So Digitally Me

Vintage Girl Scout set (BIG FREEBIE!)

2011-11-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

I have been working away at a new set for Girl Scouts. I am very proud of this one. It includes 11 papers (12x12), alphas, paperclips, bookplates, labels, frames, 12x12 overlays and much much more! The theme is "vintage" but you'll find a few modern touches, like the Girl Scout Journey themes -- (It's your world - change it!), (It's your planet - love it!) and (It's your story - tell it!) -- as well as the updated Girl Scout Logo and all of the current levels of Girl Scouts; Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, Ambassador, Troop Leader and Troop Volunteer.

Click here to download the embellishments.Click here to download the papers.If you download the set, please be sure to leave me some love!

Sneak Peak of a new set! Vintage Girl Scout Add-On FREEBIE

2011-11-04T13:29:00.001-05:00

I am working very hard on a new set of Girl Scout Scrapbooking elements, alphas and papers. I'm really excited because I'm teaching myself all kinds of new stuff and I'm really impressed with how good the elements are looking. I don't mean to sound conceited, it's just that up unto this point, I've thought items (slowly and painfully) extracted from photographs look better than items created in a photo editor like Photoshop. I don't use Photoshop and there is very little literature on the software I use, but using a great book about creating your own scrapbooking elements in Photoshop, I've been able to figure out how to do most of the effects in my program. You may want to look into the book yourself:

It's by Renee Pearson.This Vintage Girl Scout Add-On includes 7 papers, 4 Girl Scout Poem Cards (Daisy, Brownie, Junior & Cadette) and 1 piece of Girl Scout ephemera. It is for PERSONAL USE ONLY.

To download Vintage Girl Scout Add-on, please click here.Hopefully the big set will be out within the month, keep an eye out for it!

Answer for Julie -- using PNGs on scrapbook page

2011-10-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

I just got a comment asking the following:Thank you so much! I am new to digital scrapbooking. I am having trouble adding PNG image to my page, I usually use JPGs. Do I need to convert PNG into JPG? Thanks! JulieOkay, the difference between a .jpg and a .png is that .png has a transparent background, so when you put the object onto your page you don't have to worry about that object covering up something with it's background. You are also better able to create realistic shadows because you are shadowing the object, say a ribbon bow, instead of a square white box with the ribbon in it. I am not sure what type of digital scrapbooking program you use, but almost every program I have tried has recognized .pngs as picture files, therefore they can be added using the IMPORT command in the edit menu (or something along those lines.) My program also allows me to "drop" a file into my workspace by selecting it in and open folder and dropping it into my document editing screen. Whatever command you are using to try to add .pngs, look at the little file type selection box, does it say "jpg only"? Make sure it says "all picture files" or "all files". Then you should be able to select the .png object you wish to add to your layout. You'll find that the transparent background allows you a lot of versatility on your layouts, you can create amazing layered effects with them.Anyone with specific questions for me can use the "Contact Me" button in the right side column.

School Spirit Freebie!

2011-09-17T17:52:00.001-05:00

Homecoming is just one week away here in our town and so I thought it might be fun to make a school spirit inspired freebie. I found a great little book on cheerleading and used the images to create 3 papers, a pennant and 3 buttons. Our school colors are purple and gold and I grew up in a town with the colors maroon and gold, so I thought yellow was a safe bet on my color scheme, though you could adjust the colors to suit your needs. I'm not a cheer mom, but I have a 4-almost-5-year-old who I think has a promising future in that direction. I can just imagine the layouts in my future! Enjoy and Go Arrows!

Click here to download.

A neat idea, link to tutorial & FREEBIE!!

2011-06-19T21:55:00.000-05:00

First, I have to apologize for neglecting to post anything recently. I'm not going to make excuses about how busy I am since I'm sure every other person out there has their own version of a busy life too. Needless to say, I haven't been struck by the inspirational bug in awhile.

Anyway, I am working on getting my books current for my trip home to see my family this summer. I am current on my digital work and Scrapbooksplease has a free shipping sale starting tomorrow!! I am working on a few more traditional layouts before I'll consider myself done. Right now I have some adorable pictures of my 4 year old and her friends. I decided on using butterfly themed embellishments, I'm not sure why, but I have a nice variety. Some of it are pieces of a belt that broke (some tooled leather butterflies and some metal butterflies), butterfly iron-on patches and shrinky-dink butterflies I learned to make at Girl Scout camp. Did you know you can recycle #6 plastic to make shrinky-dinks?? It's so awesome -- I never actually made shrinky-dinks before camp last weekend so chances are even the store bought ones would amaze me. So to get back on track, I needed a way to tie the butterflies to the friends on the page. I came up with this quote:

"Friends are like butterflies: each one is different, each one is special, each one is beautiful." Now, how to get it onto my page in a neat and interesting way??

Wouldn't it be cool to make my own rub-ons? Thank goodness for Google and Bing, I was able to find a tutorial on how to do just that! Check out the tutorial here. And here is my wordart freebie for this quote.

You can download the freebie here. I actually included 7 different versions of this quote, with printing them to make my own rub-ons in mind. You could certainly use them on digital layouts and cards as well. Please enjoy them, and note that if I used another designer's piece as a stepping stone, I tried to include their name in the name of the design -- sorry if I didn't get you, not all my stuff has names on it.

First a question, then another freebie.

2010-11-15T10:18:00.000-06:00

Where or where has deco-pages gone? Does anyone else out there use deco-pages.com? I post in the gallery there and I can't connect to their site. I am starting to get paranoid and I hope their server will be back online soon. Any news anyone??

Now for the freebie! I don't know where all this creativity is coming from, but I have a theory! My husband recently asked me to stop playing all Facebook games. I played Farmville for a long time, then I quit last summer. Then I started playing Fashion World and one like civilization. But I quit back in September or October. Since then I've had a lot of extra time for stuff around the house, my traditional scrapbooking, my digital scrapbooking and of course creating freebies. I found the grayscale templates for these flowers on the microsoft clip gallery quite awhile ago and I have had them on my desktop staring at me for ages. So last night I decided to do something with them. There are 11 flowers and 4 stems in the set. I added the shadow for the preview but not to the png files. I also left the grayscale originals in the folder for you if you needed to make a flower or two in a specific color. Just add a layer over the flower of your choice and adjust it, most of these are set to Multiply or Screen, but on some I used Dodge or Color in my photo editor. I don't use Photoshop so I'm not 100% sure of the lingo to explain it to the rest of the world. Here is the result!

You can download the flowers here.
Remember, leaving me some love is free!

Little Stamp Ornaments Freebie tonight.

2010-11-14T19:31:00.000-06:00

I'm just on a freebie roll! I was working away on my traditional book today when INSPIRATION hit me. I am working on last year's Christmas layout. I decided to make a free form Christmas tree out of a green yarn stitched onto the page. Then I wanted some sort of ornaments. I was looking around at my collection of odds and ends and I came upon some old Christmas postage stamps. Now what to frame them out with?? I found some little tiny paper stars that I'd picked up on eBay for a 4th of July page. I used some ModPodge (best stuff ever!) to decoupage the stamps onto some white cardstock and then the white and red stars onto them as frames. The only drawback was that I had a hard time framing out the best parts of the stamps with the star's shape, like on the stamps with Mary and baby Jesus, it's hard to get both into the center of the star. They dried very quickly, so I cut them out and to dress them up I wrapped a little bit of decorative wire around them. I also used the wire to "hang" them from the tree on the paper. I wish the layout was complete, I can't share it with you until it is!

In celebration of this wonderful idea, I've created basically the same thing for you, except that I warped the stars a little when I wanted to get a little more of the picture into the frame, and I made them with glitter. Oh, and just because I love you all so much, I made 4 Love stamp ornaments. These are made with scans of actual stamps, some are American and some are foreign.

To download the ornaments, please click here.

How to display postcards in a scrapbook album & Cluster Frame Freebie!

2010-11-13T22:38:00.000-06:00

I have been working away on my scrapbooks trying to get caught up. Christmas is coming and I try very hard to have the books ready to take home to show to my family back in Nebraska. I had a lot of fun with the vacation album from our family trip to the Black Hills this summer. I bought an 8x8 album and printed wallet sized photos for the pages. Then my main souvenirs were postcards. I agonized about how to put the postcards into the album without using page after page in the book. One day at the dollar store I found acid free clear document envelopes. They were perfect! I was able to put the postcards into the envelopes, sometimes without any trimming, sometimes with just a tiny bit, then I was able to "stack" them.

In each envelope I put 1 postcard, or if I had a lot of them, as I did at Mount Rushmore, I put 2 in (be sure the back one will be upright when you flip it up), then I cut a piece of coordinating cardstock to go above the postcard(s) in the envelope. I used the cardstock because I didn't want to put the brads through the envelopes without something to strengthen the "hinge" joint. I didn't use it as a titling option, but this would definitely be a good place for it! Then to make sure the postcards were placed straight onto the album pages, I measured and punched holes on the cardstock background paper - and if it wasn't very strong, I backed it with a stronger cardstock just in case - that way they postcards wouldn't be hanging on the page protectors. Here is what my finished pages looked like:

I had a lot of fun with it, I hid journalling and souvenirs under the postcards and on my favorite layout about the scenic drives in the hills, I put a picture of my girls sleeping in the back seat of the truck, their mouths wide open in exhaustion. It's a fun surprise and too funny to let them forget. I did learn 1 lesson though. When on vacation, journal every day on your postcards so you don't have to do that part when you put your books together! I didn't do it this time, but believe me, I will next time!
So anyway, that took care of my memories. So what to do for the girls? Well, when I was printing my little wallet sized photos, my printer ran out of blue ink and a bunch of pictures printed pink-tinted. I left them in the pile of clutter on my desk and forgot about them until the end of the project when I was cleaning up and planning to move on to the next big thing. Then it occurred to me that I could use them and have fun with them! So I found some pretty paper, black with pink and blue butterflies on it and I scrapbooked the pictures that featured my younger daughter. The journalling reads, "The best vacation memories are rose colored." I'm proud of it, a mistake that turned out really sweet!
For my other daughter I had to do more. I wanted to do a digital layout for her because she took so many pictures herself on the vacation - she earned her digital photography patch for Girl Scouts on the trip! But rather than make page upon page of vacation pages for her, I thought I'd put together some cluster frames and put the best pictures of her and taken by her on the trip. Here's one of them:

If you'd like to use some of these frames for yourself, you can snag them below. There are 7 in the set. I made them to fit a 12x12 page.

To Download Frames, click here.

Sparkly-Pink Alpha Freebie

2010-11-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

Well I was working on my daughter's birthday page for her 4th birthday and I needed a sparkly-pink 4. I decided that I'd have to make my own, and once I decided to do that, I figured should make the whole number set. But then it occurred to me that I should also make the alpha and of course I had to add some punctuation. So anyway, here you go.

As I said, the set contains the numbers 0-9, the alphabet A-Z and the font I used (Santa's Sleigh Full Deluxe) had the exclamation point, question mark and period that fit with the style I was creating. Please enjoy! Click here to download.

Girl Scout Scrapbooking Set Freebie! 2 Pc Download

2010-10-30T17:24:00.001-05:00

I received a comment yesterday that I should break my GS set into 2 pieces to make for easier downloading. So here are the new links. I apologize, I never thought of it.

Download the Embellishments here.

Download the Papers here.

Girl Scout Scrapbooking Set Freebie!

2010-10-29T19:05:00.000-05:00

As many people know, I am a Girl Scout Leader for my daughter's troop. It's one of the biggest joys in my life. I absolutely love the experiences I'm able to provide to my daughter and her friends. And it's all thanks to the founder, Juliette Gordon Low. In honor of Juliette Gordon Low's birthday (October 31st), I am releasing a Girl Scout Scrapbooking set. I tried to include all of the levels of Girl Scouts, Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, Ambassador & Leader. Not all items are shown in the preview. Drop shadow are for preview only.

This set includes:
14 coordinating papers, 12x12
14 coordinating distressed cardboard frames
A-Z alpha set
7 Bridging-related items
3 word art
4 cards
2 Juliette Gordon Low picture charms
Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards

You can download the set here.

Please leave me some comments or send me the layouts you make with the kit, I'd love to post them for others to see!

An answer for Seriously?'s question. Freebie Clipart

2010-10-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

I found the image, here is the file:

Click here to download the file in png format.

Spice of Life Freebie!

2010-07-13T19:18:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I work at the local library. One of the perks of the job is getting to look at all the books donated by people cleaning out their basements and attics. Now going through boxes of old books isn't always as glamorous as it sounds. For example, one Friday I picked through a box of books, trying not to touch them because they were so dusty and mildewed (some people just cannot throw books away). I decided none were salvageable and left them for the janitor to throw out on Monday. When the janitor came in on Monday he kept hearing a scratching sound...he checked in the box and there was a live mouse in it!!! But, once in awhile I stumble on a really great treasure, as I did today. This fun little book of funny quotes was titled, The Spice of Life. It has no author or illustrator listed, but it is full of wonderful bird themed doodles. This freebie set includes 24 bird doodles and 2 frames made using my favorites from the doodles. All are .png files. Please enjoy!

To download, please click here.

Freebie Baking Overlay

2010-06-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

Another freebie, yay!

I started a new scrapbook album and I decided that the title page should be a recipe scrapbook page with pictures of me making cookies with my two girls. But, how to scrap it and make it look really special -- my title pages are always very detailed and I put a lot of thought and work into them. Knowing that I wanted to scrapbook the recipe, I decided to print a recipe card that would look retro and really very fun. Here is what I came up with:

I found the graphic of the "chef" online and then I spent 2 days searching for a 1950s retro frame. I could not find one! So I experimented with the warping tool on my photo editor and came up with this frame. I think I accomplished my goal. To finish off the effect, I downloaded fonts from daFont mainly the title font called, Fontdiner.comSparkly.
Here is the .png file that can be used as an overlay for a digital page or printed on paper for traditional scrapbooking. I printed mine on 5x7 tea-stained paper. I was trying to make it look well worn and a little shortening/butter stained like my mom's recipe cards always were.

Click here to download. Please leave me some love if you like my work, and please enjoy!! Also, feel free to try my cookie recipe, we love it at our house!

Freebie Alpha!

2010-06-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

The other evening I was working on a water-themed poster for my next library display. I was very very disappointed with the "water" alphas I found online, so I made my own. Here it is:

The alpha has upper case, lower case and some of the basic punctuation symbols. Also a few splashes of water that I used as the period on my poster's sentence. Hope you enjoy them. You may use them for commercial or personal use.
Download here.

A fun idea for a page

2010-06-11T11:36:00.000-05:00

I am trying very hard to catch up on my traditional books. I am working right now on last summer's trip to Nebraska. I had so many great pictures (I took pictures, both of my sisters took pictures and my niece took pictures), but only wanted to do 1 2-page layout, also, some of my sister's pictures were pixelated when I printed them. So I chose the best pictures and had to scrap the rest. But now that I'm almost done, I needed a space filler. The title of the page is simply "Nebraska" so I came up with the idea of using an outline of Nebraska as a frame for a picture collage. This is what I came up with:

I cropped the pictures tight and tried to get as many in as possible. Then I use simple white lines to outline them. I then used my photo editor's instant effect option to great an embossed look on the white lines and the black outline of the state. I really like it. I'll cut it out and mat it in paper matching the rest of the NE layout. I will post it when I finish.

Have a Daisy Day!

2010-04-26T12:29:00.002-05:00

Here is a preview of a card I made for a Girl Scout page. Do you like it? Go to my other blog, Daisy Chains Mom to download it!

Journal Card Overlay Freebie!

2010-04-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I have been working hard on getting my traditional scrapbooks up to date, and is it hard! I'm working right now on a self-portrait layout. It has been interesting to say the least. I had bought some little journal cards at the scrapbook store for this layout but they were on a yellowish card stock, and that didn't work with my color scheme. I used the purchased cards as an inspiration for these overlays. I tweaked them to reflect my personality a little more as well. They can be put onto blank card, paper or tag .pngs or you could print them onto paper and use in a traditional book. I hope you like them.

Please leave me some love if you download them!
Click here to download!

Brainstorm of the century!!!

2010-04-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, so as you all know, I'm a traditional scrapper as well as a digiscrapper. I'm pretty current on my girls' books, which are digital, but I've let myself get behind on my traditional book, the one I keep for myself. Right now I am working on a layout from last summer's 4th of July. I was really impressed with myself when I decided to try sewing my pictures onto their matting, and then I was really pleased when I tried adding some star shaped sequins. It all turned out so cute! Then I sewed large arcs onto the background, finishing each one off with a mix of sequin stars, hoping for a whole "fireworks" appearance. The next big idea was that I took 1 inch plastic letters to and added rhinestones in red, white and blue. Thank you tons to my friend, Raynette, who told me to go buy stickles to fill in the gaps. It turned out soooo cute! But I was stumped for what to add to the layout to give it a finished look. I considered the torn box from sparklers, but it didn't work for me. I then thought of using black cat fireworks to add a really authentic pop (pardon the pun) to the page, but I was honestly worried about the black powder in my book. I'm not super particular about acid-free, but I don't want my book to explode if it gets slammed shut! So tonight I realized, why not make my own fireworks?? Here's the result, what do you think??

I cut red paper into strips about 4 inches long and 1 inch wide. Then I rolled them around a hemp cord "fuse" and finished it off with double-sided tape. I think they look great, here are the layout pages:

Rock and Roll Princess Freebie!

2010-04-11T21:43:00.000-05:00

I originally set out to make this set as a Rock and Roll Christmas -- to use with pictures of my daughter discovering her guitar left for her by Santa this year. But as it turns out, the pink worked much better and I love it! I have included:
10 coordinated papers (300dpi 12x12)
9 coordinated brads
13 random elements -- bling, ribbon, frames
Alpha - includes 26 letters, 10 numbers and ? !

Download HERE.
Please feel free to leave me some love, and if you would send me the layouts you make with it, I'll post them for others to see!

Cousins WordArt Freebie!

2010-03-12T12:16:00.001-06:00

I'm sorry for being such a terrible blogger. I don't post often enough, but at least I can offer you a freebie today to make up for it. I have some great pictures of my girls with their cousins but I can never find good "cousin" quotes. Here is one that I LOVE! I used pink so it would show up on the black blog, the downloaded file is transparent.

Click here to download the .png file.

Zoo QP & Felt Alpha Freebie!

2010-01-06T17:35:00.000-06:00

Please click here to download.
I needed a really cute page for the pictures from our trip to the Omaha Zoo in October of last year (can't believe I'm saying that about 2009!) I created this QP and the matching felt alpha -- there are 7 color variations -- to share. Please enjoy!

Penguin Ornament Instructions FREEBIE

2009-12-29T19:05:00.001-06:00

Christmas has come and gone yet again. Of course this year we were snowed in, but that's okay. I wanted to share the instructions for a craft project I did with my daughter and my Girl Scout Troop. Sammi loved her penguin so much that she colored him with a black fabric marker....what more can I say?

You can download the instructions in PDF form at here.

Masquerade Freebie!

2009-12-18T22:50:00.001-06:00

Hi all, I had an evening planned and it fell through. Oh well, at least I had some time to be creative! I made a set of 12 masks. These masks are a throw-back to my teenage years when I collected masks and even designed a few. I hope you like them. The shadows are for display only.

Click HERE to download.

Oops! Penguin Magic Freebie (take 2)

2009-12-15T08:53:00.000-06:00

I am so sorry about this! I uploaded the picture for the Penguin Magic freebie but I forgot to post the download link. Thank you to Tristan for catching my mistake! Here is the preview again:

Download HERE!

Penguin Magic Freebie!

2009-12-14T13:49:00.000-06:00

Hi all, I got so much done yesterday, I even managed to get another freebie ready for posting today. This one is called Penguin Magic. I have been experimenting with making my own brushes and I used my own snowflake, grunge and penguin brushes to make this fun set. It includes: 9 12x12 300dpi papers, 2 8x10 photo overlays and 1 8x10 photo mask.

Penguins are a favorite in our house. Sis collects them, we love the Penguins of Madagascar and we even made penguin ornaments for our friends for Christmas (I'll post pictures and instructions for this fun project later.) Please enjoy them and hope you are having a great winter!

Unexpected Birthday Presents!

2009-12-13T12:10:00.000-06:00

Okay, I just quick want to tell you that there are some really cool companies out there. I got an e-mail this morning for Disney Movie Rewards, they gave me a free Blue-Ray movie! I did have to pay $2.99s/h but that isn't bad at all. I've been using their movie rewards program since it started 3 years ago. Quite often I save up codes to redeem them for Christmas presents, but they have the cutest rewards and members don't usually have to pay shipping on those! Then I got another e-mail from GoDigitalScrapbooking with a coupon code for a free download from their Daily Download Rewind. I am a member of their site because I use their freebie forum. How generous and cool is that??

Oh, and Disney Movie Rewards has a really cool advent calendar right now. You can get free downloads like a Mickey Mouse Snowglobe for your desktop and a fireplace screensaver. It's free so it's definately worth checking out!

It's beginning to feel like Pop Culture! Christmas FREEBIE!

2009-12-13T11:37:00.001-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Here in South Dakota it is cold, like -7F when we went to the grocery store this morning! But it is my birthday and I wanted to share a present with you! I made these cute little badges (ornaments) for a Christmas poster at work. They are some of my favorite pop culture Christmas images. Please enjoy them!
Download HERE.

Stickers 2 Freebie!

2009-11-28T15:29:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone, I thought I'd go ahead and put out a second set of stickers, as promised. I hope to make more but not sure if it will be right away. This set includes 26 stickers (some have been shrunken for the preview) and they were made with The Kids, a font available at dafont.com. You can download the set here.

In other news, I just found some great new sites! Check out The Vintage Moth (click on the icon to the right), and I've added some new sites to my freebie listings.

Freebie! Stickers anyone?

2009-11-23T11:16:00.001-06:00

I made these "stickers' using a great dingbat font called The Kids that I found on dafont.com. This set includes 24 stickers and is just the first set in a series, so keep checking back for more sticker fun! Please click here to download.

2 CU Photo Mask Freebies

2009-11-17T16:00:00.001-06:00

You can download the masks here.

I created a couple of free photo masks. I feel so bad I haven't put up a freebie in ages. I have been productive in other areas though. I am the leader of my daughter's Daisy Troop for Girl Scouts. You can check out the troop blog here.

I have also been exploring the artistic side of my life by creating a gallery at deviantart.com. Drop by and check out my stuff. Here is my gallery's link.

Progress?

2009-10-07T08:30:00.002-05:00

I have a question: why does life have to be so chaotic? I mean take my day yesterday for an example. We have to be up by 7:30 to get Sis off to school by 8:15. Then I have to come home, finish getting myself ready for work, get Lola ready for daycare and clean up the kitchen (since I was too tired to do it the night before.) Then off to work at 9:30 to 1. I knew I had a doctor's appointment so I ate leftover soup at the library before heading out to run errands. That included returning stuff to a store and going to the mall to buy shoes for a wedding this weekend. Then I went to the clinic only to find out that my appointment wasn't yesterday it was today. So they tell me I can come back at 4. So I picked the girls up from daycare and we came home for an hour and half before going back to the clinic. I couldn't find anyone to watch them, so they went with me. It is so hard to explain things to the doctor when you are also asking a 3 year old to calm down and wait her turn. Then from there we had to go back to the library to meet with the girl scout troop Sis is in, oh and I've volunteered to be a co-leader for. THEN we have to go to the salon so I can get a haircut. The kids were being so bad, finally my stylist talked to them and they sat right down and behaved for her. GRRR! Finally it was time to come home, and my hubby had made a yummy supper. How great, except that he caught me plucking hairs on my chin and told me to stop (for the 1 millionth time...) and I snapped at him. I have extra hair growth as a side effect of taking fertility drugs to have Sis. I tried to explain that for whatever reason that is a calming or theraputic thing for me and he looked at me like I was a looney. So, deep breath. I am going to talk to him tonight and make him a deal. I'll stop plucking if I can finally start electrolysis. He doesn't understand that I can't just let those long red hairs go -- I will not be the woman with whiskers!!! Oh, and the doctor says I have to lose about 35 more pounds. *sigh*

3 Column Blogger Template

2009-09-26T15:34:00.002-05:00

I finally found a three column blogger template that I like and that I can customize with my own header -- as I did with the two column minima. I found the following site:
http://minibox-template.blogspot.com/
If you have problems with the download links, right click and choose "save target as", it worked for me!

Banned Books

2009-09-25T09:07:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've been thinking a lot about banned books since tomorrow is the first day of Banned Books week. I had a patron ask my last night why we even carry books at the library that have been banned or even challenged. The point is that no one should have the right to tell another person what they can or can't read. I'll bet if you checked the ALA's Banned Book List you'd find at least one book that you've read and enjoyed. Now imagine what your life would be like if you had to live in a country where someone could say to you, "You can't read that because it's too racey or has foul language or is too religious." It would suck, royally. I'll admit that I haven't read enough of the books on this list, but the ones I have read are such good books that I'm thankful to live in America. I'm not usually outwardly patriotic, but the first amendment is definately one of the best things our constitution has to offer. Read a banned book today, or recommend one to someone. Remember, censorship causes blindness; celebrate the freedom to read!

Celebrate the freedom to read! Freebie!

2009-09-21T21:25:00.002-05:00

I am working on a new display for the library. Starting Saturday, September 26th is Banned Books week. We are encouraging everyone to celebrate their freedoms, and one of the best ways is to read a book someone else wanted to censor. Here are some badges I made to spread the word. I thought they might be fun to use on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, but post them or use them however you like!
Download here.

Busy busy, all the time...

2009-09-21T12:00:00.002-05:00

I'm sure every last one of you can understand, I feel like I'm busy all the time! I have been making great progress with my digital scrapping projects. They MUST be done by Christmas for gifts as well as to show to the family, we see each other 2 times a year so the books help them see my kids grow. I haven't done any traditional scrapping since June, but Saturday is a scrapping retreat at the library (hosted by my good buddy Raynette) and I'm going to take a page in to do there. I think I'll also share my books so people can steal ideas if they want. I was able to make a great layout set for my Family History display, but Banned Books Week starts on Saturday, so I need a new set of layouts by Friday.
Of course I still have to do all my work here around the house and all my other little distractions. I managed to get a Monday off, so tonight I get to go to MOPs with my bestie, Becke. Hopefully I can manage to go once a month. She also convinced me to try that Lil Farm thing on FB, so I'm working on that (and other silly apps) at least once a day. And not to mention the books I need to read! I have a list a foot long hanging in my locker at work. I should have more time to read during the fall/winter, right?
Will I ever have a moment where I have nothing to do??

Another LOTD!

2009-09-13T15:39:00.003-05:00

Not too brag or anything, I just wanted to gush about how nice it is to have so many people compliment my work. I've remade this page 3 or 4 times trying to get it right. This time I felt that I did and it seems my fellow scrappers agree. This makes my day.

Potty Training Freebie!

2009-09-12T16:58:00.006-05:00

I am excited to say that we are officially potty trained at our house! What was my trick you ask? Well, Lola loves, Loves, LOVES "The Little Mermaid" and one day I found some Ariel panties in her size. She wanted to wear them and I said, "not until you are potty trained." She looked at me and said, (with a little head snap that screamed TEENAGE ATTITUDE) "I potty trained, Mama!" took off her diaper, used the potty and put her new panties on. Crazy girl.
To be honest it wasn't an instant success. She has had her share of wet accidents and for some reason there was a whole week there where she pooped her pants at least once a day....*sigh*
But, the potty training freebie I promised MONTHS ago is finally here! I created a boy set (King of the Potty) and a girl set (Potty Princess) for you. These little sets include a certificate, a foil seal and a frame/seal combo. The certificate is simple, it can be printed and used in a traditional scrapbook page or inserted into a digital page. The example is from Lola's scrapbook, since she's officially diaper free! And in even better news, Lola's influence helped her best buddy (my bestie's daughter) finish potty training too. Yay! I added the shadows for example only.

Click here to download Potty Princess.

Click here to download King of the Potty.

Gotta make better choices!

2009-08-31T09:26:00.003-05:00

Okay, as some of you know, I've been on a weight loss program since the first part of July. In the month of July I lost 14.5 pounds. That's great but this month I've only lost about 3. I'm finally able to exercise more now that I'm back on my 14 hour a week schedule at work, so I feel I should eat more than I did when I wasn't able to exercise on a regular basis. In July I was eating 1000 calories a day. I know from past nutrition classes that a woman who is exercising on a regular basis -- i.e. three 30 minute sessions a week -- should eat at least 1200 to 1400 calories a day. I've been trying to do that. I'd like to say that the tiny increase in calories is why I'm not losing weight, but the truth is, I've been lazy. It's too easy to splurge from time to time. Last night my hubby grilled burgers, brats and low-fat turkey hot dogs. I chose to eat a pineapple brat, tater tots AND a hot dog. I'm just asking for a plattue in my weight loss.
So anyway, I'm gonna try to do better. That means writing my calories down for the day. During July I was religious about it and I've skipped writing down most of August. I also need to remember that I am making progress. I'm back into my favorite pairs of jeans, I went from the 3rd hole on my belt to the 1st, I went from XL shirts to L, and on the Wii my weight went from obese to overweight. If I can find my tape measure I'll check and see if I've lost any inches. Maybe I'll post a chart showing my progress....thanks for all the support!

Back to School Freebie!

2009-08-25T16:52:00.004-05:00

As promised, here is the Back to School freebie. This set includes 6 glitter "stickers" and 4 word art quotes. They include: "Back to School", "My First Day of School", "To teach is to learn twice." and "The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book." Please enjoy them!

Click here to download.

The first day of school for my baby!

2009-08-25T08:55:00.003-05:00

Well, today was the first day of school for Sis. She wasn't overly excited or anxious, but I had butterflies in my stomach when I woke up. I can't believe she's old enough for school! She's going to do great. We kind of know a few kids in her class from Sunday School, so I'm sure she'll make friends very quickly. I'd better go for now, but I think I might make some kind of freebie to celebrate this big day in our lives...so see you in the next post, hopefully later today!

Guess what I got!

2009-08-22T11:12:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't been doing a whole lot of postings lately. SORRY! Anyway, I am excited to announce that I bought a new computer last night! It's a desktop, so I have a better screen and more power. Power to do all my fun graphics. I hope to have a new freebie for you soon. I am still copying all my files but once that is done I should be able to knock out a freebie or two. I haven't made any alphas in a while, so maybe one of those. I don't know, I will see what this brain comes up with!

AND I'm so excited because I finally figured out how to use Adobe Plugins with my photo editor! So we'll see where that takes me! Wish me luck and thanks so much for following!

Attic Treasures Add-On

2009-08-11T09:07:00.002-05:00

Okay, let's try this again. I apologize for the whole password thing. The full Attic Treasures Kit in the So Digital Shop requires a password, but the Add-On should not. Here is the preview again:

Please click here to download.

Attic Treasures has finally arrived in the Shop!! Plus a freebie for you!

2009-08-09T13:20:00.005-05:00

Here's the Add-On Kit

Download the Add-On kit here.

As you can see, Attic Treasures is a huge kit full of fabulously fun elements and papers! I really had fun making this set and it was so amazing how many people gave me little odds and ends to use in the kit. The places they came from were just too fun. For example, 3 pieces of the ephemera were in old books donated to our library. The pressed flowers were inside the pages of a very old book I bought for $.75 at a local thrift shop. The matchbooks were in a basement, the Easter postcards behind my best friend's walls. I hope you enjoy the treasures I've put in the FREE add-on kit. It has 3 12x12 papers, and 6 elements. Please drop by the So Digital Shop and buy the big kit!

It's been forever!

2009-08-06T16:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't been around much. I've been super busy with lots of fun projects. While on vacation, I found some great items to use in my Attic Treasures Kit -- soon to be on sale in the So Digital Shop. I want to be sure and give a special thanks to Mills for the vintage matchbooks she found in her basement, to Julie for the very old and gorgeous postcards, to my Dad for the antique photo frames and of course to my Mom for the great vintage jewelry she got for my projects.

When we got home from vacation we rushed over to my very very good friend Becke's wedding. I was her photographer. Thanks to her for believing I could do it! Anyway, here are the first few pages of her custom scrapbook.

Wow, I don't know what to say...

2009-07-09T22:05:00.004-05:00

I'm speechless. I logged in to Deco-Pages just to see what was new and I found out that I got LOTD (Layout of the Day) for my Butterfly page. Thanks so much to Aubrey'sMom, who designed the kit I used to make it. I am used to compliments from friends but for me this feels like a pretty big deal. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to have your ego stroked I guess.

It's been too long without a FREEBIE!!!

2009-07-08T10:14:00.005-05:00

I am so sorry it has been so long since I posted anything, let alone scrapbooking stuff. Summer is turning out to be a busy time for me. Sis is going to a summer program at her preschool, I am working about double the hours at the library, trying to be a CT artist for Aubrey'sMom, getting display posters done and of course there is all the running around a mom has to do normally.

I am working on a new kit for my store called Attic Treasures and that is proving to be time consuming. I really think you'll find it worth buying though. I'll be sure to make an Add-On freebie for it to whet your appetite.

Anyway, on to the fun stuff. I just finished my camping displays for work. I made some fun word art for it, here they are. They are large .png files, please enjoy! Click on the previews to download from 4share.

Treasure hunting!

2009-06-11T21:26:00.003-05:00

The girls and I did a little treasure hunting today at the thrift store....my favorite! I picked up a ton of good stuff for next to nothing! I think my best find today was a very old book titled Family Home Library. It was falling apart but I couldn't resist it for $1. Anyway, I will hopefully be making some freebie papers from the amazing illustrations in it, but I've already used part of it in a project for myself. I drilled a hole in the cover and made a new clock for my kitchen. It's cool, even if my husband says he can't see the black hands on the black leather. Maybe I'll take them off and use a file to distress them, I'm sure there's silver under the black paint. I made a second piece to hang on the wall and they both look good. I like sets of 3, but my third attempt was just ugly. So I'm trying to keep my mind open to creative flashes...I'll post pictures soon.

Horse Freebie

2009-06-11T21:13:00.002-05:00

Here is a fun little freebie with a horse theme. Lola LOVES yee-haws, that's really what she calls them-and she inspired me to make this little set. There is one 12x12 paper, 1 overlay and 7 glitter "stickers". Enjoy them!

Love is everywhere!

2009-06-09T14:19:00.004-05:00

Sis, Lola and I found this special tree at a park at the beginning of summer. I couldn't resist taking a picture. The love-knot is so beautiful. I don't know, maybe I'm weird but it makes me think that God's love is everywhere around us...

Dead Men Tell No Tales! FREEBIE

2009-06-07T16:14:00.006-05:00

I just finished working on my newest library posters. This theme is pirates. I made the posters and ended up having to extract elements to make them look cool. On display they are "Known Pirates" (8.5x14), "Dead Men Tell No Tales" (11x17) and "Fictional Pirates" (8.5x14). Here is a set of 11 PNGs that might be fun for you all to use. Enjoy, but remember, dead men tell no tales...

To download the file, please click the preview or click here.

Pretty Little Bows Freebie

2009-06-06T19:14:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! As promised, here is the first freebie to come from cleaning off my hard drive. I LOVE these little bows and I know you will too!

Click the preview or click here.

Gotta do some cleaning!

2009-06-01T11:40:00.002-05:00

Okay, I have folders and folders of ideas for digital scrapbooking and they are all in one form of completion or other....so here's my goal for June and July. I will work a little each day to clear out folders, and as I do I will post freebies for everyone to enjoy. So much needs extracted....

Wish me luck!

Damask Fun Freebie!

2009-05-29T22:30:00.003-05:00

Well, I was inspired by a freebie I picked up the other day featuring papers using damask patterns. I decided to give it a try -- and try out the pattern making part of Serif software at the same time. Here are some fun papers in the purple/pink family that were fun to make and experiment with. There are 10 in the set, although the preview doesn't show them all. Please enjoy! Click the preview below to download!

And now for number two!

2009-05-26T16:31:00.006-05:00

Here is the tree I made for Sis' album. I decided not to mirror the tree painting, so it gave it an off-center look, but I think I like it. Nothing wrong with doing things differently from time to time. I am planning to make a third layout for myself as well. I feel like I'm getting the hang of this.

Here are the best tips I can give for making a tree like this:

1. Decide how many generations you want to show.

2. Layout 1 side of the "tree" with all the generations you want and the connectors, then you can copy/paste it onto the other side & mirror it.

3. Go back and put in shadows if desired, if you do this before you copy/paste/mirror, you will have shadows going two different ways.

I will try to create a tree template -- or would it be a quick page?? -- to post for free. I'll get it uploaded soon, promise!

The First Family Tree is done!

2009-05-25T14:23:00.008-05:00

This is the tree I designed for Lola. She's a princess, so I thought she deserved a pretty pink tree with cherry blossoms. I think it turned out okay. I am working right now on a layout for Sis and when I was copying names into Lola's tree, I realized the tree I wrote out for myself is messed up. I considered buying another 2 page set like I did last time, but I think I'll just make one on the computer. It gives me more freedom, although it is labor intensive.

I finally got my scrapbooking supplies in my office (or should I call it my studio?) organized. I don't have shelves to put all my boxes on, but I think it'll work for now. I even sorted all my metal jewelry pieces and odds and ends. I have some cool stuff, it's just a matter of knowing where it is when I need it.

I managed to get my big family page done as far as I can. My dearest friend sent me some dried flowers to use and I added the tiny playing cards I tea-stained. It's in the book and looks finished, but if my father-in-law ever finds his dad's tackle, I have places it can be added. I need to figure out a way to explain the significance of each item on the page, but there isn't room on the page itself....maybe some kind of pull card on the back??

New Services for Sale at the So Digital Shop!

2009-05-22T13:31:00.003-05:00

Well, I've finally gotten around to adding a new service to the So Digital Shop. The new service is custom announcements. A dear friend of mine asked me to make her daughter's graduation announcements and we had a lot of fun throwing around ideas and trying things out. The reviews have been good, she tells me.

Here is my favorite layout, although the graduate chose to go with the black multi-picture layout, check them out at the shop!

Cavities??

2009-05-19T08:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was so upsetting. I took Sis and Lola to the dentist for their annual cleanings. Sis went first and the hygenist told me she has 4 cavities! It makes me feel like such a cruddy mom. I am not the biggest enforcer of brushing at bedtime and poor Sis has to pay the price. She has to go in 4 seperate times to have them filled. The worst one is so bad the dentist has to remove part of the nerve in the tooth, fill the cavity and then cap the whole tooth with stainless steel. Lola's teeth are okay so far, but all our bad habits have to stop here.

Thank goodness for ways to make brushing fun. We bought some of that stuff that turns the plaque on their teeth blue, that's a big hit and so is the bubblegum flavored floss. I just wish I had enforced good habits from the beginning.

If anything good has come out of this, maybe I'll put together a free set about the tooth fairy or cavity-monsters....we'll have to see.

Rainbow Dreams Paper Freebie

2009-05-17T09:50:00.003-05:00

Okay, I'm sorry I didn't get this done on Friday. I can clearly remember uploading the files to 4share on Thursday night and thinking, I'll post the blog tomorrow....

This is a two part download, folder 1 and folder 2.

The garage sale was a huge success though! We sold most of the big stuff on Friday and then did pretty well on Saturday. We made enough for Sis and Lola to each get a special toy and my share was enough to get a new digital camera!!! It is a 12 mega pixel with 5x zoom. I wanted more zoom, but for my price range, this is perfect. I am excited because I am going to start taking pictures to make some texture overlays. My first texture inspiration came last night when Lola was in the tub. I took pictures of the bubbles on the water, I wonder what it will look like as an overlay...I guess you'll know soon enough when I post a set of overlays.

Anyway, I hope it is warm and springy wherever you are!

Working hard to be healthy...

2009-05-12T16:11:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's true, I'm really working at being healthy. Everyone knows I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, and that sometimes I don't have an "off-switch" when it comes to eating. So I'm working hard at making healthy choices -- dried fruit instead of crackers or sweets -- and portion control -- NO SECONDS!!! I also decided to try that new Coke Zero, since I love Coke and need the caffeine once in awhile but not the calories. It isn't bad, I mean I know it isn't the real thing, but it isn't bad.

When I told my hubby about this new committment to taking care of myself he was on board. We went to the store and bought a new Wii fitness program. This one is Jillian Michaels, the super tough trainer from The Biggest Loser. It's tough, but I've done 30 minutes two days in a row. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is. I even got up at 6am today, that's a big deal to me when I feel like I don't get enough sleep as it is. Of course my calves, thighs and butt are killing me!!! Maybe I should have him take a picture of me now so I'll have something to compare against when I get to my target weight....I could do a cool scrapbook layout...hmmm.

Thanks for all the support I've gotten so far and for all the support I know everyone will give me when things get tough to stick with. I'll try to post some free papers on Friday, so keep watching!

Time to take care of myself.

2009-05-08T11:11:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I've been lazy about my physical health for about 9 months now. I've got to do something. I'm constantly exhausted and I ache and of course I've gained some weight. I don't want to admit it, but I need to excersize every day. So how to go about this??

Well I've had patrons at the library tell me that it works really well to listen to books on CD while they use the treadmill. I can do this while I use my elliptical. I'll have to committ to getting up at 6am each day, but if I'm listening to a good book I'd otherwise never have time to read, maybe it will work.

I should also be careful of how I eat. Mills has taught me that cutting down on my portions can be a big help. I'll do that, and I'll eat things like carrots for snacks. I also need to be careful with fatty fast foods. I can't afford to buy Alli anymore so I can't rely on it anymore.

*sigh* This is going to be tough, but I'm going to do my best. Wish me luck!

More love for moms! Freebie!

2009-05-07T13:30:00.003-05:00

Okay, here is the wordart I promised. I have included 5 wordarts and a 12x12 overlay. The overlay is "mother" in many different languages. I hope to do something similar for father's day next month.

Click on the "packaged" preview to download, or click here.

Please enjoy them and remember all the moms in your life. I mentioned my mom, mother-in-law, grandma and grandma-in-law in my last post but here are some other moms I've looked to for guidance and inspiration throughout my life:

My 2 older sisters

My best friend's mom Sue

My friend Paula

My friend Raynette

My coworkers at the library

Happy Mothers Day!

Mother's Day Freebie

2009-05-05T20:12:00.003-05:00

Okay, so instead of reading the new Charlaine Harris Dead and Gone, which I was the first to get at our library (and not because I work there), I decided to post the Mother's Day freebie I've been working on for a while now. I scanned the card with the trees and mother poem and built the set around it. The papers are 12x12 300dpi using colors in the card and the ribbons are 12" long. I even scanned my mother & child pendant for this set...so precious! Please enjoy and remember to tell your mom how much you love her!

Oh, and watch for another freebie in the next day or two of word art with quotes about mothers, I love my mom, my grandma, my mother-in-law and my grandma-in-law a whole bunch and it makes me happy to spread the love....oh and I'm pretty sure those little girls of mine love me too.

Who's going treasure hunting? We're going treasure hunting!

2009-05-03T16:06:00.004-05:00

I thought of a fun activity for the girls and I to share this summer. We call it treasure hunting. We look for anything that might be interesting while we are walking to the park or in the yard or out on walks. Today we found pieces of wood, pieces of rusted metal, pieces of plastic and feathers (they blew away before we got home.)

We decided to save them up over the summer and make a scrapbook page at the end of the year. As you may have guessed, I'm not really very rigid about the whole "acid-free" thing. I hope when it's done I can post a picture. It'll be really great with journalling about our treasure hunting adventures.

Home to Your Heart Freebie

2009-04-29T16:23:00.003-05:00

I feel like spreading the love today so here is an overlay and a coordinating glitter heart. Enjoy them. The overlay is 12" high so it'll work for a full page layout. The quote reads: When you look back at your past, look tenderly and gently at all you have been through. Look with the eyes of your soul. See that each experience was necessary to bring you home to your heart.

To download, click the preview or click here.

New at the So Digital Shop + Freebie Add-On!

2009-04-24T16:40:00.005-05:00

New at the So Digital Shop: Victorian Afternoon digital scrapbook set for $5.00. This set includes 11 papers, all are 300dpi and 12x12 format, as well as 43 elements (not all are shown in the preview.)

I am also happy to give you a freebie from this set. It includes 2 papers and 4 elements not included in the set for sale. I had a lot of fun with these elements in my poetry poster and I hope you enjoy them too!

To download, click the preview or click here.

Freebie! Game Night

2009-04-17T15:16:00.005-05:00

Here is a preview for everyone to enjoy! This set is my first "kit". I hope everyone likes it and don't forget that there was an Add-On posted a few months ago with cute monkeys and circus cards.

http://www.4shared.com/file/93104394/ef8a0638/Game_Papers.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/93109738/e9b0d298/Family_Game_Night_2.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/93111071/99bb8e2/Family_Game_Night.html

I almost forgot, if it asks for a password, it's: muggins.

Odds & Ends Freebie!

2009-04-16T07:52:00.006-05:00

Hi all, I haven't posted a freebie in awhile, so here's a bunch of odds and ends from my scrapbooking desk. I scanned these items. They are just an odd mish-mash of things you might find useful, like the metal letters, coins and keys I used in the preview, but there are also straight pins, paper clips, paper items and mixed metal items. These are early attempts at extracting scanned items, I hope I got them cleaned up as well as possible...enjoy!

Click preview to download, or click here.

And here is a fabulous layout by my dear friend Trixie using elements from this set:

Easter Greetings!

2009-04-11T22:08:00.002-05:00

I am just writing a short note, as I need to get to bed. We are going to try a sunrise service at a new church tomorrow and I have to get up and get ready by 6:15. Anyway, the "Easter Bunny" has just finished hiding eggs and putting out baskets. I am sure the kids will be excited in the morning.

I took them to the circus today! I remember going to the circus once when I was a little girl. This is the second time Sis has gone and Lola's first time. We will continue to go each year, I want this to be a special memory of something they shared with me. Besides, I'm a big kid and I love the circus!

Gotta get to bed. I finally finished my Egypt posters, it's the first triple poster display, big but cool. I also made myself a new wallpaper. What do you think?

I've just gotta show you!

2009-04-05T18:50:00.003-05:00

A few years ago I found our family crest and name history online and had a scroll printed and framed for my father-in-law. I was looking for ideas for a title page for my most recent 12x12 scrapbook and I realized that our family crest would be perfect. Unfortunately I didn't scan the crest before the scroll was framed. So here I am, with this great idea (the crest framed out by an 8" chipboard "O" for our last name) and no way to get it.

But then it occured to me that I could make the crest myself on my computer. Here it is. I used bits and pieces from all over the internet to create this, I LOVE it and it looks awesome printed on vellum. From the research I did, I was able to figure out the shield is a chief -- which is determined by the way the field is divided. It means dominion, authority, wisdom, achievement in battle. Ours is white on top and green on bottom. The green means hope, joy and loyalty in love. The white means sincerity and peace. The griffin means valient soldier, to the death. The sheep either mean gentleness and patience under suffering or authority. depending on whether or not they are ewes or rams. I don't know which. The lions are rampant lions -- depending on the direction they face they are called different names -- and they mean dauntless courage. The helmet means wisdom, strength or invulnerability. Pretty cool, I'd say.

I wanted to do a freebie kit with heraldry elements so everyone could easily make their own, but there are so many different things that go into a crest with countless variations, that I just don't think I could have done it justice. Here is a good site for learning more, and there are countless sites on the internet that can help you research your own family's crest.

http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm

Upcoming Releases

2009-03-29T11:20:00.003-05:00

Hi, just wanted to post a picture of my latest library poster. Honestly, I was a little lost about what to do for Poetry Month. So somewhere in my head I hit upon the idea of a victorian lady's desk. I had to make a lot of elements and I have decided to create a set from them. I haven't made the papers yet, or even finished extracting the elements, but it'll be a big set when it hits the So Digital Shop. I'll also post an add-on as a freebie on this blog.

Corel Painter X

2009-03-24T21:20:00.006-05:00

My digital pen came last week and I've been dying to really give it a try. It came with a free trial of Corel Painter X. I LOVE this program. Our library had a book on learning to use the program, so I brought it home and tried a few tutorials. From what I learned, I was able to make these "paintings" of Lola (in watercolor) and Sis (in oils.)

The program has an autopaint function where you tell it the brush type and medium and then it reworks the whole picture. Then you can go back and put in the details. That's where the digital pen was really fun to use. I like this program so much it's going on my Christmas list!

Creating a design team

2009-03-23T11:37:00.004-05:00

I am going to try to start a design team using So Digitally Me Designs. I know I had the worst time finding a place to sell my designs, I finally had to make my own store, and it wasn't easy to figure out. So my plan is to offer anyone who would like a page a chance to sell on SDMD. I figure every designer can have their own page with links to their blogs and if there are more of us together, the site might get more hits. Oh, and maybe there will be collaboration kits in the future! Here's hoping that it works.

http://sodigitalshop.web.officelive.com/callingalldesigners.aspx

E-mail me if you're interested: sodigitallyme@gmail.com

Old Cowboy Freebie

2009-03-19T17:06:00.004-05:00

Today I made this scrapbook page for one of my friend's fabulous photos. I tried my hand at masking the picture to age it. I think I did pretty good. I definately want to learn more about making masks, my program's tutorials aren't always the most clearly written. Anyway, I couldn't find the right alpha in my downloaded files, so I created this one. I hope you all like it. I call it Old Cowboys because it is made with a rust background and a font called Bleeding Cowboys. I beveled it to give it some dimension, but the shadow is for display only. Enjoy!

I might be a caffeine junkie.

2009-03-19T09:51:00.002-05:00

I think I might be a caffeine junkie. I sometimes have a cup of coffee & cocoa mixed at work on break. On days that I don't work, I rarely make a pot of coffee and I tend to drag. I read in National Geographic once that your brain developes a physiological need for the caffeine to enable it to function properly, thus it is addictive.

For me, I sometimes confuse days that are dragging for depression. I don't really think I'm depressed, I am just tired and a little bummed because no one made it to women's group. This week is spring break and I imagine everyone is super busy. It isn't a huge-big deal, it's just hard to remember why I started this group when very few people come regularly. But I must remind myself that summer will be better. Maybe we can find a new time when more moms can come.

I'm also slightly bummed because no one has bought my first kit yet. But, I did some addition last night and my freebies have been downloaded 586 times by people -- pretty good for just starting a couple of months ago.

On a bright note, I'm excitedly awaiting my digital pen that I ordered last week, my new laptop desk and the books on digital graphic design that the library ordered for me.

Grand Opening & Freebie!

2009-03-15T17:26:00.008-05:00

I am excited to announce that my store is open for business! My first kit is in the So Digital Shop. I was inspired by memories of playing games with my family as a kid and by watching my kids play games. It's called Family Game Night. It has 7 12x12 papers, all 300 dpi. It also has a ton of elements (visit the store for more details!) The elements are also 300 dpi .png files. Here are the previews:

For larger previews, drop by the So Digital Shop!I am also happy to show you the preview for the Family Game Night Add-On. This set includes a set of circus-themed cards, a coordinating paper, some really fun monkeys and a ribbon. The monkey is actually one I found on the ground one day while I was at the park with my kids! Enjoy! Click on preview to download!

Store Opening Soon!

2009-03-13T12:09:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to have my own store opening soon. I am working on some full kits -- don't worry, the freebies will still be coming. I can't wait for this. It'll be exciting and hopefully people will buy my stuff, how embarassing would it be if NO ONE bought my stuff!! I'm also excited because I found a great digital pen set on Amazon for $43.99. That's half of what I was saving up to buy one from Wal-Mart. I'm going to get an Amazon card this weekend and buy it, then I'll have to suffer the agony of waiting for it to get here. Wish me luck!

The machine is fixed!

2009-03-10T09:15:00.001-05:00

It turns out the whole washing machine fiasco was because the belt broke. My husband says the loads I do are too large. I guess I'll be doing smaller loads more often since we can't afford a new machine. Although I did have a few fantasies about one of those new high efficiency washer/dryer sets...*sigh*

Freebie & a broken washing machine?

2009-03-08T19:25:00.003-05:00

Well, I have an alpha set for you. It's called Blue Toille. I love toille, it's so lovely. This set includes Upper Case, Lower Case, Punctuation, Numbers and 13 flourish extras. I hope you enjoy them. They are 3D but not shadowed, and I made them using a 6x6 canvas, so they are large and look great once downsized to suite your needs. It's a big set and I hope they make your day!

Oh, and I forgot. I broke the washing machine today. I have 2 kids and so I do 3 loads of laundry twice a week. Plus extra on mornings that Lola's bed is soaked through. I think it might just be a broken hose, but the set is 10 years old, or more, and we've had to replace the agitator twice. And I've noticed the dryer doesn't always work. If washer/dryer sets were free I'd be really excited at the prospect of getting new ones. Unfortunately, they are not free and this is not the time to go out and spend a ton of money.

Just rambling

2009-03-06T11:59:00.002-06:00

Sorry, no freebies today, but I am working on a new set. It's called Odds and Ends. I was cleaning out my office, where I do my traditional scrapbooking. I pulled all kinds of little items from my drawers and bottles and scanned them. I think there are at least 13 different keys, coins, pins, cards, game pieces, frames, paper clips, some pictures, things I've found on the ground -- it sounds weird, but it's going to be so cool! The whole set is going to be a fun mix of items. I personally don't make pages all from one set, I mix and match items as it suits my needs, so a little bit of everything can be really fun. I hope it will be out soon, but this weekend I need to put together a poster for the library. It's going to be Art Appreciation. I wonder if we had a contest where people could fill out a form telling me as many names of paintings or the artists and then submit it. What would they win?....More news at 11...hehehe

2 Free Alphas today

2009-03-04T13:49:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple of alphas I made. They are cute and fun, I think they'd look great on a summer page. Enjoy! Just one .zip file for the two alphas.

VIRUS!!!!

2009-03-02T22:17:00.003-06:00

Oh my gosh, I am so sick of viruses. I had troubles around new years and yesterday I picked up one that my virus program didn't stop. I finally figured out (with the help of a friend from work) how to restore to settings from Saturday, before I contracted the virus. It worked and I think back to all the times I've wiped my hard drive, not knowing how easy it could be to fix it. I guess that's life though. I won't forget this little lesson!

I don't understand the point of viruses and software designed to screw up other people's computers. Why must people be so mean? Is it just a sick joy for them? How sad that they don't know the joy of being kind to others. I guess that's why it's important to pay favors back and forward. Showing kindness is contagious, I am a big believer in that.

Anyway, enough ranting. I'm tired and I've set a goal to try to get to bed earlier. So I'm going to do my best. Night all, and I hope you are virus free!

My Princess Freebie

2009-03-01T19:21:00.004-06:00

I found these great princesses on Microsoft Clip Gallery and I thought they'd make great word art. I did have to recolor a couple to get a blonde princess and a brunette princess, but they turned out nicely. I tried to be politically correct in naming the files...it's hard to know exactly how to say different nationalities.

Click on the picture to download this set!

Do or do not. There is no try.

2009-03-01T14:27:00.003-06:00

Okay, the kids have been influenced by their dad's love of Star Wars. We even have our own "youngling" jedi in training. Check out this short video.

A Groovy Freebie

2009-02-28T18:00:00.003-06:00

Okay, I just thought it would be fun to make a 60s inspired freebie. This set is kind of a mini-kit, with 10 .png elements and an alpha set that includes upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols. I guess it's the biggest kit I've ever made. It was fun. In highschool I was kind of a flower-child wannabe, I guess it's resurfacing in fun ways.

Enjoy!

http://www.4shared.com/file/90057866/aaa87d9c/Peace_Love__Eternity_Set.html

Free Word Art!

2009-02-26T09:54:00.003-06:00

It's a snowday here. I don't really want any more snow, but it is nice to have a day with no where to rush off to. School was cancelled and so was women's group, so we're having a pajama day. I feel like getting some stuff done, so here's a little something for you!

I just did a page for my daughter called "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades." I couldn't resist making word art to go with it. Just too cute.

http://www.4shared.com/file/89606205/975b4033/The_Futures_So_Bright.html

The people who mean the most to me.

2009-02-25T21:24:00.002-06:00

Today I got home from taking the girls to a playdate to find 2 messages on my machine. They were my sister and brother calling to tell me something important. When I finally tracked everyone down, they were at the hospital with my dad. He'd had a second heart attack.

My dad is okay, but I worry that I don't get to spend enough time with him. That my kids don't know what a great Grandpa he is. I worry that someday I'm going to have to say goodbye to my parents. I know it's inevitable. I know we'll be together in Heaven...but that doesn't change how scary it is to get that phone call.

I've got a great dad. When we were kids, we used to play dominoes with him. He pretty much taught me to do math in my head with it. I remember sitting around a towel in the living room sharing a big bag of peanuts. The shells went into the middle of the towel and then he cleaned it all up for us. My dad got me started reading. When I was young, 9 or 10 I had the first manifestations of my depression problems. He helped me by giving me a way into another world where I didn't have to stress about other kids or school or anything.

I have also been lucky enough to find a second father in my father-in-law. Of course, the more I love my in-laws, the more I know I'll have to part with them someday too. It's the way the world works, who would want to be here forever?

It just occurred to me. One day my daughters might be facing the same fears about my husband and I. I hope they will have as fond memories of us as we have our parents.

Here's Your Sign!

2009-02-20T21:48:00.008-06:00

I am very excited about this new freebie. I have always loved the imagery of the zodiac, and I thought it might be fun to make a free set using some cute clipart -- again, thanks to the Microsoft Clip Gallery. Each month includes a PNG frame (shown in display with shadows), as well as three stickers. Please enjoy and post your creations, I'd love to see them!

Here are the links:

http://www.4shared.com/file/88726003/6a57ba19/Set_1.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/88726555/f8882982/Set_2.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/88725522/3b188508/Set_3.html

I was not super-careful grouping the months for upload to 4share, so you'll want to download all three sets to make sure you get your sign.

Free Yellow Swirl Alpha

2009-02-19T15:21:00.005-06:00

I'm happy to present a new freebie. Here is Yellow Swirl Alpha, created using free clipart from Microsoft Clip Gallery and a free font called Baby Pirate (I found it at DAfont, see link list). The shadow is in example only. Please enjoy!

http://www.4shared.com/file/88521387/77bad3e3/Yellow_Swirl.html

Diaper Demands!

2009-02-19T08:01:00.003-06:00

Okay, I've got a few demands for the diaper companies. Here they are:

1. They should be 100% leak-proof. Not, "less leaks than other leading brands". I'm talking 100%, all or nothing no leaks. We pay enough for these things, it's the least they can do.

2. They should be impossible for anyone under the age of 4 to remove.

3. They should be able to hold equavilant to the weight of the child wearing them. This is not so I don't have to change them all day long, but simply so that kids with bladders that could hold the Gulf of Mexico, like Lola, don't need clean sheets every single morning.

4. When the above rules become impossible to meet, the child should automatically be potty trained by the diapers, not the mom. I don't know if this would involve microchips....

Couldn't we find a way to make them biodegradeable? I'm not super-green or anything, but I know how many of these things I throw out each week, seems like we could make them a little more useful. Now please, no comments about how I should use cloth diapers. It doesn't work for us, believe me, I've tried. We are almost done with diapers. Lola uses the potty from time to time but even when she's trained in the day, who knows how long it will take to get her to wake up at night for the potty.

Ah, motherhood.

My first FREEBIE!!

2009-02-16T17:30:00.002-06:00

Okay, here is my first freebie. It is a simple set of photo masks. They say "Faith", "Hope" and "Love". This set was inspired by a fellow scrapper who is one of my best friends. She's a great person, a wonderful mom and a strong christian. She's one of my role models. Please enjoy the set. I'd love to see what you do with them, and I hope you'll post a comment for me!

http://www.4shared.com/file/88021163/bd1d7fa9/Faith_Hope__Love.html

To use the masks, here are what I hope are easy directions. Open the picture you wish to alter in your photo editor. Then open the mask you wish to use. Copy the mask and paste it as a new layer in the original photo. It should "mask" your picture. Now I would use my magic wand selection tool to choose the black of the mask. From their I would invert the selection in the selection menu, but I don't know how it works in all programs. Once the selection is inverted, go back to the background layer (the original picture) and delete the highlighted area. This should remove the words from the picture. I then delete the mask layer and invert the selection on the original picture. I can copy it and paste it as a new image with a transparent background. My photo program allows me to export my pictures as .png files (they keep the transparent background so my background papers will show through on scrapbook pages) and that is what I would use. E-mail me if you need help. I kind of stumbled on this and it makes sense to me but I totally understand if it doesn't to others.

That awkward phase...and freebies soon!

2009-02-16T11:42:00.001-06:00

Did I spell that right??

Anyway, most of us go through an awkward phase during our teen years. Apparently I am having a reoccurance now that I am 30. In the last month I've managed to slip and fall on ice twice, hit myself in the face with a car door and just yesterday I fell over a toy and landed on the corner of my daughter's bedframe with my lower back. Not to mention all the minor misshaps like stubbed toes and slammed fingers. I'm also amazingly adept at burning myself lately.

Maybe my self concious is upset with me or something. I just don't know.

I also think that I will be able to start posting freebies soon. I'm working on some right now. They aren't anything fabulous, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Out with the old & wanting what you have.

2009-02-14T14:58:00.001-06:00

Today was a cleaning day. We bought Goofball a new lamp for her room, so we rearranged her room which, of course, led to cleaning. Her room wasn't too hard, but Lola's room was terrible. How can kids make such huge messes? Then we decided to clean the basement, which is where the other half of the toys are. I put two huge boxes aside for the garage sale this spring. Yay!

As for wanting what you have, today I saw a quilt on clearance for $28. It was $110 when I first saw it. At the time we decided it was way, way too expensive, so we bought a different set. To see it now on clearance and know that it is exactly what I wanted breaks my heart. We can't afford it, not really. Everything costs so much, especially the stuff we can't live without like laundry detergent and cat food. *sigh* So I know I didn't need that quilt. I know that someday I'll be able to buy things like that when the kids are older and the money flows a little more freely. Besides, if I bought something really nice like that now, and it was really nice, the kids would mess it up and of course it would be covered in cat hair all the time....

Are you who you think you are?

2009-02-13T20:44:00.001-06:00

I will keep this short, to prevent it from becoming a big vent session, but what if I am not the person I've thought myself to be for so long? In my first blog I tried to describe myself and I didn't use negative words....but after two seperate incidents this last week, I've had to re-examine who I am.

Am I really putting all I can into being a great mom? Do I expect too much from my friends. Am I a real friend at all?

I've spent a lot of time thinking about these things and I have come to the conclusion that I do the best I can in everything I do. I take every part of my life seriously, from family and friends to work and hobbies. But I also try to enjoy myself and live life to the fullest.

So, am I who I think I am?? I think I am. I also think there is room for improvement, and maybe being able to see that is more important than anything else.

Facebook??

2009-02-11T16:46:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I've not done my best to keep up with the times. I admit it. I don't text. I don't have a myspace page. I don't even really understand how to use facebook. But I am trying. I've tried so hard to broaden my horizons in literature by reading stuff from all over the library, I've overcome my fear of new people and started a women's group, and now I've made an attempt to learn to use Facebook.

What I don't get is that for some people, it's the only way to communicate. I would rather have an e-mail or phone call. To each his own, right?

You get what you deserve.

2009-02-10T21:42:00.001-06:00

My little one, 'Lola' has given new meaning to the term terrible twos. She is absolutely crazy. Today on the way home from daycare, she climbed out of her carseat and tried to climb into the front seat with me. I almost went off the road trying to keep her in the back. So then I told her she had to go straight to her room for a nap. The only way to keep her in her room is the lock the door. So I did. I know, I'm a horrible, horrible mom...

Anyway, when she got up from her nap, I went in to clean up her walls and closet door, which she had artfully decorated with an orange crayon and a purple colored pencil. I discovered the outlet right buy her bed was blackened. She had tried to plug in her lamp with a silver necklace wound around the prongs! She could have killed herself or started a fire or Lord knows what.

'Lola's' Grandpa fixed the outlet for me, replacing it. He thinks we need to save it for a scrapbook page, with the fitting title, Shocking Behavior! I went to the store and I bought some of those doorknob baby locks. It's safer than locking the door and having to find a coin to unlock it. And believe me, I'll be extra careful about keeping the outlet covers in from now on.

Have you ever been told that your children will be just as bad as you were? My husband's parents insist he wasn't bad, so the crazy gene seems to come from me. I participated in some wicked schemes hatched by my sisters and brother, but surely I was an angel...or perhaps my memories don't properly reflect who the mastermind was. All I do know for sure is that my twin brother's youngest daughter is quite a handful. So at least I'm not taking the full dose of karma.

It's harder than I thought...

2009-02-08T17:14:00.001-06:00

Well, I've been looking here and there on my favorite sites to figure out how to create my own freebies for other scrappers. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be as easy as I thought. So, I'm going to keep thinking about it and hopefully increasing my skill-set by scrapping and creating display posters for the library.

I wonder if there are books available that can teach me the kind of graphics and web skills I need. I am sure there are, and I am sure I can get them through the library. For free! Is there anything better than getting something for free?

Speaking of which, I hit some fabulous sales this weekend. I got 2 pairs of jeans today for about$12 and yesterday I got a pair of khakis for $.25, well, $.27 with tax. It's crazy! The only problem with being a thrift and clearence shopper is that they don't always have all the sizes. I think my size, __ (conviently left blank) is a very common size. As is my shoe size and my bra size. Hmm...maybe I'm average. Maybe it's those size 1 and size 2 girls who are abnormal. There's something to think about there....

Scrapping myself...

2009-02-07T17:10:00.001-06:00

So I've been scrapping for my kids for years. And then last year I realized that someday my kids will grow up and take their books with them! So, since I've done hybrid scrapping for them all this time, I decided my own books would be traditional. Recently I discovered I can have 12x12 pages printed, and with the help of fabulous software, I really threw myself into creating some great scrapbook pages for my girls and my cats.

I have decided that someday I'd like to create freebies for other scrappers, kind of paying forward the favor of all the great free stuff I've gotten from other designers. I know to offer the freebies I need a blog. So here it is. But I decided I had to make a fabulous header and I discovered one thing in particular: It is hard to scrap myself. I've done pages of me with my kids and pages of me with my husband. But never a page just about me, expressing who I am, or at least who I see myself as.

Who do I see myself as? I guess the following words describe me: Wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, book-nerd (I work at the library and LOVE LOVE LOVE it), artist, cat-lover, and eclectic --did I spell that right?!?