Geek Chic Scraps

My Blog is Mooooving!

2009-09-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hello my friends!

Just letting you know that my new blog is officially launched today- so head on over to http://geekchicscraps.blogspot.com/
and check out the happenings with all my awesome designers, maybe grab some freebies if I have them... and be sure to re-follow me over there!!

Michelle Batton at The DigiChick!

2009-09-01T12:00:00.001-04:00

Guess who's brand new over at The DigiChick??
Michelle Batton! Oh yeah!

Haven't heard me talk about her yet have you?

Well that's because I just accepted a guest spot on her Creative Team for the month of September- I actually started like a week early, but I got lucky enough to be part of her Grand Opening over at The Digichick! I'm loving getting to work with her designs, the first kit I got to play with was Ladybug Picnic- I liked it so much that I made 3 layouts with it even though I was only obligated to do one- that's how you can tell I like a kit. The third layout was a bit personal and a piece of Kat's baby book, so I won't be sharing it (sorry!) but here are two that I did that I really really love! AND- in honor of her grand opening at The Digichick, all her goodies are 30% off from September 1st-7th! So get your happy heinies on down there!

Polka Dot Plum Grand Opening!!!

2009-08-31T18:35:00.007-04:00

Aaaand yours truly happens to be hosting 2 awesome grand opening celebration events where I get to give away Gift Certificates to the store!!
Mark your calendar and plan to be there to hang out with me and watch me give away goodies!! There are TONS of other great giveaways happening opening week, not just mine... though mine will be much fun!

ChooChoo! Blooming Doodle Blog Train!

2009-08-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Hi there folks!

Welcome to my stop on the Blooming Doodle Blog Train... I have a little Word Art Freebie for all you lovely scrappy folks! Trust me, if you like the Word Art and all the lovely Freebies you're getting in honor of Amy's debut at The Lilypad (so exciting!) you should definitely go check out her new shoppe!!

Okay okay, enough yammering from me- here's your freebie!

Image is linked, but just in case- 4Shared

And now your next stop on the train is the lovely and talented Sally- but I'm giving the whole list just in case you started in the middle somewhere or missed a stop along the way!

Cristina: http://cristinascrap.blogspot.com
Julie: http://mycrazylifeasamomandawife.blogspot.com/
Me!: http://thewildmountainthyme.blogspot.com/
Sally: www.rainbowskydesigns.wordpress.com
Jennifer: http://neverendingfairytale.com/scraps
Brandy: http://luckisforlosers.blogspot.com/
Holly: http://scrappinlilmoments.blogspot.com
Nicole: http://crop-a-holic.blogspot.com
Heather: http://createdbyheather.blogspot.com
Tina: http://www.theflohrs.blogspot.com
Laura: www.simply-scraps.net
Tracy: http://tracykosofsky.blogspot.com
Sylvia: http://sylviascraps.blogspot.com
Crystal: http://crystallongbrake.blogspot.com
Bryn: http://www.scraptacularscraptacular.blogspot.com

Caution! Awesomeness contained here...

2009-08-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

If you aren't scrapping with the goodies from simply.scraps yet, I can forgive you your momentary lapse of judgement- or even chalk it up to having not discovered Laura's (the designer) awesomeness yet... after this you have no further excuses LOL

Seriously though... Today she's releasing a template set based off her own (super awesome- I warned you about the awesome) layouts. These were so fun to use, I definitely plan on doing a few more pieces than the ones below- but unfortunately have a baby who got her vaccines today and is NOT happy... even when she gets to see the awesomeness... (haha) Unfortunately the awesomeness cannot, in fact, work miracles...

Go grab this today at Gotta Pixel... and while you're there, browse some of her other stuff, she makes me wanna spend my scrapping allowance!

I also totally fell in love with this kit, which I used on both Layouts... Emo Kid. It is chock full of bright dorky goodness, don't let the Emo parts fool you, it is for dorks and Emo's alike!!

Shaking things up!

2009-08-13T22:04:00.003-04:00

Ahh my pretties :) You're about to see some big changes for me... I'm currently working like a fiend making ALL kinds of goodies for the Grand Opening of Polka Dot Plum (which will be soon!) I can't share any of them just yet, even though I want to, but all will be unveiled soon enough.

I am also now a monthly contributor on behalf of Polka Dot Plum over at the Artisans Notebook for their Just Write feature. My first layout should appear in the September issue, which will be my very first published layout (so exciting!)

Also, one of my all time favorite designers, who I just happen to work for- Amy Sumrall is making a big move to a new store soon! I can't tell you just where yet, but it's going to be good! She's also having a 50% off sale over at The DigiChick, and once she moves lots of great kits are going to be retired to make room for new goodness... You'd be silly not to grab these up!

I also have some more changes coming down the pipeline, to be announced soonish (as in the next 2 weeks or so)--- things are shaking up in GeekLand!

And now since ya'll sat through that, here are some LO's that I am allowed to share with you that I've done in the last week-ish...Key to my Heart- Made using: Chilled Wine, Cinnamon Breeze, Rhapsody, and Snippets Alpha from Studio MGL; Font is Pea Hannah Vanilla
Princess Pink: Made using Little Miss Can't Be Wrong from Scraps by Jenn at: http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/store/product.php?productid=1165&cat=0&page=1; Font is Pea Hannah Vanilla

First Haircut: Made using: FT Extreme Doodle Font by Faith True and Pea Faith, also used Sweet Love of Mine, Nutcracker Sweets, and Dreams Perfected all by Faith True!

My Beloved Monster- My Round 4 Battle of the Creative Teams Entry for Amy Sumrall's Team; I scraplifted from Holly's 'Sunshine' LO (http://digiscrapaddicts.com/gallery/...hp?photo=16858) and the title work from Bryn's 'Your Funny Face' LO (http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/...p?photo=539652); I used Rawr and Little Curly Alpha and recolored bits from Spazzy Too! by who else? Amy Sumrall!!!

You Make it All Better- made for the August From the Heart Challenge over at Scrap Orchard;
I used: Learn to Fly and BellyPop Take 2 from Faith True; Font is Pea Hannah Vanilla

A Surprise and a BIG Sale!

2009-08-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

The fantabulous Amy Sumrall is moving to a new home online- where is the surprise... you'll find out soon!

Aaaaand what's more fun than a surprise? A huge sale! We've got that too!!

Go get them before they're gone, some of the kits that are getting retired you SO don't want to miss!! Once they're gone, they're gone!

Some recent CT Work

2009-08-04T17:52:00.002-04:00

My Diva Girl

Made using: Little Miss Can't be Wrong from Scraps by Jenn

Available at Scrappity Doo Dah: http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/sto...amp;amp;page=1

Made using August Collab Kit Drama Queen

Link: http://www.prettyscrappy.com/xcart/product.php?productid=18525&cat=0&page=1

This kit was so full of goodies that I had trouble picking just a few pieces to work with! Lovely!

Made using Cheerful Colors from Jaya Prem's Hangout

Link: http://www.prettyscrappy.com/xcart/product.php?productid=18062&cat=0&page=2

Very feminine and sweet little kit :)

Made using Live Laugh Love from Designs by Angel

Link: http://www.prettyscrappy.com/xcart/product.php?productid=17607&cat=0&page=1

This kit is so bright and fun! And the cause is one very close to my heart :)

Made using Violet's Closet from Valerie N Designs

Link: http://www.prettyscrappy.com/xcart/product.php?productid=18345&cat=0&page=1

As always, Valerie's stuff is just lovely! The flowers were so fun to work with, and the papers were gorgeous!

Pretty Scrappy Drama Queen Blog Train

2009-08-02T10:16:00.003-04:00

ChooChoo! Welcome to my stop on the Pretty Scrappy Drama Queen Luggage Tag Album Blog Train! (say that 5 times fast)

I made this luggage tag for you all, so enjoy your freebie and check the list for the next stop on your journey! Please, this luggage tag is for Personal Use only :)

4Shared Download Link

Crystal http://inspiredmommiedesigns.blogspot.com
Ginny http://ginnytallent.blogspot.com/
Mel http://designsbymel.blogspot.com
Nikki
http://justpassinthru.wordpress.com/
Gail http://gailsmomentsintime.blogspot.com/
Jewel http://bothmadandgenius.blogspot.com/
Kathy http://kathy70.blogspot.com/
Lauramarie http://lauramariescraps.blogspot.com/
Suzan http://suzankurtz.blogspot.com/
Tanya http://crossbonecuts.blogspot.com/
Tara http://thewildmountainthyme.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://www.inkinandthinkin.typepad.com/

Amy Sumrall Interview and Freebie!

2009-07-31T16:00:00.002-04:00

Check this out! Amy Sumrall just did an interview at The Daily Scrapper, and she's giving away her Pink Lemonade Freebie here!
http://www.thedailyscrapper.com/2009/issue13mlk/interview_amysumrall1.html

Here is a preview of the kit, and the LO I put together with it- go check it out!

New Goodies from Faith True and a Sale!

2009-07-31T09:07:00.001-04:00

New Goodies from Faith True and a Sale!

Faith True has a font (hand drawn by her and "fonted by Miss Tiina!), a 70ish kit and a huge 80's collab for you this weekend at 20% off (and 40% off two days only on Cassidy)!

Peace Love and Joy is a fun filled kit with a 60's- 70's feel!

A cool mismatched font- FT Extreme Doodle

and a fabulously HUGE 80's collab with the great Miss Tiina! Cassidy-
And here's what I put together with the new kit: Cassidy :)

Vote for us again!!

2009-07-28T19:13:00.000-04:00

Vote for Big Pimpin' again! Please! lol
http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/battle/designer.html

Here is my contribution this week:

Hula Monkey and Cutieful Doodleful Youville!

2009-07-23T09:37:00.004-04:00

2 New Releases from Amy Sumrall today! Lucky you!

I totally L-O-V-E this first one... and the LO I did with it is definitely one of my all time favorites! That's how you know you've got a good kit- it inspires you and you always love the way it turns out! Cutieful Doodleful Youville is over at The Digichick starting today and guess what? The whole store is 30% off! Get your happy heinys over there and grab these up!

I was pretty tickled when Amy let us play with this one, since I had just taken a TON of pictures of Kat in her baby pool for the first time- it worked out well :) Besides- monkeys doing the hula- BRILLIANT!! LOL

Rawk the Vote!!!

2009-07-20T10:40:00.002-04:00

Okay kids, you know the drill! Round 1 voting is up over at DSA! I need you all to go take a quick second and vote at:
http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/battle/designer.html

and of course you're voting for Big Pimpin'!!!!

New Daily Download at SDD

2009-07-19T12:59:00.001-04:00

For the next 2 weeks you can stop by Scrappity-doo-dah every day for a few pieces of this beautiful kit. You must be registered to see the Daily Download forum. You can find it here, or click the preview.

Round 1 Layouts are up!

2009-07-17T22:10:00.003-04:00

Our team posted the Round 1 Layouts today! The challenge was white space- and the team had to use the same color palette, and for a bonus you picked a theme. Our team used a rainbow palette (a bold move considering it was a white space challenge, and most teams are using blacks, whites, and neutrals), and took the extra move of actually setting up our layouts to MAKE a rainbow when strung together like this:

We made the pictures line up, and used a common background (grass) so that it seemed like our kids were all playing in the same pictures once you lined up the layouts. We all also used a poem and had 1 line on each page so when they were linked up it completed the poem. We managed to all post in order so it lined up perfectly in our gallery. Yours truly was the blue caboose- what do you think?

I really adored this LO and am quite proud of myself and my team. This is a popularity vote in the end, so I'm going to need everyone to go vote for us when voting opens! I'll be sure to post a link when it does- in the meantime, all the comments we can get totally matter! So please- go leave me some love if you like what I did at:
http://digiscrapaddicts.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=41456&ppuser=1267
And if you've got the time, check out the other girls in my crew and leave them love too! You can tell we belong together because we're the brightest layouts in the gallery and we're all together!

Thanks again and go comment- leave some love- and come back and vote for Big Pimpin'!

Battle of the Creative Teams!!!!

2009-07-14T14:08:00.002-04:00

The Battle Begins tomorrow!!!!

Yours truly is on Amy Sumrall's Big Pimpin' Team!

For those of you who don't know quite how this works- here is the rundown-
Each Wednesday the DSA folks will issue a challenge- Team Members (there are 5 of us) have until Sunday of that week to upload a LO using only stuff from their designer.

Then- people vote on their favorites! It's a cumulative thing, so the team with the most votes at the end of the competition wins!

We're up against some fierce competition and some crazy talented scrappers, but we have an edge...

What is it you say???

We're awesome...

Oh yeah, you heard me!

Plus we're using stuff from the Fantastic and Oh So Original Amy Sumrall...

Even though we rock, we'll still need folks to come out to DSA and comment on our LO's and most importantly ----->>> Vote for us!!

I will post a blog letting ya'll know when it's time to come vote for us (after all, who else would you vote for?)

Also come on down to DSA and enjoy the festivities, and I even have a present for you to rock on your siggy line (or your blog, or anywhere for that matter!)

So if you aren't registered over at DSA, do so... rock the fan blinkie, and enjoy the fun!

Oh, and vote for us...

Amy's Big Pimpin'

Just in case I hadn't added that enough!!!!

Summer Sherbet

2009-07-10T21:06:00.003-04:00

This month over at Scrappity Doo Dah I get to work with LDrag Designs, and the first kit I got to play with is her Summer Sherbet kit- so fun and colorful! Lucky for me I just took a bunch of great pics of Kat in our backyard, and her dress kinda matched the kit :) Gotta love that! Go check this kit out over at Scrappity Doo Dah!

Polka Dot Plum!!

2009-07-01T20:21:00.002-04:00

I just got the okay to officially announce that I've joined the Creative Team at a brand spanking new store: Polka Dot Plum :)

I have to say, it's so exciting to be starting at a store from the ground up! And if the sneak peek of the new website is any indication it's going to be gorgeous! I've gotten to look at some of the kits we'll be starting off with and it's just beautiful quality stuff.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me about PDP as time goes on, but wanted to make the announcement that, yes, I've joined yet another Creative Team LOL

I'm also officially permanent now with Faith True (I started as a June guest, and I was so cute she decided to keep me)

Busy busy busy....

New Release Day! Hot Feet Cool Treat

2009-07-01T13:51:00.003-04:00

I love New Release Day.... I just adore getting to share the cool stuff I've had to just wait to show off! Gah! Amy Sumrall is releasing this AWESOME collab with Pamela Donnis called Hot Feet, Cool Treat.
I was lucky enough to score some adorable first popsicle eating pictures from my friend Jenni of her son Johnny, and I took the words straight from her blog to turn this into a journal page for her! I hope she remembers it forever, and those pictures were just too cute for words! The kit is so bright and fun... the ultimate summer kit- you don't even need Johnny to make it look good (but I had to cheat as I am awful lazy scrapper LOL)

Go grab it over at The DigiChick

A Mother's Diary- Month 7

2009-07-01T11:48:00.002-04:00

Made using Kaylee's Garden by Flergs

Cuteness!!!

2009-06-29T11:47:00.003-04:00

Okay this is so cute!!!! I became a fan of Inspired Mommie Designs after I saw the birthday party invitation that she made from this kit... now I got to play with it and make invitations for my WeeMonkeyGirl! This invitation is just a mock up, but this was awesome to play with!!! Grab it over at Pretty Scrappy...
The Kit name is: Emma's Birthday and the Designer is: Inspired Mommie Designs- check her out, she gives away lots of very cute word art freebies on her blog!

And while you're at it, go leave me some love at DSA if you like the LO!!

Whisper Softly and Love in Bloom

2009-06-28T09:57:00.003-04:00

Two gorgeous kits over at Pretty Scrappy right now... Love in Bloom by GET Designs and Whisper Softly by Tricia Curtis Designs. Grab them here: Pretty Scrappy

Love In Bloom

Whisper Softly

New GIMP Tutorial site

2009-06-27T20:34:00.004-04:00

I'm working up a new GIMP tutorial blog over at: Geek Chic Scraptorium and Wonderland
I posted my first tutorial today and hope to add more! This blog just didn't have enough room for all the CT work and all the tutorials. Plus WordPress lets me add larger images.
I built the other site on my computer (which has an insanely huge monitor) so hopefully the graphics show up alright.
Let me know what you think!

New Releases and Playing Catch Up

2009-06-26T14:23:00.004-04:00

Hello my scrappy buddies!! I've been away on vacation for a week (getting LOTS of pictures to scrap woohoo!) and thought I'd pop back in and let ya'll know I'm still here! I missed all kinds of exciting things this week apparently!

First of all Faith True has 3 (count 'em 3!) new kits that she's releasing this week!

The Moral of the Story with mle Card:
A cute kit with a storybook theme. This kit is perfect for nursery pictures or even depicting storytime with your children. Based on a popular set of children's stories that have been passed down for generations. Only $6.99 over at Scrap Orchard
Country Bumpkin collab with Ziggle Designs:
Only $6.00 over at Scrap Orchard
and SS Paradise: This kit has been remade from it's original version which first appeared in Bella Scraps Magazine July 2008. Only $5.99 over at Scrap Orchard
And they're 20% off over at ScrapOrchard! So scurry on over there and get on it!

Also Amy Sumrall released this AWESOME crayon brushes kit... I've gotten to play with it quite a bit and have a few pages that are almost done that I promise to show you as soon as they're perfect. For you scrappy beginners- what are brushes? You'll hear this term a lot... mostly they're really stamps that you can use in Photoshop... you can also use some as actual paintbrushes as well. Never fear GIMP users! You can use Photoshop brushes in GIMP very very easily. Just extract them into your brushes folder and you're ready to roll! Now you don't have an excuse NOT to get these. :)

This is a fun set of 18 crayon brushes, including shapes, scribbles, borders and frames. Use this to add just the right touch to your pages! Brushes are just so much fun to play with! Stamp them, drag them, adjust the size, color, rotation, etc! The possibilities are endless with these brushes!
A png pack is also included!

Only $2.99 over at The DigiChick
http://www.thedigichick.com/

Outdoors Explorer and I'll be away....

2009-06-17T16:25:00.002-04:00

Faith True is releasing a FANTASTIC kit tomorrow over at Scrap Orchard called Outdoors Explorer. This is SO cute for pics of the little boys in your life. Below is the Layout I did with it- and I have to admit- I'm totally addicted to scrapping my Best Friend's son Johnny- he's just so photogenic! And I'm lucky enough that Jenni lends him to me when I need a boy :) It gave me an excuse to use this kit so that's always a happy thing!!!

On another note I'm leaving tomorrow early and will be away until the following Friday! So see you all then, with lots and lots more pictures to scrap I'm sure!

Rawr!!!!

2009-06-14T14:46:00.004-04:00

Okay- I'll admit it- I liked this kit SO much I was just looking for a chance to use it! Well unfortunately right now my Sweet Kat is teething- and it's not pretty- and by not pretty I mean nightmarish and disturbing. I hate seeing her in pain! But on top of that when she's crying she's also hitting and pinching and kicking! So 2 nights ago Tim called Kat our Little Monster baby- and an idea was born. Yes I took a picture of my kid crying, but to be fair, I was trying to take a regular picture, she just cries a LOT anymore, so you inevitably get crying shots. Instead of deleting it, I decided to use it. So that's my silver lining I guess! Poor little baby!

Aaaaanyway- here's RAWR from Amy Sumrall the Great and Terrible :)
Okay not so terrible- she's actually all kinds of sweet... but very great :)
This kit is SO fun and colorful, and it's suited really really well to boys, but there are other uses as well from what you can see here. I'm really betting it'd be a great layout to use for a kit where your kid (or you) are all dressed up in costume as well :) Anyway- get it, love it... yadda yadda :)
Rawr. More silly than scary, this fun kit is the result of a collaboration with my 15 year old nephew, Kevin! He is quite the doodler, isn’t he? Kevin doodled all of the little monsters and fish and I had a blast turning them into his very first digi design! Rawr includes 12 “wicked awesome” and vibrant crayon colored papers and loads of doodled and unique elements: frames, mat, ribbons, bow, buttons, doodles, tags, word art and handmade felties and more. A brush set is also included and an upper/lower alpha combination. Perfect for teen pages, kids pages, parties or just every day fun!
$4.99
http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/product.php?productid=19808&cat=0&page=1

Belly Pop

2009-06-11T10:58:00.003-04:00

I know I'm not keeping up with freebie reviews as much as I used to, but the fact is- I'm so busy working with the fantastic kits my designers are handing me that I don't really have time! I will try to get some more on here, but in the meantime I had to share this because it's a-dor-able!

Kit: Bellypop Take 2;

Designer: Faith True;

Link: http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=17178&cat=0&page=1

Sweet Love of Mine

2009-06-08T17:40:00.003-04:00

Oooohhh, this is SUCH a cute baby kit! If you're scrapping babies or little ones, you're gonna want this! So am I an evil Scrap Temptress? Dangling goodies in front of you and convincing you that you adore them? Must have them? Can't live without them? Yes! :) LOL

This kit is by Faith True, it's called Sweet Love of Mine and you can snag it over at Shabby Pickle: http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=16498&cat=0&page=1

Free with purchase add on included with this kit! Sweet love of mine is perfect for all babies. There are so many various elements and simple, but elegant papers that make scrapping with this kit easy. Included in this kit:
9 papers
1 acrylic cloud
1 acrylic moon
1 scatter acrylic stars
1 acrylic sun
7 buttons (epoxies)
1 carrot
1 comb
3 pea pods
1 duck
1 wave
1 scissors
2 cotton lace
2 twisty ribbons
2 acrylic flowers
3 ric rac
1 scalloped matte
1 scalloped frame
1 wooden frame
1 double market frame
3 threaded buttons
2 one-piece outfits
1 overalls
2 double bows
3 fabric flowers

Add on includes 8 bead alphas. Each alpha is on it's own sheet, letters are not individual.

$6.49

Little Bunny Foo Foo

2009-06-07T10:08:00.002-04:00

Okay, I seriously luuuuurve Amy Sumrall's designs. It's seriously fun to scrap with them! It seems like every time I use one of her kits anymore it's a trip down memory lane. This kit is actually based on one of my favorite little rhymes as a WeeFangirl- Little Bunny Foo Foo... and I so luckily had a few pictures of my WeeKat dressed as a bunny and tada! Scrappy Magicalness and stuff :)

Seriously though, the tree elements are adorable and there are almost 2 color schemes going with this kit, but it's totally mix and matchable (as you can see from my LO's, they almost look like they came from 2 different kits) so this one's really versatile too. Besides I'm totally into red with white polka dots, and the whole alpha is set up like that *sighs happily* Okay enough gushing, here ya go- you know you want it :)

Little Bunny Foo Foo hoping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head! Luck for Little Bunny Foo Foo, he is so cute! What a little trouble maker! Will the Good Fairy turn him into a Goon? You decide with this precious kit! This sweet kit contains 29 elements, a full alpha and 12 papers.

You can grab this kit for just $4.99 over at The DigiChick:
http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/product.php?productid=19930&cat=0&page=1

As if I weren't busy enough LOL

2009-06-06T11:11:00.002-04:00

Well when great opportunities come up you have to snag them!!! I'm going to be Guest CT'ing for the month of June for Faith True (whose designs you've seen extensively on the blog because she's great!) with a possibility of a permanent spot :) And I'm also joining the group of CT's over at Pretty Scrappy! So that's 2 site CT's for me... something to keep me hopping!

Check out my new homes here:
Faith True: http://faithtrue.wordpress.com/

http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=22

Pretty Scrappy: http://prettyscrappy.com/xcart/home.php

See ya'll in Digi land! :O)

Weekly CT Goodies

2009-06-06T08:54:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pieces of my CT work for the week :) Enjoy!

Cutest Mudpie EVER!

Kit: Puddle Jumper

Designers: Collab with Faith True, Laura Burger, and Cherie Shields

You can grab it here: http://www.gottapixel.net/store/product.php?productid=23326&cat=33&xid=f97e9541d373af2d87ada961c723b602

special thanks to Jenni for letting me use her awesome pics of Oh so cute Johnny in this one!

Beauty

Made using:Playground by Ms Mega Kit available at: http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/sto...9&cat=0&page=1

and Template #2 from Let the Sun Shine by Dark Phoenix Designs available at: http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/sto...7&cat=0&page=1

won LOTD June 1st at Scrappity Doo Dah

Oh how I love you!

Kit: Playground Mega Kit;

Designer: Ms Mega Kit; Link: http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/sto...t=0&page=1

Fairy Dreams

Kit: Nutcracker Sweets with Baby it's You Word Art

Designer: Faith True

Grab it here: http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=16825&cat=0&page=5 and http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=16711&cat=0&page=6

Beautiful You

Kit: Learn to Fly

Designer: Faith True

Grab it here: http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=17419&cat=0&page=1

A Perfect Dream

Kit: Dreams Perfected

Designer: Faith True

Grab it here: http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=16826&cat=0&page=1

Favorite Freebie of the Day June 5th

2009-06-05T20:02:00.003-04:00

Kit: Mother's Love

Designer: Megan Turnidge

Link: (limited time only, go download it ASAP!) http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1257

I got LOTD LOL

2009-06-05T14:41:00.003-04:00

I really should be more observant! LOL I just found out I got LOTD (Layout of the Day) over at Scrappity Doo Dah on June 1st for my 'Beauty' LO... here's the link if you want to see!

http://scrappity-doo-dah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1865

SYTYCD Final Voting!!!!

2009-06-05T12:57:00.004-04:00

Go go go go go vote!!!!!! If you're not registered, do it, then vote! I wish I could tell you who to vote for, but errrr... I'm not really at liberty to do so since I kinda work for 2 designers in the final round! Go check out the kits though and get your vote in there kids!!

http://digiscrapaddicts.com/sytycd/

Favorite Freebie of the Day June 3rd

2009-06-03T20:28:00.006-04:00

A freebie so good it's worth 2 days! :)

Kit: My favorite thing

Designer: The ever talented Amy Sumrall

Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1434

What I loved- This kit is SUCH a walk down memory lane!! I had so much fun doing this layout and remembering what it was like to be 8 years old again with my Tiger Beat and doodling boy's names in bubble letters in my Trapper Keeper. This entire kit is inspired! The stickers are adorable, the drawings are original, and the alpha is so fun. The papers are fantastic.... I could rave on and on, but seriously, grab it and scrap your 80's pics (and send me links because I wanna see!!) And then go vote for Amy in the final round of SYTYCD!!

What else could a scrappy fangirl want? Nada, nothing... I am utterly and completely tickled by this!!

Favorite Freebie of the Day June 1st

2009-06-01T14:01:00.005-04:00

To say I'm busy right now would be a gross understatement! Wheee! But I always have time for FFOTD...

Kit: My Favorite

Designer: Faith True

Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1347

What I loved: The WA is adorable, and of course I had to feature it. I'm also always a junkie for Faith's papers! This kit didn't disappoint at all on that front! Cute little feltie elements too!

What else could a scrappy fangirl want? Some of the reds in the pallettes were a bit off, they all managed to mesh well and look great together, but I had a few nervous moments when uploading! LOL This really is a fun kit if you want to scrap very homey family type things :)

More scrapping for beginners...

2009-05-31T11:10:00.002-04:00

While freebie surfing this morning I realized how lingo heavy most scrap sites tend to be, so I figured I'd write a little post about common abbreviations and terms and what they mean!

LO- Layout- this is the actual scrapped page

QP- Quick Page- this is literally a page entirely scrapped and ready for you to just insert your pictures in the spaces provided. A great way to get a beautifully scrapped book with relatively little effort! Lots of designers offer freebie QP's for their kit releases in stores.

TOU- Terms of Use- Verrrry important! If you ever plan to show your graphics off online, perhaps with signatures, blinkies, or pages on display- make sure you keep a copy of each TOU on hand so you know what you can and cannot use them for! This is a big faux pas in the digi world and can get you into big trouble if not used correctly!

S4H or S4O- Scrap for Hire or Scrap for Others- Usually found in the TOU and lets you know whether or not you can use those graphics to scrap for hire or scrap for other people, basically denoting a level of commercial use of some kind ie: Someone pays you to make a scrapbook for them.

Tagger Size- A small kit with smaller graphics, usually good for scrapping brag book pages, making signatures and blinkies, etc.

PSP- Photo Shop Pro

PSE- Photo Shop Elements

PPI- Pixels per Inch- most good kits have a 300 PPI which means they are very finely detailed and won't pixellate (get all square-y and grainy) on your LO's!

DS- Drop Shadow- the cool dark like on products that makes them look 3D

DL- Download

DSA- Digi Scrap Addicts

DST- Digi Shop Talk

CT- Creative Team- a team of folks a designer hires to make their kits look good- they get the kits from the designer and scrap them as creatively as possible to show folks what can be done with each kit and provide inspiration.

Element- those cool little pieces they use in the kit- buttons, ribbons, word art, etc.

WA- Word Art- Quotes or words that have been made to look decorative and creative.

Papers- These are just backgrounds basically :)

Alpha- it's not really a font, but they are individual elements actually that you can use to spell things out, spice up WA, etc.

RAK- Random Act of Kindness- lots of designers like to do these, they're sometimes contests where they'll give you a kit for free, others like to do it if you sport their fan blinkie in your signature lines!

Digi Scrappers- This is folks who Digitally Scrap- distingushes us from the Paper Scrappers

Hybrid- When someone takes a Digi Kit, prints pieces of it, and makes it into something cool like a card, gift box, or gift tag

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 31st

2009-05-31T10:21:00.002-04:00

Kit: The Greatest is Love

Designer: Stephanie Ogren

Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1268

What I loved: This is by and large the BEST vintage kit I've seen out there! Every piece is stunning and varied. If you love the shabby vintage feel, this is your kit! It's so romantic!

What else could a Scrappy Fangirl want? Not a thing... I cannot find one thing to constructively criticize here... snag it!

Both pieces of big news!!!

2009-05-30T17:17:00.002-04:00

Okay news #1-

EEEE!!!! I've been chosen to be on Amy Sumrall's Creative Team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is so bloody fantastic I'm just gonna fall out of my chair! I'm a huge fan of hers, and honestly she's one of the most talented designers I've seen... and she picked me out of the mountains of applications she got! This is a HUGE honor and I'm so thrilled that she thought my work was good enough to be on her CT.... I'm wearing this blinkie with pride!

News #2...

Same thing over at Scrappity Doo Dah! I'm now a site CT for them which means I get to work with a different designer every few weeks! This is an amazing honor, and after sending in my apps to people, I never assumed I'd get this many people wanting me on their team!

The Fangirl has arrived people, the Fangirl has arrived!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 30th

2009-05-30T08:22:00.003-04:00

Okay before I launch into FFOTD... I have 2 pieces of AWESOME news, and I mean all caps good... but I can't tell you either one just yet!!! Ooooohhhh, the pain!!! I gotta tell someone! All will be made clear soon, just to let you know this Fangirl is positively swooning... it's that good :) Stay tuned!

Kit: Mother's Dayz

Designer: Seni Designs

Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1250

What I loved about it: The sequin scatter and those adorable vellum hearts (as is obvious by how many of them I used in my LO!) There are also some great ribbon and embroidery floss looking pieces as well. There is cutie patootie bead hanger and some flowers that would have been fun to use too, but I didn't want to clutter the LO.

Also- I have to say, this is one of my favorite LO's I've done in a awhile, in fact it'll likely be going in the Lewis Family History Book :)

What else could a scrappy fangirl want? A few more frames might have been fun to work with since there are so many cluster-able elements, perhaps a few more vellum pieces as well. There were quite a few vellum pieces actually, I just really realllllly liked them :)

Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking

2009-05-28T07:13:00.003-04:00

Since my sweet Jenni requested- here's a quick article on How to get Started with Digital Scrapbooking.

Most folks get their start on digital scrapbooking at free sites like Scrapbook Flair and Scrapblog, and those are great sites! Unfortunately (I found, and I could be wrong) that you have to work simply with the graphics they provide to you, rather than getting to download all this fantastic stuff from designers online!

The first step to getting started is to find a Scrapbooking Software that works for you. Most of the really professional scrappers use Photoshop Pro or Photoshop Elements, unfortunately those programs run about 200- 300 dollars, which is outside of most people's budgets. If you don't plan on designing your own elements in the future for profit (like some folks are lucky enough to do) a scrapbooking program that will let you open .png files from outside the program is generally enough. I personally am currently using Art Explosion Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 4.0 for my simple layouts. This program ran me about 40 dollars total. You can find it at any Best Buy or similar store.

After that, get yourself familiar with how you access files outside the program (depending on what program it is that you buy), how to move and resize elements, any photo editing capabilities, etc.

Once you choose your first background, add your elements, add your own style, and get everything arranged and layered the way that you want it- then you export your image! Most software programs will automatically save the layout (or the LO which is the shorthand) in it's own file format, but you can choose with most programs (like mine) to export as a .jpg file, or even an Adobe Acrobat file. You can then save it to your computer, and share it online, or have it printed out at Shutterfly or similar.

For the more advanced techniques you see, I am using a free online program called GIMP http://www.gimp.org/. It's incredibly handy, and also very hard to get used to using at first. It took me 2 weeks of banging my head into the desk and googling tutorials, asking all kinds of questions, giving up 3 different times, and practice to finally get the lightbulb to come on. There are still functions of the program I haven't used and am still learning. Once I figured out extractions (cutting pieces out of a photo to reuse, or superimposing other pieces into the picture- see my layout from yesterday, both processes were used on Kat's picture holding the world, that used to be a ball), text along a path (which is that cool word art you see in spirals, stars, or cute little wonky paths) and layering I was on my way!

Go online to find goodies to use, there are tons of great freebies out there! There are also tons of incredibly talented artists as well that sell their kits for incredibly reasonable prices! My current fave designers are:
Amy Sumrall http://lilbitsandberries.blogspot.com/,
Madame Wing http://madamewing.blogspot.com/,
AnnaBV http://annabvdesigns.blogspot.com/,
Faith True http://faithtrue.wordpress.com/,
Flergs http://www.flergalicious.com/blog/,
Ellie Lash http://ellielash.com/blog/,
ValerieN http://valeriendesigns.blogspot.com/,
Tracie Stroud http://traciescrapsofmylife.blogspot.com/,
and KariQ http://kariqdesigns.blogspot.com/.

Stores that I'd spend money at if I had it are:
Studio Girls http://shop.scrapbookgraphics.com/home.php,
Plain Digital Wrapper http://www.plaindigitalwrapper.com/shoppe/home.php,
Scrapable http://www.scrapable.net/shop/home.php,
Pretty Scrappy http://prettyscrappy.com/xcart/home.php,
The DigiChick http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/,
Sunshine Studio http://sunshinestudioscraps.com/shop/home.php, and
Scrappity Doo Dah http://www.scrappity-doo-dah.com/store/home.php.

After that just find a community site to hang with that you enjoy! I currently spend an obscene amount of time at Digi Scrap Addicts, I'm also an Aloha Girl at Scrapable (come show us your lei-outs!), Digi Shop Talk is also good, and of course most scrap stores have their own forums to play at as well!

If some of my scrappy sistahs decide to go my way and need some info on GIMP I'll start posting some tutorials with screenshots to help out.

***Just as a note***
Both today and tomorrow I will be unavailable as my SIL is getting married! yay! But sadly that means FFOTD is going to have to go on hiatus until Saturday! Take care my fellow fangirls, and I'll see you in a few days!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 27th

2009-05-27T19:49:00.005-04:00

Kit: Children's Day
Designer: Amy Sumrall
Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1252
What I loved: Amy Sumrall is absolutely one of my favorite designers, and this kit doesn't disappoint me whatsoever! The super cool crayon-like backgrounds go so well with all the whimsically drawn pieces! There are also crayon photoshop brushes to play with as well! This kit is colorful, well drawn, and honestly one of the strongest entries I've seen so far in Round 4 of SYTYCD. Faith True's kit (from yesterday) is the other strong contender I've seen so far, but the entries are still rolling in! Amy's kit will still in the end be a real contender, it's that good. Go download it!
What else could a scrappy fangirl want? A frame made with the rainbow goodies would have been good, but you can make one yourself if you're creative enough with the elements! Maybe a few more different colored crayons to scatter about as well! If you're smart you'll go grab this kit before the contest ends!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 26th

2009-05-26T19:04:00.003-04:00

Kit: Arbor Day

Designer: Faith True

Link: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1216

What I loved: As with all Faith True's goodies lately, this has that great colored pencil feel to it. I really loved the papers (she always makes my fave papers) and the tree graphics were fantabulous!

What else could a scrappy fangirl want? I'd have loved more plant graphics, flowers etc. The ones there were so nice I wished for more!

6 Months Scrap Page

2009-05-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

Whoops!

2009-05-26T09:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry for missing FFOTD yesterday! We were so busy around here I didn't have time to Freebie hunt for you!

One million lashes with a wet noodle for me!!!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 24th

2009-05-24T21:02:00.004-04:00

Kit: Lonely

Designer: Studio Ziska

Link: http://digitalscrapbookgrapixs.blogspot.com/

What I loved: The fantastic earthtone colors, the detail on the cloth flowers, and the beautiful bead chain! I didn't get to use the beads in this layout, but definitely have future plans for them!

What else could a Scrappy Fangirl want? More elements! I'm an element junkie, and this is a beautiful kit and more matching elements would have definitely tickled my fancy! It had quite a few, but I always have room for more :)

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 23rd

2009-05-23T09:33:00.005-04:00

Posting early today as I have a very full day of gardening and cleaning to do, then we're going out with friends tonight!

Kit: Like Dreamers Do

Designer: Valerie N Designs

Link: http://valeriendesigns.blogspot.com/

What I loved: This is an amazing dreamy kit! I debated for a good 10 minutes just deciding which papers I should use! And you know it's a good kit when you're disappointed you couldn't fit more elements in there! This is adorable, and the colors are amazing. A truly great effort, and I love it so much that this is a designer that I'll definitely keep my eye on in the future :)

What else could a Scrappy Fangirl want? I can't even imagine what else she could've added, this is a BIG kit and chock FULL of goodies! If you're smart you'll snag it :)

No Favorite Freebie tonight...

2009-05-22T20:51:00.000-04:00

We're having a family night, so no time to do the Freebie tonight! See you all again tomorrow!

Layout Madness... Part 1

2009-05-21T18:12:00.002-04:00

I've been working through all my kits trying to do at least one layout from each kit at a time, here are some of the Layouts I've been doing :) Thought I'd share! Hearts Wish by Miss Kim Layout

The Cupcake Love Shop by Fruit Loop Sally Layout

Dear Mom by Anna BV Designs Layout

Kit: Delight in Photographs 3 Designer: Jessica Bolton/Eclectic Scraps

Eight Daya a Week by Madame Wing

Heavenly by Red Elf

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 21st

2009-05-21T14:42:00.004-04:00

This Beatles Challenge is so much fun to watch!

Kit: All My Loving

Designer: Tracie Stroud Designs

Link: http://traciescrapsofmylife.blogspot.com/

What I loved: The pallette is fantastic! I really adored the paper you see in LO 1, so much that I had to do 2 layouts! I really really liked the heart designs, and the alpha was fun to work with too! I liked this kit so much I used the graphics to revamp my blog, so take a look at my new header and tags for more pieces of this kit!

What else could a Scrappy Fangirl want? - More of the lovely old fashioned pieces, they are so romantic looking, and she did such a great job on the ones included that it left me wanting more!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 20th

2009-05-20T17:17:00.003-04:00

Kit: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Designer: AnnaBV Designs

Link: http://annabvdesigns.blogspot.com/
What I loved: The colors! So so fun to work with!

What I would've liked to see also: Maybe more Word Art... but only because this is my all time favorite Beatles song!

A Day to Remember Kit

2009-05-20T13:54:00.004-04:00

Ahh, completed my first project as a member of Sassy's creative team. This kit was so fun, the flowers are incredibly realistic, and there are some cute little whimisical elements as well. You can pick this kit up starting Saturday over at Inspiration Lane:
http://inspiration-lane.com/boutique/home.php
which is when Sassy is officially live as a designer there! Go get it, you know you want to *evil grin* Here is a preview for ya, and 3 layouts that I did :)

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 19th

2009-05-19T17:56:00.004-04:00

Wow, today was a busy and full day and it's not even over yet! I planted my HUGE herb garden outside, and also found out that I was accepted to the Creative Team of Designs by Sassy :) I feel lucky to get to be part of her CT over at Inspiration Lane. You'll start seeing some of her work here on the blog as soon as she starts releasing new kits for us to scrap :) So lucky me, a garden and a job LOL

Okay enough of me, here's the Favorite Freebie of the Day!

Kit: Happy Day

Designer: Jaelop Designs

Snag it here: http://jaelop.blogspot.com/

What I loved: The whole kit just has this great bright happy feel to it! The designer named it well :) The scatters are all adorable, 2 flower scatters and one spiral scatter... I had to use them all in my LO because I liked them so much! The WA is adorable, and there is 3 variations, all great. The Flowers and other elements pop right off the page, almost like you could pick them up, love it!

What I would've liked to see also: I like to always offer Constructive Criticism but honestly, I can't find one thing I would change about this kit! It's wonderful and original. :)

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 18th

2009-05-18T18:04:00.004-04:00

Yet another contestant from the SYTYCD Contest Round 3-

Kit: All you need is love
Designer: Seni
Snag it here: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1033
What I loved: The wordart (great song pick), the paper hearts scatter, the bubbles scatter, and the beige on red contrast.

What I would've liked to see also: Perhaps further heart themed goodies, maybe a paper workup using those great paper hearts? Great kit overall, I enjoyed working with it!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 17th

2009-05-17T19:55:00.004-04:00

When a big website like Digi Scrap Addicts does a Design contest everyone wins! It's one of my favorite things about being a scrapper and avid freebie hunter! The designers get their names out there, and scrappers get top of the line gorgeous designs for free :) I highly recommend you check out the So You Think You Can Design Challenge at DigiScrapAddicts!

Kit: The Big Yellow Sub

Designer: Faith True

Snag it here: http://digiscrapaddicts.com/products/showphoto.php?photo=1009

What I loved: Oh, where do I start?? I love Faith True's designs, they're always so whimsical and fun! I adore the crayon-esqe drawings, the awesome curly waves, the bubbles, the stars... it's all wonderful!

What I would've liked to see also: More of it! It's really a big freebie, but there's no such thing as too much of a good thing here!

A 365 creative team submission

2009-05-17T11:45:00.004-04:00

Yours truly submitted a 365 creative team layout (for 1 kit only) ay Sailor and Lula. The kit is quite fun to work with. You can snag it here: http://sailorandlula.blogspot.com/

Sometime in the future I may join an artist's creative team full time once I find an artist I mesh well with :) for now the 1 kit calls are quite fun!

Baby Of Mine WA Freebie

2009-05-16T15:35:00.005-04:00

Quote is from Disney's Dumbo :) There is a pink version and a blue version that you can download for free from here!

Pink Baby of Mine WA: http://www.4shared.com/file/105787796/1cead0cd/babyofminewagirl.html

Blue Baby of Mine WA:

http://www.4shared.com/file/105787797/6bede05b/babyofminewaboy.html

By downloading you agree: To give proper credit when used in any public design of any kind, to not use in any illegal or immoral way.

If you use it in a layout I'd love to see it! :)

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 16th

2009-05-16T14:33:00.001-04:00

Posting a bit earlier than usual today, since I'm headed out to my Sister in Law's bachelorette party tonight :) Kit: Secrets, Hopes, and Dreams
Designer: MrsJaybob Designs
Snag it here: http://www.mrsjaybob.blogspot.com/
What I love about it: It's got a great vintage feel, plus there are quite a few great pink glitter elements as well. This is a girly girly kit, which I always like since I'm usually scrapping pics of my daughter! The paper heart elements are gorgeous and will definitely get used in other layouts for me!
What I would've liked to see also: Some coordinating solids to go with the patterned papers. I had to pull a generic crumpled black paper out of my library to frame the picture to make it pop a bit more. The patterned papers are great, but I felt I needed some contrast in my layout. Otherwise a quite nice little freebie kit! Pick it up for yourself!

Simplicity Layout

2009-05-16T09:47:00.001-04:00

Since I was too tired last night, here is my layout from the Simplicity Kit... I tried to work in that cool curly tree, but it just didn't work in this layout... I'll have to use it in one of my projects later on!

Favorite Freebie of the Day May 15th

2009-05-15T21:37:00.001-04:00

Ooooohh, I love this one! If I weren't headed to bed I'd start scrapping with it right away! I'll definitely keep my eye out for this designer in the future!

Kit: Simplicty

Designer: A Work in Progress- Designs by Vicki

Snag it here: http://vicki20.blogspot.com/

What I love about it: I love the richness of the elements, the hearts scatter is fantastic, and the curly tree is going to go in quite a few of my layouts! The palette is going to be fun to work with as well!