Summer Treats by Sunny Day Scraps

A sweet deal full of delectable summer favorites, this kit in browns and pinks accented with soft blue and green is perfect for scrapping your delicious summer memories.

Available here:

Berry Sweet Scraps

Here are a couple of layouts from this kit for inspiration:

 

Do you download daily?

I've been seeing daily download stuff on different forums but knowing how I tend to forget things, I never tried this before until this month. Last August 1, I bookmarked the forums I wanted to download daily from. It wasn't that bad actually, because some forums keep their daily download links up for a few days. But it did mean I had to go against my "No Internet During Weekends" rule... which I've been cheating on anyway since I go online on my mobile all the time. 

Anyway, here are some stuff I was able to snag for free. Patience does pay off,  my friends!

1. Collect a Fairy Tale at Scrapping Fairytales: Fun Park (revisited) by Snuggle Berry Pie.

I actually missed 2 days of this kit, and they are only available for free for 24 hours :( I can get the elements I missed for $1 each but I don't think it's worth paying $1 for just one element (each download for this kit contains only one element or one paper). So I think I will live with this kit minus the 2 elements *sniff*. Still not a bad deal because the elements in this kit are cute! Can't wait to see what I can collect for September!

2. Daily Berry Bytes at Berry Sweet Scraps: August Evening by Baby Cakes Scrap

Love the autumn feel and delicate elements in this kit. And another great thing? Each download link is up for 3 days or so and contains around 3 elements/or papers. I've been able to download all parts of this kit.

3. Daily Download at Gingerscraps: Kit by Kathy Winters

This had me started on the daily download business because they have a challenge over at Gingerscraps where you need to scrap a layout using the previous month's Daily Download kit. I don't have a complete preview of the kit yet, or even the kit name, just the image of the teaser. But based on the elements I have, it looks like a Spring-themed kit. 

4. Daily Download for Aug 16 - 30 at Scrappity Doo Dah: Simplicity by Elaine Therese

The daily download at Scrappity Doo Dah for one designer runs every 15 days. I discovered the daily download for Aug 1-15 a little late so I only started collecting from the one that ran from August 16 - 30. The upload links are also up for about 3 days so it's easy to catch up when you miss a day.

Aside from the daily downloads, I was also able so snag a couple of freebies:

5. Fan Kit from Nibbles Skribbles: Sibling Love:

Nibbles Skribbles has been giving away parts of this kit on her Facebook page every week since August and I think I just downloaded the last part! :) You can also post a layout created with the kit on her Facebook page to get the word art pack. This is the layout I made:

Elements from "Sibling Love" kit by Nibbles Skribbles

Andrea is an only daughter (and when I think back on all the effort and difficulty it took to raise her from baby to toddler... I think she is most likely to stay one), no siblings, so picked this photo of her and one of her cousins instead. They're the same age and they would have been playmates if it weren't for the fact that he lives on the other end of the Philippines and they only see each other once a year.

6. Mani and Pedi kit by B2N2 Scraps

Becky, the designer behind B2N2 Scraps celebrated her birthday with a birthday bash last week over at her blog. She gave away parts of this gorgeous kit everyday last week. I missed the solid papers, but was able to get all the other parts. I used this kit in the layout I posted the other day:

Elements from Mani/Pedi kit by B2N2 Scraps

You know where else to get great freebie kits? Newsletters. I'm signed up to a lot of digiscrapping newsletters and I actually like getting them, not just because of the freebies, but because I get to see what's new out there (I like tempting myself). My favorite newsletters are the ones from Digital Crea and Digiscrapbooking.ch. They give away full free kits or collaboration kits almost every week I think.

Andrea and her buddy, Skrat

I've been wanting to use the photo of Andrea with Skrat that I took at the mall a couple of months ago. When I saw the template for Digital Scrapbooking Studio's Template challenge for August, I knew it was perfect for what I wanted to do with the photo.

You see I wanted to split the photo in 2 and make it look like they were reaching for each other... so the end result didn't look exactly like that but close enough :)

Elements from "Sea Time" kit by Elo Designs

College Buddies

I'm using an Android phone and my friends have been asking me to download the Viber app and I did download it but took me about a couple of months before I actually opened the app and configured it so I can use it.

Immediately after logging in for the first time, I received a message from one of my long-time friends who moved and settled in the US. We're both married now and we both have one kid each and life sometimes gets in the way of keeping in touch. 

I decided to dig up one of our old, old photos to use in one of my layouts:

Elements from "In My Friend's Eyes Mini" kit by Studio 4 Designworks

I did say "old" didn't I? She looks the same... I don't *sigh*. We were dorm mates in college and she was also my swimming buddy and we used to go swimming every weekend. Those were the days.

I made this layout as part of Digital Scrapbooking Studio's Less is More Challenge for August.

Strawberry and Blueberry Pickin'

Back in April, I briefly mentioned our attempt to go strawberry picking at the Strawberry Farm in Baguio. What I forgot to mention in that post was that I was so surprised to find out that they grow blueberries there as well. 

YES, blueberries! Here, in the Philippines!

They're a lot smaller (like a LOT smaller) than the ones you see in the US. Not sure if it's because of the soil, the breed or whatever. The ones we saw were the size if small pearls. I'm kicking at myself now for not taking a photo but that's because they spoil quickly if not refrigerated and I did mention we were on the road for 8 straight hours so we ate them immediately. Anyway, they are a lot more expensive than the strawberries even if you buy them straight from the farm. The farmer we bought them from told me they only planted a few so I guess they don't make it to the markets in Baguio City  as well (at least I've never seen them at the markets in Baguio City).

Elements from Blueberry Pickin' mini kit by Aimee Harrison

See the title of the kit? That's what reminded me of the blueberries :)

I made this layout as part of Digital Scrapbooking Studio's Featured Designer Challenge for August 16-31, 2012.

School... school and more SCHOOL

Most of the forums I participate in have back-to-school theme challenges because classes start at September in North America and other countries. For us, it starts in June. Which is good because that meant I have pictures ready for these challenges!

"Notebook Doodles"

Elements from "The Wheels on the Bus" collaboration kit by Scraps N Pieces

I made this layout for Digiscrap Talk's Gold Ticket Challenge for August. I didn't know there were challenges at DST and this one I only found out by accident last weekend. I wanted to make the layout look like doodles though never in my life have I been able to doodle something this good. The watercolor splatters were inspired by what I see in Andrea's artwork which I see in her notebook whenever she brings it home ;)

"School Girls"

Elements from "Back in Session" kit by Sweet Digiscraps, Template by Rainy Dayz Designs, Chalkboard Monogram by Story Rock

I made this layout for Scrappity-Doo-Dah's Template Challenge for Aug 16-31, 2012.

They're not sisters... But I like matching them anyway ;) I bought matching monogrammed shirts for Andrea and my niece Helaena (their names are printed on the side, hidden on the photo) and those Hello Kitty glasses are just so cute! Still too big for both of them, but so cute I couldn't resist buying those for them anyway. They have a lot of other matching t-shirts which I'm sure will be featured on my other layouts. 

Of Manicures and Relaxation

You know you love your job when it makes you cringe thinking of how many non-working holidays your country imposes while the rest of your colleagues in different parts of the world have to go to work.

That's how I feel right now, coming from yet another long weekend because Monday was a non-working holiday while we are in the middle of a tight deadline at work. For my part, I still log in to check my email even when we don't have to go to work to see if anything needs my attention. But I can't expect everyone to do the same and sometimes... things are time-sensitive and you really need a response but it's a non-working holiday.

*breath*

Except for the fact that I don't have the patience to keep still long enough for a manicure, I think I sort of need something like this:

Elements from: Mani and Pedi kit by B2N2 Scraps

The little girl fell asleep after I did her nails. She couldn't keep still long enough for a manicure either so the nail polish got smudged before they had a chance to dry.

You could probably count the number of times I had to get my nails done professionally with both of my hands:

• My graduation/s
• My debut
• My wedding
• Everytime I had to get my hair rebonded (I had to stay at the salon for hours anyway, might as well)

And I haven't gone for a rebond treatment since I learned I was pregnant in 2009. I care for my nails myself. And the level of care they get depends on my mood. There are times my nails change color every 2 days and I have mastered the art of applying nailpolish cleanly using my left hand (yey). But that's the exception rather than the rule. The rule is that I cut once a week and the whole nail care regimen happens once every 2 weeks (if my nails are lucky.. and they usually aren't).

Out of curiosity... so how often do you go for a professional manicure or pedicure??? Spa? Massage? Am I the only female on earth who don't like these things???

The best things in life...

... aren't things.

I have always loved this tagline that I first saw over at my friend's blog. I decided to use this quote for one of my layouts.

Elements from Every Day's Charm add-on kit by A-liya

That's a photo I grabbed from my daughter's pre-school FB page. One of her teachers took the photo. I'm so happy she seems to be having so much fun at her school.

I made this layout as part of Scrappity-Doo-Dah's Birdcage Challenge for August 16-31, 2012.

New Kit by Mariscrap: Soft Grey

This month, the designers at Scrap from France created complementary kits using the same color motiff. The design themes are different but they all come in soft colors of creams and greys. Here are the element packs from Mariscrap:

Soft Grey Elements - Part 1 (Set of 30 elements). Buy Part 1 here.

Soft Grey Elements - Part 2 (set of 30 elements). Buy Part 2 here.

Soft Grey Papers (set of 8 Papers in JPEG format, 300 dpi). Buy Papers here.

Soft Grey - Stickers (set of 10 Word Art). Buy Word Art pack here.

Buy the bundle here

Here is a layout I made with Soft Grey Part 1, Papers and Stickers:

I'm on my way!

Elements from Sail Away add-on by Amber Shaw

Sometimes, I feel like I am about to run out of photos to scrap. But then I take time to dig through my hundreds of Gigabytes worth of photos and I would find an old gem of a photo like this one. 

That's my niece when she was around 3 years old. She's turning 8 years old this year now. I only get to see her once a year but I love this kid! When she was smaller, she follows me around the house all the time when we stay there to visit. We would play hair salon (she had the softest, smoothest, blackest hair I ever saw when she was younger) and dress up and other things. Now, Andrea is the one who follows her around when we visit them. Andrea adores her :)

I made this layout as part of Digitalscrapbooking Studio's Featured Designer Challenge for August 1 - 15, 2012. Their featured designer for that period was Amber Shaw, and she provided a beautiful mini from her Sail Away kit for us to use.

Just keep swimming!

It was a very loooong weekend for me... and yesterday was a looooong day.

Andrea's nanny took a week's vacation to go home and that meant that my husband and I had to take turns taking Andrea to school and staying at home with her. My turn was Thursday and Friday... and then the following Monday and Tuesday were non-working holidays here in the Philippines.

Since I work full time, I always appreciate it when I get to spend extra time with Andrea. So I had a 6-day long weekend but I didn't really get to do much. I was able to complete a few layouts, but not as much as I expected. I just joined Andrea in her games. It's always "Mommy, lets go to my tent!", "Mommy let's go to my room upstairs", "Mommy let's go downstairs", "Mommy let's read a book!", "Mommy let's paint!".

Anyway, here's one layout I was able to complete:

Elements from Underwater Story by Aurum de Loram

I got the kit free from Coolscrapsdigital newsletter last week and I love the cute elements and bright colors I had to scrap something with it. The photo is of Andrea with her nanny when we went swimming at a resort last year. Andrea has always loved the water and has been asking for swimming lessons. I wonder who taught her that??? I told her I'll take her next summer.

I made this layout as part of Digidesignresort's Theme Challenge for August. The theme for this month is to scrap a photo with water in it. This layout completes the 6 requires layouts I need to earn their free kit:

YEY!!!

Sale, New Products and FREEBIES at Scrap from France

Some designers are having a sale at Scrap From France!

SALES
Black Lady Designs : 25%
J&M Creations : 15%
Maguette : 30%
Leaugoscrap : 25%
Louise L : 35%
Talscrap : 10%

Check out the amazing new products added to the store too!

NEW PRODUCTS




NEWS CU PRODUCTS
 



FREEBIES!!! (Who doesn't love them???)

You can also visit the forum to have fun, take part in challenges and make friends!! Our designers also post RAKs for members every now and then.

See you there!