{Happy Birthday, ScrapMatters!}

Hello, digi scrappers!!! What an exciting day today is - the celebration of ScrapMatters' birthday! If you haven't checked out the awesome sale going on this weekend yet, you simply must do that soon. Not only is there a great sale going on, you can also get an amazing collab kit from the ScrapMatters designers as gift with purchase. Wow! Head on over to the store HERE to do some shopping!

Most of you probably came here from Trista's blog: http://tristaree.com/ She has a comprehensive list of all the blog train stops if you need it - very cool, Trista! Now for my freebie. I decided to create a pre-shadowed frame cluster using the gorgeous new collab, Garden Party. I hope you like it!

Download the freebie http://www.4shared.com/file/A8aoDVUS/acmSMBDayFreebie.html

***I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this link works because blogger just decided that I shouldn't be allowed to highlight text to make a link! GAH!!! If it doesn't work, I'll keep trying to get it fixed!

Your next stop on the blog train is Chel's blog: http://scrappingchelcreations.wordpress.com/

Hope you enjoying celebrating with ScrapMatters!

{Some New Layouts}

I thought I'd post a handful of layouts I've created recently. Hope you enjoy taking a peek! :) OH - Remember to download my iNSD freebie TODAY if you haven't already. The link will be disabled on Saturday evening!


credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

credits

Have a great weekend!

{iNSD Blog Train FREEBIE!}

It's finally here - iNSD! This is a day, well, a weekend, that I look forward to every year. For all my family and friends reading this who have NO CLUE what iNSD is, it is International Scrapbook Day! The "day" has evolved into an entire weekend of scrapping, online store sales, games, freebies, contests, chats, and other fun activities. It's a weekend to celebrate the hobby that so many of us love!

Today I am participating in a fabulous blog train sponsored by my favorite digi scrap store, ScrapMatters. The designers at ScrapMatters have seriously been working their tails off creating amazing Grab Bags, kits, freebies and fun for all of us to enjoy. One of their creations is a gorgeous vintage inspired collab kit called "Timeless". It is filled with beautiful papers and stunning elements in a color scheme and theme that you'll go back to again and again as you scrap your family photos. And the best part? It's FREE when you purchase $20 of yumminess at ScrapMatters this weekend during the iNSD sale!!!

To make this even better, a SLEW of the designers and creative team members at ScrapMatters have gotten together and created freebies for you with this kit. You'll find everything from stacked papers to brag book pages on this blog train. I have created an element cluster for you. It is perfect to put beside a photo of a loved one or along the side of a layout. Here is a preview of the freebie as well as the kit "Timeless":

*** Download has expired.

Your next stop on the blog train is Kelli's blog.

Enjoy the rest of the blog train (it's HUGE by the way!) and make sure you spend some time scrapping this weekend!

{DSD 2010!}

It's officially DSD 2010! What is that, you ask? Digital Scrapbooking Day! If you are one of my fellow digi scrappers you know all about this "holiday" and are itching to shop the great sales and scrap all weekend. If you are scratching your head and wondering what on earth I'm talking about, keep reading . . . and then explore ScrapMatters to get started on your digi scrap adventure! :)

This year ScrapMatters is having an AWESOME DSD weekend full of sales, special events (speed scraps, chats, and games), and even a mega Design Team Collab kit that you can get for free! Check it out:

Want to see the kit in more detail?

Isn't it gorgeous??? The rich colors and detailed elements (plus check out all those alphas!) are perfect for all your fall layouts and for those everyday moments that are so important to document. You should see the stunning layouts and projects that are being created with this loaded kit already - they are just fantastic! The best part is that you can have this entire kit for FREE with any $20 purchase at ScrapMatters during the DSD celebration!

So to kick off this fun weekend of scrapping I'm participating in the ScrapMatters blog train - you can pick up LOADS of goodies by hopping from blog to blog! You likely arrived here from Becky's BLOG. I'm giving you a pre-shadowed frame cluster using "Many Thanks". I hope you like it and can use it to preserve some memories!

Image is linked to the download.

The next stop on the train is Lori's BLOG and I know she has something great for you!

Make sure to stop by ScrapMatters and stock up on all the high-quality, original designs there while they are on sale! Happy DSD everyone!

{Birthday Blog Train!}

What a celebration! This weekend the fabulous digital scrapbooking store, Scrap Matters, turns 3! I fell in love with this store shortly after it debuted, and it continues to be my favorite digi site on the web. The community is so incredibly positive and upbeat and the gallery inpires me every time I visit. Plus, the designers . . . my goodness, do the designers ROCK!



So in honor of three amazing years of bringing the world creativity and inspiration, Scrap Matters is having a birthday bash all weekend long. See my previous post for the details! Today the designers and creative team members are giving away freebies made with Cupcakes & Candles, the huge birthday collab kit that you can get FREE with a $20 purchase during the birthday celebration! You probably came here from Val's blog. If you have missed any part of the train up to this point, you can head to Scrap Matters to get the entire blog train list.



Before I give you my freebie I will share one of my favorite birthday memories. Every girl looks forward to her Sweet 16, right? It's the big year when something magical is supposed to happen to turn a girl into a young woman . . . maybe it's the right to get a driver's license, or date, or just be considered more grown up. Anyway, 16 is supposes to be big and important and is worthy of a huge celebration. Well, my 16th birthday just happened to fall on Easter Sunday. No big party for me! All my friends were obviously with their families for the weekend and I had no one but family to "party" with.



It turns out that I have a pretty amazing family. We used to go to a family cabin in the mountains every Easter and Thanksgiving and spend the day there eating, playing games, going on hikes, and watching for wild turkey and deer. This Easter was no different. We packed the trucks and headed up the bumpy dirt road to the cabin. When we arrived, my aunt and uncle had been there for a few hours already to get the woodstove going and heat the cabin for the rest of us. I walked inside and . . . TA-DA!!! There were streamers and balloons throughout the cabin and a sign that had a Happy 16th Birthday message on it for me! Everyone in the family was in on my surprise and it made me feel so special and important. My birthday turned out great - perhaps even better than had I spent it with friends.



And wouldn't you know it, my next "big" birthday - my 21st - also fell on Easter weekend? That's a whole other story . . .



OK, now for the portion of this post you are all here for! Here is my gift to you today: a frame cluster perfect for any birthday photo OR any celebration photo you may have! Think about New Year's Eve, graduation, and other events where you celebrated with others.




You can grab the cluster HERE. I hope you enjoy it!



Your next stop on the blog train is the fabulous Stefanie's blog. Enjoy picking up the rest of the freebies, and don't forget to celebrate with everyone at Scrap Matters all weekend long!

{Birthday Sale!}

Make sure you head over to Scrap Matters starting tomorrow - FRIDAY, AUGUST 6th - for amazing sales, fun games, and great prizes! It's going to be a birthday bash not to be missed!

{A Challenge and a Freebie!}

I'm hosting a fun challenge at Scrap Matters called Roadmap To Scrap. I give you eight instructions and you create a layout follow the rules! Here's the layout I made for the challenge:

You get a point for completing the challenge (plus an extra point if you use a newly released product!). At the end of the month you'll get a discount at the Scrap Matters store based on the number of points you've earned! Awesome, right? Check out the challenge HERE.

I hope all you digi scrappers play along!

I've also created a free template for you!

Check out THIS post to grab it!

Just a reminder, International Digi Scrap Day (IDSD) is coming up fast! May 1st is the official day, but Scrap Matters and many other great digi scrap sites will be celebrating all week. You'll definitely want to stop by and see all the cool events and specials being offered. They are AWESOME!!!

And now for yet another offer . . . I've had two people contact me recently (actually on the same day!) to inquire about digi scrapping. I'm going to put together a "lesson" night soon for anyone who wants to learn how to scrap digitally. If you are interested, please leave a comment so I can send you the info you need. And don't worry, it's NOT that hard! Trust me, if I can do it, so can you! :)

Have a great weekend!

{New Layouts}

My favorite hobby has become even more fun (if that's even possible!) lately since I was chosen to be on the Scrap Matters site CT (creative team). For the past few days I've been scrapping at least one layout each day, something that is rare for me. But it's been so much fun getting to play with products from so many designers that I can't stop myself! So I thought I'd share some of the layouts I've created recently.

One of my favorite designers, Sarah Bennett, has a brand new kit out today called "Spunky Monkey". I seriously LOVE the colors and all the fun elements in this kit!



As soon as I saw the kit I knew exactly which pictures I would scrap with it.



Make sure you snag this kit and play with it, too! (Image linked to store.)

This layout uses Chelle's Creations "Ticket to Ride", also available at Scrap Matters. It is definitely a fun kit for all those ride photos you have!



When I was pregnant with Dixon Clara would often tell people that the baby's name was Nemo. So of course I had to record that for his baby album! I used Brittish Design's "Fish Are Friends" and "Hang In There" to make the layout (both available at Scrap Matters).



My friend Tina of T. Flo's Photography took these amazing photos of Dixon when he was six months old. I love them SO much, and had to make a layout of them as well. By Becca's kit called "Boy Blue" was perfect for the photos.



Tina also took this picture of Clara last summer. It's probably my favorite photo of her - she looks so cute and innocent! The layout was made with Sarah Bennett's "Sister Sue" kit, available at Scrap Matters.



I took these pictures of Dixon when he was just a couple weeks old. Not too bad for a girl with a point-and-shoot camera, huh? The kit I used is Brittish Designs and Erica Zane's collab, "Itty Bitty".



During the summer Chambersburg has an event called First Fridays. On the first Friday of each month, all kinds of vendors, musicians, local businesses and entertainers line the streets of downtown Chambersburg. It's a lot of fun to spend an hour or so there checking everything out. The girls loved getting their faces painted!



Another one of my favorite designers, Jady Day Studios, collaborated with Suzy Q Scraps a couple weeks ago to create a unique kit called "Ouchies and Ickies".

It has the perfect papers and elements for photos of sick and hurt folks. You may recall my snowball throwing incident I had with Sasha during the big snow storm . . . here are the photos scrapped with this great kit:



More recently, Jady Day Studios created a beautiful kit called "You Light Up My Life". It is perfect for weddings, babies, and everyday moments. (Both of these kits are available at Scrap Orchard and the images are linked.)

Here is my layout of Dixon sucking his thumb (before he discovered his two fingers, which stay in his mouth almost all day).

I have a really hard time scrapping big events like Christmas and birthdays. It just gets to be mundane doing the same thing year after year, so I much prefer to focus on everyday photos. But I couldn't resist scrapping these pics of Clara when she turned three. I love the photos and I love how the kit called "Crazy / Beautiful" by Sarah Bennett compliments them so well.

I managed to get a few pages scrapped at our Love Crop in February. These pictures of Sasha, Clara, and their cousin Kari have been sitting on my harddrive waiting to be scrapped for some time. I really like how this turned out! I used Sarah Bennett's kit "Storytime" and her alpha "Felty Alpha".

That's it for now! I am sure I'll have lots more pages to show you soon as I continue to scrap my heart out each day. I'm so glad I can document my family's life in this way and that my kids will have these books to remember their childhood in such fine detail. What a great hobby scrapping is!

I also want to mention that I've changed the comment section of my blog so that anyone can leave a comment. So if you feel so inclined, please do so!

Happy Scrapping!

{One Love}

The earthquakes in Haiti and the human suffering that has resulted have touched so many of us in a profound way. If you're like me, you've been wondering how you can make a difference in the lives of those directly affected by the tragedy. I'm SO pleased to share one way that you can do something to help those in need! Scrap Orchard, one of my favorite digital scrapbooking stores, has organized a MASSIVE designer collab called "One Love". Check out the scoop, and then head over to Scrap Orchard to snap it up and know that you are doing your part in assisting Haiti during this great time of need!



(Description taken from the Scrap Orchard market.)

"One love refers to the universal love and respect expressed by all people for all people, regardless of race, creed, or color."

Forty-eight designers from around the community have joined together to bring you this incredible kit with the common purpose of raising funds for Haitian aid and relief. Our theme, "One Love", symbolizes not only our heartfelt effort to help the people of Haiti, but also encompasses the diverse styles of all the designers involved in this project. This kit represents the diversity of our community and shows that even though we are all different, when we come together the result is truly spectacular.

The profits from the sale of this kit will be donated to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. We chose the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund not only because it embodies the spirit of One Love, but also because 100% of the donations will go to the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and because they are working to provide both immediate relief and long-term support to the earthquake survivors.

This beautiful kit includes 114 papers, 356 elements, 3 alphabets, 6 page templates and 1 hybrid template and 16- 12 in. x 12 in. .png quick pages. This product is only available for a limited time.

{Layout Time!}

Some time has passed since I've shared any layouts with you. I haven't done a ton of scrapping lately - there's been too much going on as I'm sure you understand. But I have managed to get some Christmas layouts from years past completed. Yay! I always put off doing major holidays and birthdays because they are my least favorite topics to scrap. It just seems like I have the same photos year after year with older kids. It gets kind of boring. So while I still have oodles of Christmas photos yet to scrap, I'm happy I got at least a few done.

But first, here's a layout of my sweetie-pie, Dixon. He was only a couple of weeks old in these photos. So tiny!

credits

And now for some Christmas layouts:

credits

credits

credits


And two winter layouts from 2007:

credits

credits

I'm hoping to do some more scrapping now that the holidays are over and life is settling back down. I'd really love to finish Sasha's preschool album and work some more on Dixon's first year album. If only I could have a solid day to do nothing but scrap . . . uninterupted . . . with lots of chocolate . . . and good scrappy friends . . .

{FREE Digi Kit!}

A few months ago I was honored to join a fabulous Creative Team (CT) for a digi designer named Sarah Bennett. She has a store at Funky Playground Designs and she has been a guest designer at Scrap Matters this month. Her designs are very detailed, original, and super fun to play with!

Right now there is a wonderful giveaway on our CT Blog. You can win Sarah's brand new kit, Tough Boy, by leaving a comment on the blog. You can even get two entries for becoming a Facebook fan! Here's the kit:

Isn't it fabulous? Go to our CT blog HERE and leave a comment to win! Don't forget to become a Facebook fan to double your chances of winning.

Happy Scrapping!

{Lotsa Layouts}

Have you ever been so incredibly frustrated by something you could just cry? That's how I've felt for the past four days. My computer has decided that it doesn't like my camera and is refusing to load any images. I have so many things I want to blog about and so many photos to organize for when I'm ready to scrap them. Argh!

Anyway, I have a number of new layouts that I haven't posted yet, so I may as well do that now. This isn't nearly all of them, but it's a good sampling. If I have posted any of these already, forgive me! You can click any of the images to enlarge them if you want to read the journaling or see the details better.

This one is for Clara's preschool album. Dixon is six months old today - I can hardly believe it! I'm trying hard to do as many layouts of him as I can. Baby pictures can be hard to keep track of - the first year goes so fast! This first one was actually a quickpage. All I added was the photo and title. Easy!

This is one of my new favorite layouts. I just love how it came together!

And a few pics of baby D when he was born.

Here's another new fav of mine. These two have a special bond and a special love. It's adorable!

I have the most beautiful sisters ever. Here's my younger sister, Becky, two summers ago.

A couple pics of our last day at the beach two years ago.

This photo is from 2006. Sasha is so young!

And finally, the most adorable witch you've ever seen! This was Halloween 2007.

That's it for now! I sure do hope my computer and camera work on their relationship or layouts are the only things I'll be able to share with you. Keep your fingers crossed!