above download link is out of bandwith, try downloading HERE.  There's been a huge response for this pack of flowers!  Yeah!



Now, I'm not quite finished having fun, so keep reading!  To further celebrate my 100th blog post, I'm having a contest for any of my faithful followers, and it's super-easy.  I hope you are familiar with leaving a comment below this post.  Do so, and also take a stab at guessing my middle name!  Anyone who gets it exactly right wins and receives a FREE digital download of my OVAL MONTH FRAMES pictured below . . .Be sure to leave your name, your email if you want so I can contact you (or just leave your name and I will post a list of the winners in my next blog post and leave you my email so you can then send me yours, whichever you prefer).  I'll even give you a couple of hints:  My middle name has 7 letters and ends with E.  Have fun!  Can't wait to read all the submissions!  LOL!  This is wide open and there can be as many winners as get my middle name exactly correct and spelled correctly.  So have at it!  Here's what you'll win . . .

I think these frames are such a classy accent to add to a page, I love them!  They've been available in The Mason Jar, but hopefully lots of you will win them now!  Contest closes Sept. 18th, 2011, at midnight EST.  That's a full week to find me and make your guesses!

Don't forget to leave me some love!  The more love I get the more I give away!  Talk to you soon!

TOOTLES!!

NEWS & LABOR DAY FREEBIE !!

HAPPY LABOR DAY ALL!  I hope you're having a nice holiday weekend!  Enjoy this last fling and stay safe.

I've been cranking out some work lately, and you'll notice some slight changes and additions to the top of this blog page. Yep, that's right! I finally got my CRAFT STORE open online at Etsy, so I've put easy links to stay on this page so any of you interested will be able to browse my shop easily when you feel like it.  To celebrate my Grand Opening there, I've posted a coupon code for 10% off all purchases for the entire month of September!  Yeah!  Please do hop over and drop in for a look-see over your mug of coffee.  This store is for my real handicrafts which have taken over my house through the years.  My digital creations will remain freebies here on my blog.

But enough about me, lets get on to YOU!  In celebration of Labor Day, I am giving you a nice pack of papers called "SEPTEMBER".  I have noticed lately that I love papers with text already on them, especially the month names; so I decided to try my hand at designing some of my own.  Success!  I have more than half of the year's made, so around the first of each month here you'll find a FREEBIE paper pack by that month's name.  Hopefully, there will be several papers in the pack, and one will definitely have the name of the month text on it.  My creations so far are hugely different from one another, so don't worry about things looking the same.  They won't!  Colors also will be geared to the time of year on these.  I did well for September, there are NINE papers in this FREEBIE.  Here is the pack preview . . .

and here is the preview of the month paper with text

DOWNLOAD HERE   

(There's been a huge response to this paper pack, so I'm providing a secondary download site.  If I'm am out of bandwith at the above link, try downloading HERE.)

Unzip this freebie right away, there's a coupon inside for you!

I'm amazed that I've managed to accomplish this much lately.  I set some goals and tried to stick to them, but I've also been busy with family activities and sitting with my grandbabes.  They are growing like weeds and so full of energy.  I'm completely exhausted after my days with them, but it's nothing some good sleep won't repair!  LOL!  I'm happy to say that all three of mine are delighted to be back in school.  They love going and love learning, and they love sharing all that knowledge with each other.  Oh, I remember those days myself!

I'll be back soon with more digi-goodies for you, so return often!  Meantime, I hope to see you visit and leave me a message at my new craft store!  I've made so many friends online that it still amazes me to pieces!  Hugs to all of you!

TOOTLES!

IN LOVING MEMORY

To my beautiful firstborn,

I miss you every minute of every day and always will. You will forever live on in my heart and memories.

September 24, 1971 - August 20, 2009

FREE QUICK PAGE + EXCITING NEWS !!

We'll jump right into the heart of things as I post late tonight! The August Quick Page Contest is in full swing over at Cool Scraps Digital, and I've just finished creating my page with the beautiful kit, AFTERMATH, by Chili Designz, which was provided free to all participating in the contest. CSD is running the contest a little differently this month, and you can still sign up to participate this month until August 29th if you can complete and submit your QP by the end of this month. That's just awesome and more relaxed for those with a super busy schedule and those of us that have a hard time keeping up with dates and deadlines.  If you're not familiar with this great contest, hop on over to the forum at Cool Scraps Digital, and check out the QP Contest thread.  If you haven't been there before, you may want to register in the forum so you'll be able to download all of the Quick Pages made by everyone!  There is also a QP Contest gallery where you can see all of the pages made this month and probably for previous months also.  And, last but not least, there is a Freebie thread in the forum where you will also find these pages to download eventually.  I can't say enough good things about Cool Scraps Digital and all the wonderful designers and visitors there.

Here is the kit preview of AFTERMATH by Chili Designz . . .

  
We were instructed to make our pages in 8 x 8" png format so that those collecting the entire album would have pages that match up in size already, easy to print at home, etc.  Here is a preview of the page I made . . .

Below is a closer look at my page and my finished sample . . .

My completed sample page . . .

You can visit Cool Scraps Digital to download my free QP in the 8 x 8" png format.

And for those of you who prefer the 12 x 12" png format, I'm offering that right here as well.  Of course, both of these are 300 dpi for best print quality.  I chose to slip just one photo I liked behind the element I opened up as my frame; but, if you are slick, you could also slip nine different photos into position behind that frame!  I challenge you to see what you can do with this one!  Have fun!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Alrighty then!  In other news, I'm working on a big, but fun, new project of my own right now.  I've always been a very free spirited crafter all my life.  In my younger days I ran the circuit of fairs and festivals throughout each year with my crafting soul sisters, and we would have a royal blast selling our lovelies.  I had a street-front shop from 1978 to 1995 (until I moved south) where I sold supplies, finished items, and gave classes.  OMG!  I just realized that was about 17 years of having a shop!!  Time flies when you're having fun, for sure!  At any rate, I am "more mature" (snicker) and still crafting away, always learning new things.  Life is about all the knowledge you can soak up along your journey, my friends.

The news is:  Since I am "more mature" these days, I've decided to let the internet save me some leg-work!  I am opening a shop online at Etsy, and I plan for it to go live on September 1st!  I hope you are familiar with Etsy, which is just wonderful.  They only allow the sale of three things; handmade items, craft supplies, and vintage items (things over 20 years old).  I have my storefront up and visible.  The name is SunBum Studios.  I am still working on all the listings I will put in the shop, and those won't be visible until September 1st.  I will have a nice array of handmade lovelies offered there, so do drop in for a visit, bookmark the site, and visit frequently to see what's new there.  I don't plan at this time to offer any digital creations there, any of those for sale will still go into "The Mason Jar" here on my blog, which remains my effort to help my very special angel baby grandson, Mason, with his needs in the future given his special circumstances.

Here's a very small tidbit of what you'll see in my new shop . . .

Woofie Wraps (hand knitted, easy on/off cozy jackets for dogs) . . .

Vintage hair accessories . . .

And lots more to come soon!

Again, thanks for stopping by my blog for a visit!  I'll be back soon with the second set of circular word stickers for you real soon, so stay tuned!

Meantime, get those kids ready for school, and don't forget to take pictures as you go!

HAPPY SCRAPPING!

TOOTLES!