Freebies on the Shop Blog

So if you haven't checked it out already, you should head over to my shop blog to pick up the blog train freebies I have there. There's also a free Canada Day mini kit & 4th of July mini kit for you all.  Make sure you check out the Stuff to Scrap blog train freebie before the 15th.  After that it will be gone.  The rest of the freebies will be available until the end of the month.  And don't forget that I have a little gift for all my newsletter subscribers every month as well.  You can sign up for my newsletter here:  Newsletter Sign Up Form

Here are previews of what you can pick up off the store blog (the pictures are linked to the actual post):

Have fun with them.  I'd love to see what you do with them, so shoot me a link if you post anything on line. You can contact me through the contact me form in the sidebar.

Talk to you later...

Cat

New Challenge Freebie

Hi everyone!  Some of you might remember me mentioning a site I've been hanging out at lately.  Its called Pixel Scrappers.  I found it a couple years ago, but never really looked around to see what was happening. Well, I happened upon the site again, and I decided to take a look around.  I'm glad I did.  Its a great community with lots of digi freebies (personal use & commercial use).  There are a lot of great tutorials and, what I've been involved in lately, are the challenges.  Specifically, the designer challenges.  I want to get back into designing again, and this has given me the little pick up I needed to get going.  I've been working on getting a store set up, so you all can check that out, but I'll let you know when its ready and open for business. :)  In the meantime, I played along with the latest designer challenge at Pixel Scrappers, which was to make an add-on element for the Spring Fields kit (I love the colours).  Here is my addition to the kit:

There are two files available (packed together).  The first one is a sequin and glitter spray, and the second one is sponged background spray.  The sponged spray is quite subtle and a little hard to see, so I suggest you click on the preview to make it bigger so you can see the detail. You can pick up this add-on here:  CSF Spring Fields Add-on Freebie

I hope you like it and if you do use it, I would love to see what you did with it, so let me know. :)

That's all for today...

Cat

A New Paper Pack Freebie

I'm taking part in a design challenge at Pixel Scrappers and this week's challenge is to create a repeating pattern that you can use to make digital papers.  I love making digital papers.  I find it the easiest part of designing.  I did these papers up last night for the challenge and I'm offering them up for you to download.  I'm also offering the templates I created so you can play around with your own colour combinations and textures to see what you can create. :)

You can download these papers from here:  Call Me Paper Pack.

Here are the templates:

I'm offering these as CU, so if you make something you like and you want to sell it, your free to do so (you just can't sell the template as is or just recolouring it and selling it).  You can download the Paper Makers from here:  Call Me Paper Maker Pack.

Well, that's it for this post.  I bet you're falling out of your chair to see that I've actually posted twice today eh?  I'm on a roll...

Oh yeah, if you download, please leave a comment.  I just like to know what you all think of my designs (your feedback will help me determine what kind of designs you all like) and I'd really, really love to see any projects you do using my designs - really...

Ok, talk to you later...

Cat

Another Layout with my new kit

I was playing around with my Heritage Lane kit last night and surfing the web for freebies (what else are you suppose to do at 2am?) and I found this pretty layout template by Zoe Pearn Designs.  I haven't used layerd templates until I used the one for the Persnicky Prints layout contest, and I tell ya, they are great.  I can put together a layout in about 15 minutes and I don't have to think about where to put everything.  My layout skills really leave something to be desired, so while I am using these tools as a quick and dirty way of getting out a layout, I consider them a learning tool as well.  They help me understand how to put together a great layout using their scale of elements, placement, and shadowing.  I know I'll be looking more into how to make these for myself in the near future. So here is the layout:

I think this better shows off the colours of the kit, plus I got to use that pretty doily.

So, that's all for today.  I'm amazed there's still sunlight and I've posted.  Usually, blogging is a late night activity for me.  I need to get my schedule straightened out.  I've been looking for work and I can't be up all night and expect to be engaged if I get called for an interview.  We'll get there...

Talk to you later...

Cat

I am so bad at blogging!! (Freebie to make up for it).

I really do have good intentions to keep this blog updated, but then I get side tracked or I'm just too lazy to post, and then a week goes by, 10 days, 2 weeks, with no post.  I'm working on something pretty big (a couple of things actually) and its been taking up huge amounts of my time.  Plus, I have to look for work on top of that, sooooo needless to say, this poor little blog gets neglected.

To make up for it, I have a huge digi scrapping kit for you all.  Its over 70 pieces (over 80 if you grab my exclusive Facebook fan freebie).  I wanted to participate in the February blog train with Pixel Scrappers, but didn't feel I had the time to do a mini kit justice when they were going live with it February 1st.  So, I worked on this kit using the same colour scheme and theme on my own a little bit here and there and I think I've come up with something that's pretty cute.  I hope you all like it.  I did up a layout using the kit, just to give a quick example.

I've broken the kit up into 4 parts.  Each part is linked to the preview image for that part.

*Sorry, these links have now expired*

As a special bonus, I have an exclusive fan freebie on my Facebook page.  Here's a preview of it (preview is linked):

Just click on the big red heart to get into the download area.

If you download the kit, I would really love to hear what you think of it.  I appreciate any and all feedback and constructive criticism you can offer on this project.  I would also love to see what you create with it.  Its always a thrill for a designer to see their goods in action.

Well, that's all for tonight.  I will try to get back here sooner this time. I've been meaning to post some pictures I have of some cards I made.  I just don't seem to get around to it.  I think I need someone to give me a good boot in the butt to get me going again. :)

Talk to you later...

Cat

Just a quickie...

I guess I've been MIA for a little while.  I've been working on something and just haven't been able to get here.  I have a little gift for you all today (or tonight as I'm writing this).  I've been brushing up on some of my designing skills lately and have a paper sample pack for you.  Just in time for Valentines day for those last minute layouts or cards.  They are 12x12 papers at 300dpi so they are perfect for printing.  Here's a preview:

I tried to include something that wasn't so girly for those guy cards you still have to make. :)  For all you Silhouette Studio Designer Edition users out there, you can also import these to your library to use as fill patterns for your print & cuts. Hopefully, you can use them.  If you do download them, please let me know what you think and also, I would love to see what you do with them. *sorry this link has now expired* Click here to download them.

Talk to later...

Cat

Digital & Paper Layouts...

UPDATE:  The contest officials opened up viewing and voting early!!  You can vote for my layout here:  Vote for Cat's Layout - Inspiration

Thanks!   I need those votes!

Hi everyone!  Well, I've recovered from the blow to my ego from the MFT contest. ha ha.  I found another contest on Persnickety Prints to make a layout using a free digital scrap kit from Scrap Orchard.  The kit is really beautiful and I've been wanting to do another layout for a long time.  They are going to have open voting for the winner of the contest, so please go and vote for me.  They are keeping the layouts a secret until voting starts on Monday, so I will post a link then.  But in the meantime, I wanted to show you the digital layout I made for the contest:

The theme of the contest was to create a layout about what inspired you in 2012.  Well, of course, it had to be my little Mitzy.  We just love our little dog and dote on her.  Rob and I were in our mid forties when we married, so it was too late for us to have children, which was ok.  But, without having kids to focus on, its easy to become somewhat self-centred and only pay attention to what affects your own life on a day-to-day basis.  She's made us look at life outside our own self and see there are people and creatures that need our care and attention.  She has taught us to be more compassionate and patient.  So, in essence, she has inspired us to be better people.

So, I loved this layout so much that I wanted to see if I could re-create it in paper.  So I printed out all the papers I used on the layout and fired up my CraftRobo.  Here is the paper version of the layout:

I was having problems with the print & cut (of course - stupid Silhouette software screwed that up), so I had to make my own embellishments for the layout.  I was, luckily, able to still cut shapes, so I found some files that I liked and cut and glued and glittered.  As luck would have it, I even had some bottle caps in my stash, so I printed out the bottle cap from the digital kit and glued it to the top of my bottle cap and then put Dimensional Magic on top to give it a glassy finish.

I think the layouts look very similar.  And as I look at it them right now, I just realized I forgot to put the little heart with the mini clothes peg on the paper layout.  Darn!  I even have the mini clothes pegs too.  Oh well.

Well, that's it for today.  Come back on Monday and I will have the link posted so you can see the other layouts for the contest, and of course vote for me. :)

Talk to you later...

Cat

In a slump...

I've been trying to think of something crafty to do, but just haven't had any inspiration come to me lately.  My back has been well enough for over a week for me to get back into my craft room and do something, but all that seems to happen is that I end up surfing the web for some ideas.  So I figured I'd take a look at all my digital supplies to see if that would spark any ideas.  Not really, but I did find a pretty scrapbook kit that I haven't used yet.  I decided to use it to do a page about my dad.  He'll be gone 10 years this coming September and I miss him a lot.  Its not a very fancy page, but its a start.  I have a bunch of pictures that I scanned from an old photo album my Mom has.  Mostly pictures of us kids when we were little.  But there were also some of my dad's retirement party.  That's where this picture was taken and it was 18 years ago that my father retired.

 The kit is called La Creme from 300dpi.com.  The font I used to do the journaling is Juice ITC.  The picture frame was created using stock frames in PSPX and then adding borders, and then finally bevelling the outside border.  The little curlicues on the frame are elements from the kit. I used a stock filter to change the photo to a sepia tone picture to match the kit.

So thats all I have for now.

See you later...

Cat

First Digi Scrapbook page in a long time...

So, I had posted last night, but something happened and my post was wiped out.  No biggy because I didn't have that much to say anyway.  Just was posting a digi layout I did last night.  I haven't done any digital scrapbooking for probably 2 years.  I wanted to test my hand at it.  I guess once you know how to do it, and have something in mind, then it doesn't take long to make a page at all.  This page probably took under an hour to do (and that included resizing and cropping the pictures for the frames).  The kit is a freebie from A Cherry on Top (ACOT).  I know its not Christmas - and the pictures were actually taken about a month before Christmas 2 years ago, but I really like the deep bright colours.  I printed it out on Staples brand matte finish brochure paper also just to see how it looks printed and it looks great.  I really like that paper for printing digi papers for my card making.  Anyway, here is the layout I did last night.  Its of my sweet baby girl, Mitzy.  She's a Chihuahua/Rat Terrier cross and she's so cute and lovable.  She's has the sweetest nature, she so affectionate, and so so well behaved.  Rob and I didn't know we were missing something in our lives until we got her.  We just love her.  Here she is:

I'm waiting for my husband to wake up - afternoon nap - so we can go for dinner.  We like this place in the south end of town call Home Food Inn.  Its a chinese food place, but they have this awesome buffet and on Saturdays they have crab & prime rib on the buffet.  For $19 a person, we get our money out of it.  Rob can eat about 3 or 4 plates.  I can usually go about 1 1/2 and then I'm stuffed.

Well, that's it for today.  I'm working on photographing my storage system for my stamps (my 1200+ stamps).  I unmounted all the wood ones about 6 weeks ago and stamped/scanned index images of every single stamp I own.  It was a huge job.  Its done now and as long as I keep up with it as I aquire/accumulate new stamps, it will be very easy and organized.  I may post a quick tutorial on how I unmount mine.  I don't know - there are like a thousand already out on the net.  So hopefully, the next time I post I have some cards done to post.  I'm doing a craft show next month so I have about 4 weeks to get everything made.  I have almost all my supplies, but I can get the majority of what I want to make done with what I already have.

Talk to you later...

Cat