Knit & Stitch Embroidery Alpha Freebie

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on August 6, 2008

I am horrible at keeping quiet when I’ve got a surprise and/or a present to give, and after my hint (ok so I just flat out told you) in yesterday’s post when I gave away my big Knit & Stitch freebie, you are most likely not surprised to see this lovely Knit & Stitch embroidery alpha today that coordinates with the kit. And if you are surprised, well yay because that was the original intention:) The coordinating alpha comes with both upper and lowercase and a few punctuation marks. Hopefully it will add that finishing touch to your titles or other text by giving them a fantastic stitched look.

Speaking of the Knit & Stitch kit freebie, I received a comment request on yesterday’s post by jetfuelonly asking about the possibility of a crochet addon. What a fantastic idea! I will try to get a little crochet addon pack to enhance your Knit & Stitch freebie by the end of the week! And what timing, too — I am just learning crochet myself and finally getting the hang of it! :) Anyway, the crochet addon I’m planning so far will just consist of crochet hooks (and a little felted butterfly thing or two, by request!) because I’m drawing a blank– is there anything else crochet-specific that I’m missing that I could package with the hooks addon? If I get inventive maybe I’ll try to crochet a square (it would be veeeeeery simple and most likely not the most even stitches since I’m still working out the proper method for getting consistent tension, lol) and photograph the texture to make an overlay for a background that looks more like crochet, since the backgrounds packaged with the original Knit & Stitch kit are stockinette/knitting based. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I could probably have it ready by Saturday :)

For now, download the Knit & Stitch Embroidery Alpha HERE!

I hope you enjoy the alpha and stay tuned for a new freebie tomorrow! Be sure to check back, crocheters, I’ll be sending you some freebie love in an addon pack for the Knit & Stitch kit later in the week :) Thanks for the suggestion, jetfuelonly!


BIG Knit & Stitch Freebie, Yay!

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on August 5, 2008

I am SO excited to present my newest digital scrapbooking freebie kit: “Knit & Stitch!”

With 11 papers and 51 elements, Knit & Stitch is the largest freebie kit I’ve made to date! The preview doesn’t do this set justice because I couldn’t fit everything onto it. I decided to go with a colour scheme I’ve been wanting to play with for awhile — my traditional (favourite) brown and pink combo with a sea green or teal mixed in. And then a little touch of cream to complement the bolder shades.

So what kinds of things are in the Knit & Stitch kit? Let’s start with the 11 papers — 6 soft knitted and 5 crisp linen style. There’s also a delicate sheer cream paper mat with a felt flower trim that looks great layered over the background papers. Speaking of felt flowers, you’ll also find similar felted flower ribbons, a plain fabric ribbon, and two rope cord elements. And that’s just the beginning of the embellishments! There’s 10 different kinds of fabric flowers, some with button centres and some with tall (and short) rope stems. I’ve included two frames with satin ribbon frame huggers, and two kinds of knitting needles: bamboo and metal. There’s two pressed metal labels and two sets of word art using knitting words. I always include a few buttons and brads, and so there’s a set of small butons with laced string in this one along with three square glass knitted brads. Since this is knit and stitch, you’ll find three sets of straight stitching in the set colours and three sets of blanket stitches, too. And there’s 8 different kinds of beaded knitting stitch markers that I had lots of fun creating. For tags, you’ll find three traditional tags with satin bows and then my favourite: three felted tags in circular, rectangular, and word bubble shape, outlined in stitching. These are so cute that I think I’ll make a mini addon pack later down the road just of tags and include a few more felted and stitched shapes. Whew! I think that includes it all! I really, really enjoyed making this set. If you’ve spent any time at my blog before you might’ve noticed that I do a lot of knitting and sewing, too. Combining my knitting and sewing love with my digital scrapbooking love just makes this the ultimate set for me! I may try to do some quick pages with the set to give away later on, just because I can’t wait to scrap a page about my latest knitting project. If you make anything with my Knit & Stitch set, I’d LOVE to see (and feature you on my blog!) so be sure to send me some mail with your creations or drop me a comment with a link to where you have your layout posted.

Due to the size of this kit, I had to break it into three pieces:
Download Knit & Stitch papers #1 HERE
Download Knit & Stitch papers #2 HERE
Download Knit & Stitch elements HERE

Don’t forget to leave me some blog comment love if you like the kit! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :) And you didn’t hear it from me (ok, yes you did) but there just may be a sweet embroidery alpha ready for you tomorrow to go with this kit! I’m not good at keeping surprises so I’ll just confirm that there IS a Knit & Stitch embroidery alpha sitting here waiting for you tomorrow, so be sure to stop by to grab it!

Psssst…. you know what would go great with this freebie set? My fabric brads mini pack freebie! Includes 20 round glass fabric patterned brads that will perfectly complement just about any scrapbooking project.

Sneak Peak: I’ve got freebies to give away every single day this week and enough ready to share that will take me into early next week, so be sure to check back tomorrow for more freebie goodies! Here are some hints of what’s to come: crayons, a new promotion I call “Freebie Friday”, something pink and FOOTBALL! (Go Chicago Bears!) … you don’t want to miss it! :)


Asparagus Elements are Ready!

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on August 4, 2008

To keep with my “Asparagus” theme (check my two previous blog posts for the paper pack #1 and paper pack #2 freebies released already!) I made some embellishments to go with the asparagus papers! These turned out pretty well I think — I really love working with Photoshop! Take a look at the “Asparagus” Element Pack and see what you think! And if you need the paper, you can download paper pack #1 here (linen based papers) and paper pack #2 here (random designs in the asparagus colours.) Whether you pair these embellishments with the paper sets or not, they’ll complement your scrapping well in any green, brown or beige theme you’ve got going! The element pack comes with 17 fantastic embellishments for you to enjoy. And as always, in high quality 300 dpi resolution.

I hope everyone has had a great long weekend! Grab the “Asparagus” Element Pack HERE and be sure to drop me a note with what you think :) Enjoy the rest of your day!


Asparagus Paper Pack #2

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on August 3, 2008

As promised, here’s the second pack of “Asparagus” colour themed paper. If you missed the first pack, check out my previous blog post and grab pack #1 here. Both paper sets are 3600 x 3600 pixels in 300 dpi! And to stick with the theme and release all of the pieces fairly close together, I’ll try to get the asparagus embellishments and mats ready for tomorrow’s post, too. I’ve got posts lined up with freebies to take us well into the middle of next week, I’m so excited! Hopefully you have been (or will) see an improvement on my creation quality — I feel like Photoshop has opened several more possibility doors and that I’m getting better all the time. Enjoy today’s little freebie, and I hope to see you drop by tomorrow to pick up the asparagus embellishments :)

Download “Asparagus” paper pack #2 HERE and have a great Sunday!


Mmm… Asparagus?

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on August 2, 2008

I don’t really have a special love for asparagus or anything, (though we do have an inside joke about it) but the name seemed fitting to describe the colours of the paper pack freebie I have for you tonight! You know how I mentioned yesterday that I had a bunch of freebie ideas rolling around in my head? Well this wasn’t one of them, but I got suckered into trying out blends in Photoshop (yes, I said Photoshop… I have been using Paint Shop Pro faithfully all this time and kept resisting the move into Photoshop, but… alas it has suckered me in.) and somehow these papers came to be. This is paper pack #1 of the “Asparagus” colour scheme (in high quality 3600 x 3600 pixels and 300 dpi) and tomorrow I’ll throw up paper pack #2 for you :) The first pack here is all a linen texture and in the second pack I tried messing around with blends and different overlays. Not too bad for my first items in Photoshop! I’ve made a couple elements that go with all of these papers but I’m not done with them yet. Look for them sometime next week!

I have a little knitting and stitching themed kit that’s nearly done, too — done mostly in Paint Shop Pro with one or two items that used the help of some of the capabilities of Photoshop. I think I’ll be using a little of both from now on, at least until I get used to everything in PS. There are some things I can do in PSP that I haven’t quite figured out in PS so there will be a lot of switching between programs until I feel comfortable. I’m pretty excited about some things I learned today and I even started on a mini kit (resulting from some PS experiments with my favourite shades of pink!) that I’ll eventually finish for those of you out there that love pink as much as I do. So many kits on the go and so many more ideas bouncing around in my head that I want to make! There just aren’t enough hours in the day.

To snag Asparagus linen paper pack #1, click HERE. Hope you like it :) Don’t forget to read the TOU, blah blah you know the routine. Personal, non-commercial use only and all that. Enjoy! And be sure to leave me a note if you liked the paper :)


My Recent Layouts and Pages

Posted in Scrapbooking , on August 1, 2008

I’ve spent so much time lately planning out my beachy layouts for our trip last weekend to Penticton that I just haven’t had time to sit down and put them together with the actual photos! I’ve also spent too much time making and not enough time using my creations or new freebies that I’ve downloaded from others, so I’ve got some fun layouts to share this post so that you can see what I’ve been doing besides taking photos and practicing my design skills.

This page (up, right) and layout I designed using a freebie kit I made not too long ago called “My First Tattoo.” In honour of my first tattoo, of course! My husband and I got small matching tattoos and with it being my first, of course I had to scrap about it. At the time I couldn’t find any kits out there that seemed to be “tattoo-ish” enough so I just made up my own. You can snag that freebie kit HERE in case you missed it.

And of course, the big family road trip last weekend to British Columbia had to be scrapped about! The highlight of the trip was that it was our first family road trip with our new puppy, Winston the mini schnauzer, who is 6 months old. Not only was it his first big road trip, it was also his first time at the beach and his first swim. Our 5 year old border collie, Oliver (Winston’s big brother) has been to Penticton several times and has swam in the lake on the beaches there before, but this was a first for Winston, so Oliver showed him the ropes and we took them to an off leash doggie designated section of Okanagan Lake to experience it all leash free. So in a way it was also Oliver’s first time getting to swim freely, too. I took more pictures that day than I did any of the other days combined! This first layout here (up, left) uses an overlay template for the photo with wording and elements that I created last week in honour of the upcoming trip in a mini kit that I named (surprise!) “A Day at the Beach.” You can snag that freebie mini kit HERE in case you missed it. The second (below, left) is a layout of my design using elements and papers from “On va à la plage” by Créé par Latham
These are just a few of the pages I’ve put together recently — and of course one page isn’t nearly enough to cover all of the excitement of our trip… so for the full album of our trip check out my digital scrapbook! (The trip and most recent family stuff is in the Family Life album). I sometimes just do a page or two at a time and upload it to the appropriate album there, so it’s always changing. Like just recently our little Winston got his first ever haircut… another one of those “of course I had to scrap about it” situations. (You know what I’m talking about!) The traditional schnauzer cut on him is so adorable and I feel like he’s all grown up now with his pronounced old man beard. Be sure to check it out in the Oliver and Winston album!

Wow, I’ve been a busy crafty blogger this week. I think I’ve blogged nearly every day so far! I imagine things will slow down a little now, but stay tuned… I have some ideas for some new creative freebies rolling around in my head that I just may get a chance to bring to digital life soon for you :) Take care and have a fabulous long weekend!

Retro Teal Freebie

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on July 30, 2008

A new freebie, yay! While it’s obvious that pink is my favourite colour, I’m pretty passionate about certain shades of teal or sea green. It just seems like a summery colour (and even goes well with pink & brown!) — I may have to come up with a set that uses all three of these colours, but for today I have a little mini kit for you that I’ve dubbed “Retro Teal.” It comes with 6 papers and 15 elements in several various shades of yummy sea green. Just the refreshing kick you need to supplement or complement your digital scrapbooking this week.

Download it HERE. Don’t forget to read the TOU, personal use only, blah blah blah, all that normal stuff. Enjoy! :)


A Day at the Beach Freebie

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on July 21, 2008

I am so excited — Lucas and I are packing up the boys (our dogs, Oliver & Winston) and taking a road trip to Penticton, British Columbia later this week to spend some time with friends and visit with Lucas’ family. We try to hit Penticton at least once or twice a year, and this weekend seems to be the last chance that we’ll have to make a summer trip with a new busy season starting at work soon for Lucas. Not to mention a new school year is quickly approaching and teachers go back August 28. So we’ll be spending Thursday – Monday soaking up the sun!

The last two times we’ve gone to Penticton were either in the fall or spring. It’s been 2 years since we were able to time our trip to enjoy the best part of being in Penticton: the beaches in the summer! When we went in the spring and fall of 2007 it was a bit too chilly for Lucas and I to do any real swimming, but Oliver sure enjoyed chasing the waves and experiencing the beach for the first time. He did some swimming, but we weren’t really prepared. We’ve been looking forward to going out when the weather was kind enough that the lake would be an enjoyable temperature for the whole family, and that’s our plan for this week. Even more exciting is that now it will be little Winston’s first trip to the beach. We’re hoping for some really memorable photo opportunities as he touches sand for the first time or comes in contact with his first wave. We’re sure Winston will be fearless once he sees his big brother swimming. Aren’t we a little sad? We’re getting all camera crazy and excited about our dog experiencing the beach for the first time. Can you imagine how we’ll be when we have actual kids?! Haha.

Anyway, in honour of our upcoming trip I’ve made a little mini kit freebie for you all called “A Day at the Beach” … because we’ll be spending several entire days at the beaches of Penticton this weekend! The kit includes a 3600 x 3600 pixel 300 dpi overlay “frame” for your photograph with “A Day at the Beach” written around it. Layer this onto a great beach photo and enjoy the effect of the letters cut out onto your picture! In the preview image above I used a photo of Oliver checking out the beach at Lake Skaha in Penticton in the spring of 2007, just to give you an idea of the effect you can get from the overlay when you use your own photos. Along with the giant overlay comes 4 elements: two sand-filled glass brads (square and circle), a sand button and a starfish object. I’ve included a little how to for using the overlay in case anyone has any questions. You can download the mini kit HERE, and be sure to leave me some blog comment love if you do :) Enjoy the freebie and enjoy your week! <3


New Freebie: Bubbles!

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on July 12, 2008

TWO freebies in one day?! Be sure to read the post just before this one to also grab the “My First Tattoo” minikit! :)

With teaching done for the summer, I’ve picked up an office job to keep me busy during my “off season” so I’ve not posted in a bit. But what do I do in my spare time at work? Plan out freebie kits I want to design when I get home! And that’s where “Bubbles” comes in.

My newest freebie is my biggest one yet, and even includes my very first alpha! Everything is made in 300 dpi and the background papers are 3600 x 3600 pixels. “Bubbles” includes 4 background papers, 1 glassy blue capital letter alpha, and 27 elements total! And what kind of elements are we talking about? Well, let’s see… brads, bubble frames, seahorse metal frames, doodle swirls, scalloped journaling paper, seahorse buttons galore, and several ribbons… too many things to list and picture in the preview image, that’s for sure! All in a cool summery blue palette (with a hint of lime!) that will make you wish you were lounging beach-side someplace exotic.

Give “Bubbles” a try and see what you think! If you download, please give me some blog comment love and feel free to leave me feedback so I can make even better freebies in the future. As always, everything is completely free* for personal use to thank those out there who so freely share their own designs, knowledge and kindness with the digital scrapbooking community… thank you for being my inspiration! Download here and enjoy!

* Don’t forget to read the TOU included with all freebies. Everything is free for personal, non-commercial use, but do not redistribute the files or claim them as your own! Don’t forget to give credit where credit is due if you make something with this kit and post it somewhere. Full TOU can be found zipped up inside the kit. If you have any questions about it, don’t hesitate to ask. :) Thanks!


Freebie: My First Tattoo

Posted in Freebies, Scrapbooking , on July 12, 2008

In honour of my real first tattoo, I made a mini digital scrapbooking kit! With this being a first in my life, I wanted to of course scrapbook the event, but I couldn’t seem to find much in terms of kits about tattoos that sparked my interest. When all else fails, make your own, right? So that’s what I did. I got my tattoo last weekend (it’s just smaller than a quarter and in a discreet location, for those that know me personally hehe, nothing major or something you’re going to notice!) and have been putting this together bit by bit as the week has gone on. I need to get my layout together using it, but I thought I’d put this out there in case someone else could find a use for it or even just some of the elements for their own scrapbooking endeavours :)

“My First Tattoo” is made in 300 dpi with the background papers measuring in at 3600 x 3600 pixels. The mini kit includes 6 background papers and 21 elements. Stay tuned — with all of these freebies I need to take some time to actually put together the layout ideas I have in mind for them and scrap my own stuff to share. If you make any cool layouts with any of my freebies please do share by sending me an email or commenting and linking me… I’d love to show them off here, too! The download can be found HERE (zip file), and a note when you nab it here on my blog would be great :) Thanks and enjoy!

P.S. … I’ve got another freebie to give away today, too! Stay tuned for “Bubbles” ….