Lotsofprettythings

Sorry for my absence

2012-01-20T19:37:00.002+01:00

Since I've started doing a course for Human Rescource Management that takes up a big part of my freetime at them moment, I won't be scrapbooking for a while. I am really missing it though and I'm planning to be back maybe in June, when my course is finished. I'm also planning to make more freebies as soon as I can. Thanks for reading.

Speed Scrap by Shel Belle Scraps at STS

2011-10-09T16:41:00.002+02:00

Shel of Shel Belle Scraps is hosting a speed scrap TONIGHT (Sunday October 9th) in the forum and chat room at Stuff to Scrap. You'll get 7 instructions in 60 minutes, have lots of fun chatting with other participants, and create one fantastic layout. You can check out the flyer below or head to the forum for more information. (Image linked.)

For participating, you'll get a set of four templates that coordinate with an upcoming kit of hers, Harvest of Memories.

Hope to see you there!

October challenge at Shel Belle Scraps' Blog

2011-10-01T10:59:00.002+02:00

Shel from Shel Belle Scraps has just announced a new challenge for October on her blog:

How it works:

Create a layout with one of her products
Post it to her STS gallery
Leave a comment at the blog post about the challenge with the link to your LO
Each LO earns one entry
At the end of the month, there's a random draw

What can you win:

A $5.00 coupon for Shel's store (there are lots of lovely things to buy!!)

Halloween Word Art and Curious Cutie Kit

2011-10-01T10:24:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations has 2 new releases today! She worked with Heather of HD Creations to create a set of Halloween Word Art for the October BAK at STS! Candy Munchers!

Here are two examples where my fellow layout artists show how you can use this word art:

Kandice: She used Meagan's "Rustic Autumn" kit

Stephanie: Using HD Creations' BAK.

Don't forget to check out all of the BAKs this month over at STS and don't miss out on the special deal with them: Buy three packs and save half!

And then in case you missed picking up Meagan's freebie kit on her Facebook page, Curious Cutie is now in available in her store at STS. Here's the preview:

Here's the layout I did with the kit:

And here's still one by Kandice that I really like:

Rustic Autum Kit and Freebies

2011-09-30T20:24:00.000+02:00

Hello scrappers! Meagan's Creations has a new release today, Rustic Autumn. This fall kit is elegant and timeless with a brillant palette for scrapping our memories under the falling leaves. Enjoy the reds, oranges, golds and plums of fall with this versatile kit.

And her amazing creative team also created 7 quick pages (12x12) which you can also purchase!

Both packs are on sale for 30% off this first week!

And check out some of the amazing layouts by her Creative Team (of which I am a part!):

Dana

Here's mine: I also used a template from the "Cluster Me Template Set" by Meagan's Creations

Kandice: This layout also uses the "Girls Word Art" by Meagan's Creations

Kendra used a template by Memories by Digital Design.

Lahni (aka Queen Wild Scraps) - she used a template from her Oct BAK (to be released on the 1st!) and also used "Inspirational Word Art" by Meagan's Creations.

Mary

Stephanie

Thao

The amazing creative team of Meagan's Creations has also made some gorgeous freebies for you! Click on each preview to go to that Creative Team Member's blog and grab their gorgeous freebie!

HERE'S MINE (click on preview to download):

This gorgeous frame cluster was made by Kandice.

A fall-tastic word art cluster by Lindsay

And a clean and elegant frame cluster by Thao

(If the freebies aren't there yet, check back later during the day :)

Enjoy the freebies and don't forget to leave some love!

Apple Delight Kit by Designing Divas

2011-09-27T22:28:00.000+02:00

Becky and Christi have released a super-cute autumn kit. It's called "Apple Delight" and the colors are just beautiful! At the moment, the kit's on sale for only $ 3.00. And there's a special deal: If you buy the kit you can get the additional quickpages for just another dollar extra by using this code: sahm_ad_qp$1

Click on the preview to get to the shop!

Facebook Freebie "Curious Cutie" by Meagan's Creations

2011-09-12T20:54:00.001+02:00

For those who are fans on Meagan's Creations' facebook page, you can grab a free kit thru the end of September:

Just click on the Exclusive tab and grab your free kit! And don't forget, there will also be an RAK (random act of kindness) later this week and winners are chosen from those who leave a comment on her facebook page on photos of her products!

Take a hike kit by Shel Belle Scraps

2011-09-11T09:41:00.002+02:00

Like the outdoors? Then Shel Belle Scraps' latest kit is a must-have! It's full of fun outdoor-themed elements (such cute animals!!) and also includes enough basic elements to be verstaile enough to scrap all sorts of pictures. And I just love the colors, they perfect for all those autumn layouts. And ... for a little while ... the kit is on sale for only $ 2.50.

Click on the preview to go to the shop!

Here's a page I did with the kit:

September Build-A-Kit and School Time MEGA KIT

2011-09-03T11:21:00.001+02:00

For me there's nothing cooler than a really BIG kit with lots and lots of elements and papers and endless possibilities for beautiful scrapbooking pages.
Stuff to Scrap has two great new collections in September: The September Build-A-Kit (BAK) kits as well as the "School Time" Designer Collaboration.

The fun thing abouth the BAK kits is that you can either buy all of them or you can just pick the ones you like best - they all match!! And if you buy three or more single kits, you will get 50 % off!

This month's theme is circus/adventure parks (and FUN in general). Here is the preview for Christi's part of the BAK, it's called "Land of Fun" and offers lots of lovely, detailed elements and papers. (Image linked to the store).

And are two previews for the School Time Collaboration kit:

New Word Art by Meagan's Creations: All about me!

2011-08-27T22:59:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations just released another great Word Art set. And this time it's ALL ABOUT ME. (Well, all about you. Sorry for the lame joke, I just couldn't resist. :-) The Word Art really inspires to sit down and think about yourself a bit!

Click on the preview to get to the store!

Family Picnic kit now available at Stuff to Scrap!

2011-08-23T21:38:00.001+02:00

Summer is soon coming to an end and I'm trying to spend the last hot days swimming, suntanning and being outside in general. And what's nicer on one of those warm evenings than having a BBQ (or like my South African husband would see a "braai")?

Digi-designs by Nicole has created the perfect kit for scrapping all the photos of people frying sausages, having picnics and enjoying a good time together: It's called family picnic and is now available at Stuff to Scrap (for the first week it's even 30 % off!!). Click on the preview to go to the store. And don't forget to check out the matching quickpages and the add-on. (Or buy the whole bundle right away!)

Bracket templates by Digi-designs by Nicole

2011-08-21T21:12:00.001+02:00

Nicole (DDBN) has released four fabulous bracket templates for all the people with little time out there. Click on the preview to get the set!

August Color Challenge Freebies

2011-08-17T19:07:00.002+02:00

I love the color challenge at Stuff to Scrap. One monthly color swatch and all those generous and talented girls that share mini-kits and quickpages ... I wanted to contribute something as well, so I used the beautiful mini by Adriana's Café called "Raining in my flowers" to make two quickpages.

If you like them, click on the preview to download them. If you want to grab the other freebies as well, go to the August Color Challenge thread at STS (registration required).

Ever tried to speed scrap?

2011-08-11T21:42:00.000+02:00

I have, and it was so much fun!

How it works? Within one hour the host of the speed scrap will give you 7 instructions for creating a scrapbooking layout. You can follow the instructions in a chatroom or in the forum. After that you have an additional hour to finish the LO and post it in the speed scrap gallery.

And besides the fun you even get a participation price if you manage to post your LO in time!

Stuff to Scrap is hosting the next speed scrap on August 13th (at 6 pm PT, 7 pm MT, 8 pm CT, 9 pm ET).

Find out more about it (and about the other speed scraps in August) at: Speed Scrap Forum Thread

Problem solved

2011-08-09T12:04:00.002+02:00

Hi altogether,

if you tried to download freebies from my site you might have been asked for a password.

The problem should be fixed now, there is no password required.

Please let me know if you have any further trouble, and SO SORRY ABOUT THIS!

A day at the beach

2011-08-08T21:24:00.000+02:00

August is a lucky month for me! I got a guest CT spot on Nicole's team (Digi-designs by Nicole). And her latest kit at Stuff to Scrap "A day at the beach" is perfect for scrapping my summer holiday pictures! I'm sure you'll also love the bright and fun colors and all the cute elements and cool papers.

Here's the preview (linked to the store):

And here's my layout with it, which is also part of the quickpage set you can buy with the kit (just click on the picture, it takes you right to the store). 12 fabulous ready made pages are waiting to be filled with your photos!

Ride it cowgirl kit and a freebie

2011-08-08T21:02:00.001+02:00

I think I did mention before that I joined SAHM Scrapper's (aka Becky) creative team. Together with Christi she's "Designing Divas" and they've just released a super-cute kit today, that's called "Ride it Cowgirl"(goes for boys just as well!).

Here's the preview (linked to store). If you like it, it's a good idea to get it now because this week it will only be $ 2.50.

If you want to have a closer look before you buy the kit, enjoy downloading the cluster freebie I made for you (just a bit further down)!! HAVE FUN!

Great August Specials at Stuff to Scrap

2011-08-05T20:43:00.000+02:00

A bug's life and Bugs 'N Birds

2011-08-01T22:30:00.000+02:00

August is here!! Which means that Stuff to Scrap is bringing out a new BAK (Build a Kit): One theme, several designers and lots and lots of elements and papers, all matching.

Here are two great parts of the August BAK:

"A bug's life" by SAHM Scrapper and "Bugs 'N Birds" by Shel Belle Scraps (images linked to store).

New template set by Meagan's Creations

2011-07-30T14:09:00.000+02:00

Meagan has released another great template set that makes scrapbooking much quicker and easier. It's called "Cluster me template set" and is as usually available at Stuff to Scrap.
Click HERE to also get the additional FREEBIE at the shop!

Here's my LO using one of the templates (Kit used: Ambience by Digi-design by Nicole).

Speed Scrap by Meagan's Creations

2011-07-29T19:43:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations is hosting a speed scrap on July 30th and would love to see you there!

And the participation prize is:

Happy scrapping!

Serenity kit by Shel Belle Scraps

2011-07-28T15:00:00.006+02:00

I'm really excited that I got a chance to join the Shel Belle Scraps creative team and I love the first kit I worked with: "Serenity".
It is in store now at Stuff to Scrap. Lovely soft colors and beautifully done elements make it universally useable.

And if you can still wait until tomorrow: The kit, the additional worn papers and the Serenity cardstocks will be 25% off from Thursday, July 29 - Sunday, July 31!!

Click on the preview to grab it at the store:

And here's a LO I did with the kit:

Christmas in July at STS

2011-07-24T11:26:00.000+02:00

I can almost here "Last Christmas" playing on the radio and when I look outside the weather also seems to think it IS Christmas ... So go ahead and enjoy the "Christmas in July" sale at Stuff to Scrap!

Perfect holiday kit: Are we there yet?

2011-07-16T12:02:00.001+02:00

Meagan's Creations and Digital Harmony just released a new kit that is perfect for all your holiday, travelling, road trip pictures (and lots of other ones!!). It's called "Are we there yet?" (bet you've heard that one before...) The kit is bright, fun and has loads of cute elements and papers. It's available at Stuff to Scrap. The add on kit, word art pack and brag book are already out as well. Or, if you want it ALL, just go and get the BUNDLE!

And here's my LO with the kit:

Summer Sunset Mini Kit

2011-07-08T21:32:00.001+02:00

This bright and smoking hot mini-kit by Meagan's Creations is perfect for the summer! Click on the preview to get it at the Stuff to Scrap store.

Take notes - a little freebie

2011-07-08T18:47:00.001+02:00

Of course just scanning a few pages of notebook paper would have worked as well, but I did make these digitally and enjoyed it. Hope you have some use for them (pencil is included)!!

Click on the picture to download and leave a note if you like it!

Another WordArt Freebie

2011-07-02T20:25:00.002+02:00

Here is one more WordArt Freebie for you. Font used is: Spicy Sushi Roll (Can be found HERE).

Click on preview to download and leave a comment if you like the freebie!

And here is a second version of the same WordArt:

BLOGTRAIN - At the park

2011-07-01T06:00:00.001+02:00

I haven't done that much designing the last few months but I couldn't resist the bright and fun colors of the "At the park" blogtrain (hosted at Stuff to Scrap).

So here's the preview of my part (click on the picture to download):

And here are the links for the other blogs, enjoy downloading lots and lots of goodies!!

Please note: Due to different timezones it might take a little while until all links are working.

Stuff To Scrap Blog
Lotsofprettythings YOU ARE HERE
Scraps by Andrea
Simply Kelly Designs
Flower Pot Designs
Brianna's Scrapper
scraphannah
Jensen Motley Crew Designs
DoubleTrouble Scraps
Let Me Scrapbook!
The Scrappy Kat
Sweet Creations
Saphira's Scrapdesign
Scraps N Pieces
Lovely Creations
Shel Belle Scraps
Scrappin Serenity
The Digi Scrapping Mama
Note-able Scraps
Every EverAfter Moment
Eva Marina Scraps
Scrappin Ninnie

Quickpage freebie

2011-06-27T22:34:00.000+02:00

With Meagan's great freebie kit "Up, up and away" (available for free until July 1st at STS) I made a cute quickpage - for the hero in your life.

Click on the preview to download the QP (and don't forget to grab the kit before it goes into the store).

Up, up and away kit by Meagan's Creations now in shop

2011-06-26T14:58:00.006+02:00

If you missed this super cute kit as a freebie for Stuff to Scrap's Color Challenge, it's available now at the shop at 40 % off. Click on the preview to go to STS:

Latest Freebie: Good Advice WordArt

2011-06-26T13:31:00.000+02:00

And a bit more WordArt for you, I really had fun making these.

Click preview to download!

WordArt Freebies

2011-06-24T17:40:00.001+02:00

I wanted to try something different again and since I came across some really fun quotes on the net, I tried to make some wordart.

Here's my first try, you should be able to download it directly by right clicking on the image:

If you like it, please leave a comment, if you use it on a scrapbooking page, credits would be appreciated (Isabella Le Roux).

For better or worse

2011-06-17T17:19:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations has a beautiful new wedding-themed kit to show you today which is available at Stuff to Scrap: It's called "For Better or Worse".

I really enjoyed scrapping with it, the colors are so soft and there's a whole bunch of elements to play around with. The kit is really versatile, just give it a try!

For more inspiration have a look at the beautiful layouts that Meagan's creative team did in the STS gallery!

Store closing sale at Scrapable!

2011-06-17T17:08:00.000+02:00

For all of you who didn't buy all of Meagan's great kits already, this is the perfect opportunity!

Diagonal Daze Templates

2011-06-12T21:33:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations has just released another great template set:

Here's a layout I made with one of the templates using Meagan's kit "Those were the days" (also available at her shops).

The lion sleeps tonight CT blogtrain!

2011-06-06T07:00:00.003+02:00

Freebies for you!! The CT members of Meagan's Creations and ViolaMoni Designs made some cool freebies for you (quickpages, clusters, wordart) using the brandnew "The lion sleeps tonight" kit.

Here's my quickpage for you (click on the picture to download):

And here are the links for all the other blogs:

(Please keep in mind that due to different time zones it might take a while until all posts have been published.)

Dana
Marlyn
Lahni
Kandice
Isabella (YOU ARE HERE)
Viola Moni
Jamie
Kaymee
Momma Ducks
MacFanGirl

The lion sleeps tonight

2011-06-04T10:33:00.000+02:00

Meagan's Creations has brought out a new kit (in collaboration with ViolaMoni Designs): The lion sleeps tonight.

It's available at both stores: Stuff to Scrap and Scrapable.

Here's a page I made using the kit:

Templates including the Easter Bunny

2011-04-08T21:05:00.000+02:00

Lately I have turned into a big fan of templates, they save so much time!

Here are two new template sets by Meagan's Creations. They are available at both shops: Stuff to Scrap and Scrapable.

Number One is "Cut Out Templates": 4 templates available as PNG or layered PSD files.

Number two are two perfect templates for all your easter pics:

Day of Play - New Kit by Meagan's Creations and DBA

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000+02:00

I really enjoy scrapping with Meagan's latest kit! It's called "Day of Play" (and I don't think I'll be done with it for quite a while!).

The kit (which was created in collaboration with Designs by Ashlee) comes with lots of fun and universally useable elements and a stack of real pretty papers.

Currently there are two add-ons available: "Day of Play" - the cardstocks and "Day of Play" - the wordart.

Kit and add-ons are sold at Stuff to Scrap as well as at Scrapable.

And here are two LOs that were done using the kits:

Peek-a-boo Templates

2011-03-11T20:00:00.014+01:00

Meagan's Creations has just released another fabulous template set: The Peek-a-boo templates will be available at Stuff to Scrap and Scrapable. There's four different ones and they come as layered psd files and as single PNGs!

Template Volume 5 released!

2011-02-04T16:30:00.000+01:00

When you're busy working or taking care of your family there's not always that much time for creating the perfect layout of a foto that's special to you. Luckily you get great templates that do (most of) the work for you.
Meagan has released another great template set which is available at Stuff to Scrap and at Scrapable for only $ 2,00 (layered PSD file and seperate PNG files included).

Here's a preview:

All the pretty badges

2011-01-31T21:32:00.000+01:00

I saw vintage badges on a few different scrapbooking sites and they were just so cute that I decided to make some myself and share them with all of you. I love what I ended up with: 25 badges that will be a great addition for your layouts, just the "little something" that you sometimes need to finish a beautiful page.

I got slightly carried away when I started surfing blogs and websites offering freebie vintage images. I'm still so excited about all the beautiful pictures I downloaded. I hope I will have some time to make some more element packs using them!!

Click on the image to download the badges. And if you like it please leave a comment and tell your friends. THANKS!

Useful knowledge for blogging

2011-01-29T12:55:00.001+01:00

I love learning new things and when I started this blog a long while ago (I would have to check the first post) I was immensely proud and happy about managing to set up a blog at all. You might say "it isn't that difficult anyway" but I didn't KNOW that before I tried to do it.

The wonderful thing about the internet is that there are lots and lots of helpful people out there who will give you advice. So in the next few weeks I want to contribute something as well and share some of the things that I've learned about blogging (or the links to some pages that explain everything much better than I ever could).

I want to start with

CUSTOMIZING YOUR BLOGGER PAGE

Please note: This is not a tutorial for setting up a blog. You can find a very detailled tutorial for this on: How to set up a blog for beginners.

There are lots and lots of great templates for blogs out there. http://www.blogskins.com/ is a cool page for downloading templates. If you just want some inspiration go to: 100 nice and beautiful blog designs.

If you get really inspired you can take the whole thing one step further and simply do your own blog design.

All those scrapbooking supplies you have on your harddisc are perfect for customizing your blog. If you look at the "Beyond Words" template (found on blogskins) you might notice that it uses supplies from a the Express yourself freebie kit by Ronna Penner.

The tutorial that helps me customizing my blog was by Nicole Young from DSP. I can't find it on her blog anymore but here are the instructions (parts of it is the original text by Nicole):

MAKING A BACKGROUND AND A HEADER

For making a background create a 1450 pixel by 1100 pixel background image and save it for the web at 72 ppi (ideally in Photoshop).

Please note: Depending on the resolution that your screen is set on and the size of your screen more or less of this BG will be visible. Keep in mind that although YOUR screen might only show a bit of the background, other people might see much more than you.

Make sure the middle part of your background is in a light color and not heavily patterned. This is were the text will be and you want to make sure, it will pop off the page.

Make a separate header for the page: A good size is 700 pixels by 142 pixels (save for web at 72 ppi) again.

MAKE IT LOOK PRETTY

If you're using scrapbooking backgrounds or elements to make a background and header, keep in mind that the industry standard for scrapbooking elements and bgs is 300 dpi. So if you want to use them for your blog the easiest thing to do is: Save the element you want to use under a different name (save as) and then change the resolution (in Photoshop under Image - Image size) to 72 pixels/inch, which will also make the file size much smaller.

I made a Christmas background for this blog the other day using Meagan's kit "Retro Holidays". This is what the background looked like (without header).

Basically it's like making any scrapbooking page. You use a background, add some elements - and make sure you leave space in the middle for yor blog text and on top for the header.

UPLOAD BG AND HEADER

When you're done decorating background and header, upload the images to a photosharing platform on the web (eg. photobucket or Picasa webalbum). When you upload the files make sure you upload them in full size.

With Picasa chose the "original size" option, in Photobucket make sure you go to "Customize your upload options" - in small print below the update button - and chose "Best possible quality while staying 1 mb or less".

THEN SIGN ON TO YOUR BLOGGER ACCOUNT

I assume you did set up an account and chose some standard template.

Changing the background

Go to Layout. In the Layout Tab, go to Edit HTML. You are going to edit the html code now, but don't worry, it's far easier than it sounds.

Scroll down on the template until you see an area called body.

Right now one line of the body part says: Background-$bgcolor; (or someting along that line).

Change this to:
Background-image: url(your Picasa webalbum/photobucket jpeg link here!) ;background-position: center; background-attachment: fixed; background-repeat: no repeat;

This is where you are going to enter in your background jpeg from wherever you uploaded to. Simply paste your image link (should end in .jpeg) inbetween the parenthesis.

Where do you get the image from?

In you Picasa Webalbum/Photobucket open the background picture you uploaded in full size/100 %, then right click on it and copy the address/URL shown in the window that pops up, make sure to copy the whole address.

Inserting the header

Next scroll down until you find the portion of the HTML that says header-wrapper. There is a line of code that says border. Delete the entire line of code. The line of code starts with the word border and ends with a semi-colon.

Scroll down a little further and you will come to header. Again delete the entire line that says border.

These two steps delete the 2 small gray lines that are at the top of your blog that surround your header area.

The last part of the HTML that youn need to edit is the width of the outer-wrapper and header-wrapper. You need to change both of these widths to 700px. Once you have changed those two lines. Your blog template is done. Save the changes and view your blog.

How to you get your header to show?

Go to Layout> Page Elements and edit the Header.

Upload your header from your computer. And choose: Instead of Title And Description.

THAT'S IT!

For more instructions and lots of more link to resources have a look at: Tips & tricks for blog templates & blog design.

Love Word Art Set 3

2011-01-29T10:46:00.001+01:00

To match perfectly with the Love Story Collab kit Meagan has made 10 word art files.
Available at both shops: Scrapable and Stuff to Scrap.

And if you fell like you could use some more Love Word Art, also have a look at Love Word Art Pack and Love Word Art Pack 2 that includes a beautiful heart shaped photo mask.

3 x 3 Valentine's card freebies

2011-01-29T09:36:00.006+01:00

The creative team members of Meagan's Creations and Designs by Snowlady have teamed up and made some gorgeous Valentine's Day Cards for you! Follow this train:

Laura
Isabella (you are here)
Thao
Marlyn
EmJ

JJ
Kristen
Michele
Nancy
Daphne
Tas
Designs by Snowlady
Meagan's Creations

Download my contribution at: Valentine's Card

Quick page freebie for Love Story Collab Kit

2011-01-28T21:13:00.001+01:00

Valentine's day is approaching fast and this is a perfect time for making some layouts about the present, past and future of your relationships. The "Love story collab" kit by Megan's Creations together with Designs by Snowlady gives you loads of elements and papers to work with. It's available at both shops: at Stuff to Scrap and at Scrapable.

And for all the busy girls out there: I've used the kit to make a pretty quickpage freebie for you (PNG file).
Hope you like it!

Here's the link for downloading it: Remember Quickpage.

2011 Month Stamps

2011-01-22T17:34:00.001+01:00

I've been taking part in project 365 since April 2009 now and although I'm far behind at the moment, I still really enjoy it. Depending on how much is going on in my life I create a page about a day or maybe only a page about two weeks that went by.

As it's always great to have scapbooking supplies for project 365, I really like Meagan's latest creation: She's got date stamps for each month of 2011 available at Scrapable. And what I REALLY like about them (except that they look cool) is that they come in English and GERMAN. So for all of you, here's the link to the shop: 2011 Month Stamps

Those were the days

2011-01-14T16:15:00.000+01:00

The latest kit by Meagan's Creations "Those were the days" is now available in both stores, at Stuff to Scrap and at Scrapable. It's bright, fun and universally useable!

Here's a preview and below a LO I made using the kit.

A whole new world

2010-12-18T16:47:00.000+01:00

Let me quickly share something with you. Because I had NO idea. And because I don't think my husband would be interested. :-)

Since I'm sometimes designing digital scrapbooking kits I often want to find out how certain elements are made. Lately I noticed that a lot of kits contain paper flowers, so I went to check our-favorite-search-engine to see how they are made (in real life).

Little did I know where that search would take me. Don't get me wrong. I'm not even considering going hybrid. But hey, there are three little paper flowers sitting on my desk now that I just made. Maybe if I get a bit better at it I'll try to digitalize some.

There are hundreds (most probably thousands) of blogs, websites and You-Tube videos out there that show you how to make these things.

So if you're looking for something new to try out during your Christmas holidays, have a look at this amazing page (this goes so far beyond what I would be able to do):

Crafts, Kids and Quilling

Christmas WordArt

2010-12-06T18:50:00.004+01:00

Meagan's Creations at Stuff to Scrap has two wordart sets that are perfect for all those Christmas layouts you'll be doing soon. (And for all those photos of last year's Christmas that you still haven't scrapped...)

And here is a LO that I did with Christmas WordArt:

Kit: Merry and bright bundle by Vendula Sediva aka Natali

And another one I did with Meagan's second set: Christmas WordArt Set 2 (see previous post for preview). The kit I used is also by Meagan's Creations: Retro Holidays Mini Kit

And if you love both sets, there's the Christmas WordArt Bundle.

So excited!! I joined Meagan's creative team!

2010-12-04T12:32:00.003+01:00

I just got great news this morning: Meagan from Meagan's Creations at Stuff to Scrap lets me join her creative team! Her scrapbooking kits are adorable and she's got great WordArt and templates, so I can't wait to get started!

For now here's a link to her shop at Stuff to Scrap:

Meagan's Creations at Stuff to Scrap

You'll read (and see) lots more about Meagan's Creations here shortly!!

I have to get some Christmas shopping done (and some grocery shopping as well to survive the weekend), then I'll hurry back to my computer!

P.S.: It's nice to blog again!!!

Long time no blog!

2010-04-03T18:48:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to let anyone visiting here know that I'm taking a little break from designing, blogging and posting freebies.

Eugene and I are moving into a really nice rental flat close to his work and since the place is brand new, we need to furnish it. So currently I'm spending all my time on drawing plans, walking around furniture stores (IRL and online) and packing boxes. We just bought our kitchen last week and I can't wait to actually use it (I might still only be making toast, but in a really cool oven).

It's very exciting, but leaves little time for anything else. I still love designing and scrapbooking, so as soon as everything is a bit quieter, I'll be posting freebies again!

I'll see you soon!

I got a beautiful blogger award!!

2010-02-19T17:32:00.002+01:00

Jackie has sent me a blog award!! Thank you so much, Jackie. You really made my day!

Rules for this Award:

Thank the person who kindly passes this to you, and link your award back to them!
List 7 things about yourself.
Pass it on to 15 Beautiful Bloggers!

7 Things about myself (got this from "Fill in the blanks Friday" at Lauren's blog "the little things we do"):

1. If I could medal in an olympic event it would be fencing. It looks like such a graceful sport and I've always loved those old cloak-and-sword movies.

2. If I was stranded on a deserted island I'd take a Swiss knife and a tent. (Maybe I'd rather take a charged mobile phone to call for help. Or if I knew someone would save me within a day I would take sunlotion and a 5 litre bottle of Grenadilla juice.)

3. ... are my most irrational fear. No idea. I think reality can be much scarier than most things I could think of. Still, since reading "It" I don't like clowns that much anymore ...

4. I'd rather do the dishes by hand everyday, than have to eat Mc Donald's everyday.

5. I am on holiday at the moment. I finished my last tasks at work 3 hours ago and will only return to the office in three week's time. Life can be great!

6. I should really be getting the suitcases that are downstairs in the cellar. And make some veggie rice to use up whatever could go rotten in the fridge while we fly to visit Eugene's parents on Monday.

7. One of my favorite things in all the world is walking on an empty beach when the tide is low looking at all the little things that you find in tidal pools.

Valentine's day freebie

2010-02-13T12:55:00.002+01:00

Here's a kit (200 dpi) I made a while ago for the SNL group at Digital Scrapbook Place (designers in training sharing kits with eachother). As it's VERY Valentine's-day-ish I thought today would be a good time to share it with all of you! ENJOY and have a great weekend!

Click on the link to download: Gimme sweet loving

Layout with Hey Mr Groundhog freebie

2010-02-03T22:35:00.003+01:00

I'm still busy (and enthausiastic) about Cathy Zielske's workshop. So here is a layout done with my Hey Mr Groundhog freebie kit (for blogtrain and download links see below). Template was provided by Cathy Zielske for "Design your Life" at BPS.

Stuff to Scrap Blogtrain is running again!!

2010-02-01T00:01:00.011+01:00

After a short break in January, the Stuff to Scrap blog train is back! Which means that a whole bunch of talented designers makes scrapbooking kits using the same color palette and all you need to do is collect all the parts to get one HUGE MEGA KIT. For free!

So here is my contribution (click on the picture or on the link below the picture for download). And then scroll down a little further to get to the blog roll (all links for the blogs of the other designer).

Please keep in mind that because the designers live in different timezones it might take a day until all links are working!

Download Hey Mr Groundhog

I hope you like what I've made! I would love to see your pages! If you email me a layout made with one of my kits I will post it here (for my email to to the sidebar, right on top of this page)!

Links to other sites were removed.

Real life catching up

2010-01-25T22:44:00.001+01:00

I've just posted in the Stuff to Scrap forum that I quit the Designer Darling Competition. I would have still loved to continue, but I simply don't have enough time for designing at the moment. I'm still so glad I made it through to round 3, but I didn't get a lot of sleep the last two weeks (call me night-designer, lol) and I won't be able to go on like this for another month.

Maybe the next contest will also include the weekend for doing the weekly challenges. Then I'll definitly be there!

For now I'm looking forward to concentrating on scrapping a bit more. I did project 365 last year, I did weekly layouts from April all the way to New Year's. So there's quite a few January photos waiting for me. And I want to concentrate on the "Design Your Life" Workshop by Cathy Zielske (I am still busy with that as well). Did I mention how funny she is? And the workshop is really worth the money, I am already starting to look at my layouts differently. Here are two pretty cool pages that I made with the templates that Cathy is providing for the course:

So for now: GOOD NIGHT (I am SO looking forward to sleeping!!)

Designer Darling Contest Round Three

2010-01-24T23:45:00.001+01:00

To all of those who voted for me in the last two rounds of the "Designer Darling Contest" at Stuff to Scrap: THANK YOU so much for your support.

To those of you who didn't: You will get another chance.

BECAUSE: I DID go through to the next round! I'm so excited! (Mentally I'm dancing a little jig now, remember Bruce Willis in Last Boy Scout?)

And to those who are just stopping by: Make sure you come back here on Thursday, because then my next kit for the contest will be finished (HOPEFULLY) and I'll post instructions for downloading it (for free, as always).

And did I mention that the download link for my beautiful "Hey Mr. Groundhog" kit for the STS February blogtrain starting on *well you guessed it* 1st of February is just waiting to be posted?

Naughty little monster quick page

2010-01-22T17:43:00.000+01:00

I'm having some fun with my "Naughty little monsters" freebie kit and wanted to share it with you. So here is a little quickpage for you! If you want to download the freebie kit, read the post below!.

CLICK PICTURE TO DOWNLOAD

or go to: Naughty Little Monster Quickpage Freebie

Round two and a monstrous freebie!

2010-01-21T23:06:00.001+01:00

As you might have noticed I've decorated my blog background with some new critters. These cute little monsters are part of my latest kit that I just finished for the second round of the "Designer Darling contest" at "Stuff to Scrap".

The kit is available as a freebie download, all you have to do is visit the Stuff to Scrap site and register there (if you haven't done that already). This is the forum thread where you can grab all contestants bright and fun freebies:

Challenge Preview Thread

If you like my kit, please vote for me in the Stuff to Scrap poll (will be posted tomorrow, voting stops on Saturday night)! This weekend the first contestant's will be eliminated from the contest, and I would LOVE to continue!!

And here is a quick glimpse at my kit: "Naughty little monsters". Aren't they adorable?

New kit, new challenge, new freebies!!!

2010-01-15T00:04:00.001+01:00

"Stuff to Scrap" is giving young designers a chance to compete and learn by hosting the DESIGNER DARLING COMPETITION. 32 very talented woman have signed up for round one, including me (yeah I know this doesn't sound very humble ...)! I can tell you there is a lot of great work to look at already!

What makes this contest a real treat for everyone is that all scrapbooking kits that the contestants make can be downloaded for free on Stuff to Scrap. All you need to do is click on the following link (and register for the forum if you haven't done this yet):

Designer Darling Competition

And here is the preview of my kit for round one (downloadlink available in forum as well):

Design your life workshop

2009-12-25T14:59:00.000+01:00

Finally, after some really busy days at work before Christmas, I can enjoy some lazy days off. And to make sure I don't get borded, I've signed up for Cathy Zielske's workshop "Design Your Life" at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The WS is starting on December 31st, so if anyone still wants to sign up, check out the page: Design Your Life workshop

I got a book by Cathy Zielske for Christmas last year: "clean & simple scrapbooking" and I love her - well - clean and simple style. It will be great to actually be able to learn from Cathy and to even ask her questions and chat to her!

Look what I found!

2009-12-10T22:52:00.004+01:00

AirForceWife2007 made a Christmas card using my kit ("Gingerbread Christmas" and "Gingerbread Christmas Add On Pack") and published it at "ScrapAttackScrapbooking"!! I LOVE it!

Christmas Card

Both kits are still available as freebies - just scroll down and click on "freebies" in the labels section of the right hand bar.

Same template, different file type

2009-12-10T21:55:00.000+01:00

Here is the template from my last post once more. This time I saved every single layer as a PNG file (except layer one, which is a 300 dpi, 12x12 inch jpeg).

PNG Files Template.zip

If you need help how to use this, there are tutorials (for different kinds of software) on the DSP homepage for how to use this type of templates (quick clicks):

Digital Scrapbook University

Just go to "using DSP products" and than to "Quick Clicks, using" and pick which software you're using.

A layered template and a plopper

2009-12-09T22:37:00.001+01:00

I used my kit from the blogtrain to make this layout:

And because I liked it so much, I decided to turn it into a template so I can redo it more easily. And being busy with that, I thought a plopper might be a good idea as well. And because Christmas is coming, I'll give both to you (okay, I would have given them away anyway, Christmas is just an excuse for producing MORE freebies ...).

Download both in one file: ILR_Homespun Christmas Template and Plopper

I would so love to see some layouts done with these freebies (or with the corresponding kit)!

Little in between freebie

2009-12-06T19:56:00.002+01:00

My grandmum used to have a tin box full of buttons that I liked to play with when we visited her. I've always loved the variety of shapes, material and colors and spent hours sorting them (it was a big tin box). My mum also has a tin box full of buttons. When she throws out old clothes that are too worn for charity, she cuts off the buttons and keeps them.

Did I mention I also have my own button tin box (although it's quite a little one in comparison)? It seems to be a kind of a family tradition.

Well anyway. Today I borrowed my mum's box and made a little freebie for you (300 dpi). Hope you enjoy it.

ILR_My Mums Red Buttons.zip

Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking Freebies!!

2009-12-01T21:00:00.002+01:00

I was so excited about posting my latest Christmas kit that I totally forgot to mention that I'm doing double duty!
The kit you're seeing below was actually made for the "Stuff to Scrap" blog train (the blog roll for the blog train is listed below.)

But because my kit has a Christmas theme, it's also part of "Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking Freebies".

To get all the other freebies that were given away by the designers taking part in "Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking Freebies", please klick this link: Worldwide Christmas Scrapbooking freebies

Lots and LOTS of Christmas goodies!

2009-12-01T00:01:00.003+01:00

The Stuff to Scrap "Homespun Christmas" blogtrain is on! After downloading all the contributions you will have one HUGE beautiful mega-Christmas kit to scrap all those photos of kids frantically tearing up gift wrapping while the grownups enjoy the eggnogg. ;-)
I love the color scheme and I love being part of this blogtrain. Hope you enjoy the ride!!

Here is my download link:

ILR_Homespun Christmas

Links to other sites were removed.

A little bit of action

2009-11-25T19:58:00.009+01:00

I often look at other designer's scrapbooking kits and wonder how certain elements were done. A lot of kits contain puffy felt elements and they are just SO cute. To tell the truth, I was too lazy to figure out by myself how to get that look, so I googled "puffy felt action". (In case you don't know what an action is and why it's great, just skip the rest of my babbling and click the link at the end!)

I found one, I bought it, I installed it, I started it ... and got an error message. And then another one ... and so on. What a disappointment!

After a bit of research I realized that the action doesn't work with my version of Photoshop because my PS is in German. SO WHAT NOW? Disregarding the fact that it would have most probably taken me less time to figure out some puffy felt style myself, I just didn't want to let it be.

A while back I had briefly tried recording my own actions for altering some photos but I never really looked into all the possibilities. So I did some more searching and FINALLY - I stumbled over a page, that explains it ALL. What an action is, how you install one, how you record it, how you play it step by step and *tataaaaa* how you alter it.

And because this tutorial (available for free) made it possible for me to alter the action I bought so that I CAN use it with a German version of PS, I need to share this with you. (And then I'll go back to Photoshop and make some puffy Christmas trees and baubles and whatever else I can think of...)

So here's the link: Photoshopessentials

And here's a single little freebie for you (made with the action I bought and using a freebie template by Twinky (twinkydezines).

Puffy Owl

Layouts with upcoming freebie kit

2009-11-15T22:42:00.006+01:00

I took advantage of the miserable November weather and spent the weekend finishing my contribution for the "Stuff to Scrap" December blog train. I can't wait to publish the link for the freebie download. For now I made four quick layouts with the kit so you can get an idea.

Blogtrain Add On Pack

2009-11-08T14:00:00.003+01:00

Here's a little add on pack for the ADSD blogtrain "Gingerbread Christmas". ENJOY!

ILR_Gingerbread Christmas AOP.zip

Gingerbread Christmas Blogtrain!!

2009-11-01T00:01:00.008+01:00

The theme of the November/December ADSD blogtrain is "Gingerbread Christmas".
Here's the preview of my contribution. Have fun downloading it (link below).

My download link:

Gingerbread Christmas

(Blogtrain links were deleted.)

Christmas cookies

2009-10-26T11:47:00.003+01:00

As I didn''t manage to include a single gingerbread element in my kit for the "Gingerbread Christmas" collab-kit, I thought I should at least give away some cookies.

Cookies for you

All about autumn page kit

2009-10-11T13:54:00.006+02:00

A while back I realized that I adore layouts with element clusters. And quite often these clusters contain scanned (or photographed) items like flowers, bows etc.

So my latest kit is quite different from what I've been making so far.

I hope you enjoy this quite big freebie kit. Please leave some love here on my blog if you download it. (And don't forget to tell your friends! :-))

If you're doing a layout with this kit, I'd love to see it, so give me a shout!

All about autumn kit

Comic Style Layout and tutorial link

2009-07-24T16:55:00.004+02:00

For a weekly challenge at Scrapbookgraphics I was finally able to finish a comic style layout that I had been playing around with for a while. And I really like the way it turned out:

The really good tutorial that helped doing this page can be found at:

http://www.photoshoproadmap.com/Photoshop-blog/2007/09/13/give-your-photos-a-retro-comic-book-effect/

Yes I am kinda busy

2009-07-24T16:43:00.004+02:00

I just wanted to leave a line or two here that I'm still alive and kickin' although I couldn't provide any nice freebies lately (I will again, SOON). In my OTHER life (yes, the real one) my husband and me have started looking for our first flat (or house if anything affordable comes up). As we live in a very touristy area the economy crisis didn't have any impact on the real estate market so far. Everything is awfully expensive and there's not that much around to buy anyway. So I spend most of my time going through newspapers and searching real estate homepages ... (Most of you have been there I guess ...)

I really enjoyed scrapping lately (as opposed to "designing") and I found a great page with adorable kits and weekly challenges:

http://www.scrapbookgraphics.com/

For a challenge there I also tried my first "altered art" layout. Which is quite different from the type of layouts I normally do. See for yourself:

I promise to be back with some freebies soon!

Title Page Dilemma article

2009-06-14T15:04:00.002+02:00

This is SO cool, I just got notified that one of my layouts about our trip to Salzburg was shown in an article on the DSP blog! Click on the link to have a look!

http://blog.dsp.me/2009/06/title-page-dilemma.html

Get framed!

2009-06-14T13:07:00.007+02:00

Okay, it's a bit of a lame title. But I've got something for you and I'm so excited about it that I can't wait until tonight to give it away!

Here is one of those element sets that you'll be using over and over again: Basic bent frames!

And because I like them so much myself, I made SEVEN basic frames. And for your convenience I've added them with shadows, without shadows and in a beige paper version. Isn't that great?

(Preview only shows the white frames with shadows.)

So download them and leave some love if you like them!

http://www.4shared.com/file/111739216/7d12fa81/ILR_Bent_Frames.html

Did I mention that there is more? I also made a layout with these frames that you can download as a layered Photoshop template AND as a quick click (for those with other programms):

http://www.4shared.com/file/111739825/c2a17d2e/ILR_Bent_Frames_Layered_Template_and_QC.html

And here's a quick layout that I did with the template (just to give you an idea). The background paper is from a past SNL kit, the brushes on the paper are from 500ml brushes.

It's been a while but here we go!

2009-06-14T11:12:00.003+02:00

May was a very busy month for me, in a very good way. My parents in law came all the way from South Africa to visit us for a bit more than two weeks. Which resulted in extreme-sightseeing here in Austria with a short trip to Italy and two daytrips to Germany. So not much time left for hanging around in front of the computer. I did start making a whole album of their visit, but it's not finished yet.

After they returned home safely I went to Vienna for a week for work (we took part in an exhibition there). It was strenuous but I also had some time to meet up with friends and stroll around the city.

Today I'll have to get out of the house as it's the most beautiful summer day you can imagine, BUT before I do that I still wanted to publish the link to my "Extraordinary Page Kit" (that you can see in the post below).

I gave it away as a freebie at the SNL birthday chat already, but it wasn't downloaded that often. I'm currently working on some more elements that go with the kit (I just love the bright and fun colors).

AND tonight I'll post another freebie, which is just about finished (I always become VERY creative when I ought to do housework :-)).

So have fun with my "Extraordinary Page Kit"!

http://www.4shared.com/file/101117751/13daf1d/Extra_Ordinary_Page_Kit.html

Posting Bonus for Sunday Scrappers Chat

2009-04-23T17:59:00.004+02:00

Sunday Scrappers Chat at DSP is running another challenge (deadline: May 10th) and this is my latest fresh and fun kit that you will get as a posting bonus if you do a layout! Voilá my "Extra Ordinary Page Kit":

For more information have a look at the chat's forum:

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?p=659456#post659456

The chat is on every Sunday at 3pm DSP time which is 8pm UK time! Lots of very nice people, so just pop in if you have a few minutes! It's one of the few chats that is scheduled conveniently for us European working class scrappers. :-)

All those yesterdays - Freebie kit

2009-04-12T12:29:00.006+02:00

I always think it's a shame to design a kit and to stash it away in a drawer shortly afterwards. Therefore I've decided to give away a kit I made a while back for SNL at Digital Scrapbook Place. For those who've never heard of SNL: It's a group of people who started designing their own scrapbooking kits, sharing them with eachother every month, trying to improve their skills.

So here's my "All those yesterdays" kit:

And here's the link for downloading it:

http://www.4shared.com/file/98079651/bc8ffcc2/ILR_All_those_yesterdays.html

Here's a layout that I did with the kit and that I've always really liked:

Springtime and project 365

2009-04-10T16:56:00.004+02:00

It's hard to believe that within two weeks it turned from brrr...still snow to 25 degrees in the afternoon: I love spring, always have. When you live in a country where winter might last from November until March you start craving for some sunshine and warmth and for wearing short sleeve T-Shirts. Well, I do. It's on purpose that I didn't mention the smell of cow dung wafting through my window, there has to be SOME downside ...

What's new except that I enjoyed the sun instead of making some freebies? I've got a new mobile phone. And I need to brag about it, because it's not just simply a phone but it's the latest (in Austria anyway) Cyber-shot phone. Which will allow me from now on to take photos anytime anyplace (too much trouble to carry my camera around all the time).

And therefore I've decided I'll try to take part in "Project 365" at DSP:

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37829

I think other sites call it PAD - photo a day.

I felt like the first three month of this year passed so quickly. Often enough when someone asks me what I did last weekend I have to think hard before I remember. So I'll try to take one picture at least every single day from now on and then make weekly (or monthly) layouts and post them in the DSP gallery for the project.

So one day I can look at all the small, everyday things - and remember.

Baby got the blues papers

2009-03-21T14:28:00.005+01:00

I've been really busy at work lately which basically means that I dropped into bed every night before 9:30 and didn't even think of switching the computer on at home as well to do some scrapbooking.

I still have a little goodie for you anyway, just a few blue papers. If you like them, leave a comment!

And here's the link: http://www.4shared.com/file/94130668/6a0a473e/ILR_Baby_got_the_blues_papers.html

No luck this time

2009-03-08T09:51:00.003+01:00

With such a huge number of great layouts, I didn't make it to round two in the DET contest this time. So I can only take part in the next contest in 6 months' time again. The good news are: I'll have more time for designing. Still wanted to show my layout here:

ADSD 2009 March Blog Train

2009-03-01T00:01:00.002+01:00

And here we go: The ADSD 2009 March Blog Train is running!!

Here's the preview for my kit:

Click on the following link to download it: Spring Thing Page Kit.zip

Follow the Train to More Fabulous Freebies... the ADSD 2009 March Blog Train!

(Links have been removed.)

Blog Train starting on March 1st

2009-02-25T20:46:00.007+01:00

The blog train by ADSD (Aspiring Digital Scrapbooking Designers) will be running from March 1st and I decided to be part of it! Well honestly, I hope this will work out as I'm going away for a long weekend with my sweetheart. Can't tell you where to, as I haven't told HIM yet (it's his birthday on Sunday), but I'll let you know when we're back.

The blog train topic is "Hurry up and get here spring".

As I said: You can't download my contribution YET but here are two quick layouts that I did with my kit:

Be sure to check back here on Sunday!

Freebie: Date me - Timewheels

2009-02-06T16:05:00.004+01:00

A while back I took part in a design competition at Digital Scrapbook Place. I didn't get very far but I learned a lot. I made two page kits for the contest which I still want to redo. One of them contained a timewheel (ok I really don't know the proper term for it, but hey, it's my kit so I can name it however I want to :-)). As I might not redo the kits THAT soon I'm at least giving away a small variety of my timewheels as a freebie.

The file includes the actual discs (two with years and month on it, two with weekdays and days of the month) and the arrows for marking the dates/years.

Please note: While the discs already have a drop shadow, the arrows don't (so you can place them anywhere and add your own shadow.)

And here's the download link: http://www.4shared.com/file/84751857/f6095520/ILR_Date_me_Time_Wheels.html

Please leave a comment if you like it!

Freebie: Jolly Holidays Page Kit

2009-01-25T17:58:00.006+01:00

Here's the preview of the kit that I've been working on lately. I want to try to make two kits every month this year - one for SNL and another one extra.

Download it from: http://www.4shared.com/file/82455480/beff9769/Jolly_Holidays_Page_Kit.html

Would be great if you could leave a short message if you like the kit!

And here are a few layouts that I've already done with the kit:

I can't believe I did it!

2009-01-25T17:33:00.013+01:00

Wow, one of those "I can't believe this is working" moments. I've got my own blog now!

It's far from finished, ladies (and gentlemen), but it's a start. And as soon as I find out now how to add links and slideshows aso. I'll give away the Scrapbooking Page Kit that I just finished and that I used to do this page's (still very basic) design.

Welcome!

2009-01-25T15:36:00.001+01:00

This is my first attempt for having my own scrapbooking blog. So please be patient with me, it might take a while until everything looks the way I want it to look!!