From Russia to Brazil.....

...everybody is scrapping.So am I:


Credits: kit Free Day by Malacima Designs

I haven't been having a particularly good time health wise,but gotta take things one day at the time, right?
I have been keeping busy though, as the scrapping in probably the best therapy, and luckily 2 of my favorite designers are having stores worth having a look.
One of them, Lilian, aka Malacima,is someone I have had the honor to do some CT work for, and one of the most original designers around.
You can access her store by clicking HERE, and here is HER BLOG.



Credits: kit Mother,my big Love by Giane Designs

And from Brazil and very, very much on sale comes Giane No Mundo do Scrapbook (Giane in the World of Scrapbook).
She had a break for a while but is back to creating with all her might.
You can check her stores HERE and also HERE , and for those of you who can read Portuguese here is HER BLOG
I will be updating soon, because honestly my general health state at the moment is not the best, and the energy required to write refuses to come together.
but taking one day at the time...I ll get there :)

Thank You for the Love (a freebie in appreciation)

Hi guys, girls....

I am lucky, I think.
Most of the people I am surrounded by at the moment are the most talented, inspirational, loving people in the world.
And this *in the world* isn't a mere grammatical construction, nope, is totally, tangibly literal.
Some in the US of A (I'm reluctant to call it America, sorry guys, but *we* are Americans too, the vast America has the North, South (were *we* belong) and Central, though most of that Central are moving slowly upwards,there are millions of them still there, right? LOL).
Some of them in the land of Oz (read Australia) and these are increasingly getting a deep imprint in my heart, and some in Europe, with my most favorite at the mo being in the Netherlands (that IS Europe, right? LOL I'm getting old and my cultural memory is being smashed by the political changes!)
In blogging scenes, I have to mention these women because they are worth reading, watching and listening:

Peggy, whom I had the pleasure,honor and delight of meeting in person and who, regardless of the distance, always finds a way to make herself present and supportive with a beautiful wake up call on my phone. She also has the MOST AMAZING music playing in her blog....

Annemarie and here I'm at loss for words...if I ever have found a synonimous for bravery, strength, capacity, talent and multitasking...well that's Annemarie. She also has some amazing music playing, and I'm hoping to be able to go meet these two girls in Norway in a near future (I'm working on it girls!)

The Netherlands girl is Marit (though her blog presents her name in lower case, I think she deserves upper cases, in shinning lights too). This girl I found through Annemarie, who sent me a link to her blog and I got hooked ever since. I m even gonna get my daughter to do one of Marit's courses in summer... yes, she is a master and finds the strength and wonders of passing her knowledge on, with very accessible prices, ones that even I can contemplate in spending!)

there is another USA girl whom I discovered lately and my heart was full of joy, not only because she is so generous with her (amazing!!!!) talent as to sharing her kits for free, but also because her blog is what it says on the tin: Every Day Mom's Ideas.... and her ideas are not only doable, but in budget and brilliant...plus her way of communicating is one I love....and her kits are original, something I have been getting more and more disappointed with in the more popular, profit gaining designers (but that would a whole new post, right?)

There are a lot more I could be naming, linking and...well, there is only a certain amount of time and I need to get on with life, but I have to mention the Brazilian girls or I wouldn't be making justice...I have made a post for them and that was what inspired this post...
Through a new, net acquired friend by one of those impulses that makes you click on someone just because you liked the comment they left in someone else's blog, I came across this wonderful woman, who also has this other recipe blog. Yes, I know, both her blogs are in Portuguese, but her Layouts are universal so, if you like them, go leave her some love, she speaks English :)

She introduced me to her scrapping communities which have in turn brought the most beautiful love into my life. But again, this would all be in Portuguese and they have an entire blog of mine for them, so, lets get to the last point....

I have no intention of becoming a designer at the moment. If I had any at some point, starting to do CT work for some of them plus my incursions on paying for kits (even if only in the 1 dollar/Euro sales) and looking into their rules and...well, lets say I'm a bit disappointed and don't think it's worth my stress.
In looking into their rules, combined with the amazing, wonderful program I use (I'm scared of scrapping with PSE, have I said that before? LOL), the Digital Scrapbook Artist by Serif (which deserves a whole review, I know) I started finding my way to create my own stuff for my own books.
Not much, nothing totally fancy, but I finally put together a mini kit.

After all the support I received from some of the girls of a freebie group I belong to through my breast cancer adventure, I gave the mini kit away to them, post it in the group.
Then when I went to check the amount of downloads and compared to the amount of *thank Yous* I got....well...this wasn't a case in which they would have to (like here, I m afraid) do a word recognition or register or anything costly of their time....it involved only clicking *reply* and typing *thanks*.
So I passworded the thing.

Maybe not worth the bother to some.
Well up to *some*.
If you are not the *some* kind, and just happened to stumble across this blog and like what you see in the preview, just leave a comment, tell me you want this, I'll pass on the password :)
If you are a Facebook buddie, I'll be posting the password there.
If you are a friend of mine but are not in Facebook, email me, I ll get the password out to you.

Here are the previews:




now, this lower case was my very first try, I have no idea how designers make their alphas, but as I haven't connected my tablet to the Mac yet, I draw these with the mouse...so...well LOL


So, if you like what you see, and you have the password, this is where you get it:

Click here to download the ALPHA

Click here to download the PAPERS

Click here to download the FRAMES

And now I have *talked* enough, I'm gonna go back to our intensive movie watching program with my child (who isn't much of a child no more, but hey, she still enjoys her time with mum, gotta take advantage of that!)
I recommend LOVE FILM to anyone in the UK (if you are a friend of mine in *real life* I have 2 cards that will give you two months for free) we pay £9.50 per month, no late fees, they are quick in getting films back to you (2 days maximum) which means if we want, we watch more than 4 films a month, and there are a lot of films one can watch online as part of the subscription....great deal :)
(gonna get them to pay me for the advert LOL)
Ok, enjoy, I'm gonna go enjoy my saturday!
:)

Some things are designed to make you happy....

...like achieving things like these, let me show you and then I tell you the story :)





Remember how lucky I was feeling and how happy when I met, just before Christmas Karen from SnikerdoodleDesigns and she invited me to be part of her CT?
Well, I am now (and in one way or another again, I have Karen to thank) creating for 7hump3rs Designs too.
Long story, but these people are like a lil ray of sunshine in the grey skies (hopefully not for long) of London...
These first couple of LOs I made with her new kit, coming soon, so keep an eye on her store @ DigiScrapsDriveIn, as the kits is totally cute!!! have a look at these now and I tell you a bit more....





These two I made with the All Sass kit, and as I was posting a description when in the DSDO galleries I realized I was in fact posting about how I made the LO...sooo.... if you are new to digital scrapping and would like some guidance, a bit of ideas or just some technical questions, for these you can see it explained at the galleries HERE, but if interested I can start posting the tutorials here.





These two were done with a kit called Cute Little You, and funnily enough, Sarita and I had our eyes set for this kit, as all her nicknames online have to do with Dinosaurs and she wanted an avatar or two...that's why these are slightly different, are these just the cutest dinos or what?

So, in other words: I am creating away, happy and surrounded by the most beautiful people (not surprisingly the girl from 7hump3rs are Australians!) and, as a plus, I got the call from the secretary of that private doctor I went to see after all that hospital/breast cancer fiasco, she gave me an appointment for next week, meaning he is keeping his word...
Now the only thing is left (well, for the time being at least!) is get Sarita to finish with her bedroom so we can paint...summer is almost there, after all,and they say is gonna be hot... I would like that to happen, very, very much.

On the other hand, there is something that is saddening my happiness, and I am gonna ask now here for all of your prayers/good vibes/thoughts, spiritual strength for the people of the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, who are suffering from severe flooding that has taken, at the last count last night, 184 lives....and it isn't only the disadvantaged who are suffering..lots of people who live hill side are at risk, with many having lost everything..
Thank you so much, and see you soon!

Puppy Love!!!!

is the new kit, wonderful kit from SnickerdoodleDesignsByKaren
these are my take on this great kit,which is very complete and also has a great alpha...
there is also a freebie Quick Page, just visit the blog by cliking in the highlighted link to get it..!
I tried to use the alpha in this next LO, but my program started behaving a bit weirdly...
The kids here are my cousin's daughter's children, aren't they just the cutest!!!????

and this is Lua, *daughter* to my friends Dilma & Lars, who own the place where we have stayed in North East Brazil the past trips, you can have a look at their place by clicking in the highlighted link...place is called Pousada Mundo Verde.
Pousada means small hotel,though this has nothing of *small*, it is, indeed, the most amazing *Green World*

aren't they cute?
yeah, I know, I just said that again!
things are relatively calm around here,,,so not only had I have time do to my CT *homework* for Snickerdoodle, but also found a couple of amazing places, will be back soon to share with you!

Waiting for Spring...

..literally, as the weather isn't collaborating here in London.
That is also the title of SnickerDoodleDesignsByKaren's last kit, a gorgeous one, and there is a freebie QP in her blog, if you would like to have it, just click in her link, visit her blog.
Here are a couple of pages I made with it...





I have followed Karen to the DigiScrapsDrive store & forums, a great place to be if you like freebies, challenges, talent and great company,so, maybe I'll see you there?

You can find Waiting for Spring HERE and the word art HERE , or you can save some money by getting the BUNDLE

There is a SnickerDoodleDesignsByKaren's gallery @ the DigiScrapsDriveIn, so, if you are looking for more inspiration, there are some ladies there that can provide some really good one (inspiration!)

See you there!

The British Music Experience @ O2

kit Pink Elegance- Creations by Rachel @ Gotta Pixel
another book for our library...
we got free tickets to the itisj Music Experience @ at O2 Arena through the Mousetrap Foundation and, once again these wonderful people provided an amazing outing. The last time was Peter Pan Royal Gala Premier @ Kensignton Gardens which provided an opportunity to dress up and a marvelous performance, together with a sighting ( very close indeed) of the Royal Family and (to Sarita's excitement) lots of celebrities (including some from across the pond.
That outing was registered in Scrapblog.com, and you can have a look at the slide show of the scraps HERE

This time it provided one of our favorite means of transport, the speedy boats in the Thames.
We took a cab with my Disabled Taxi Card which has saved us in so many outings as I got to a point now in which public transport is a no no 99,9% of the time...
The taxi took us to the Waterloo Pier where we bought discount boat tickets (again, with the Disabilty discount) and, of course, we were shutter happy...so here is my account of the whole thing...



kit On The Way
by Loloden @ Digital Crea Fr


paper from Coline's dream, also by Loloden
alpha freebie by a wonderful designer I just discovered (and she is Brazilian!), Jaqueline Bampi, Dharamsala Designs
I made the frames.


here again, kit On The Way
by Loloden @ Digital Crea Fr


elements & alpha a mixture of two kits, Lucky Star & Lucky Charm by Bella Gipsy @ Gotta Pixel
paper from the freebie kit Travel Miss Honey Designs
the crowns & Union Jack are from a freebie I got long time ago, the designer is MMDC (couldn't find any more info) the kit is called My English May.


same paper here by Miss Honey
journalings tags and brown stiches came in the Mega Grab Bag Project 365 by Captivated Visions @ Gotta Pixel
paper & English themed embies are, again, from that freebie from MMDC


kit Kids Spirit by Choukette @ Digital Crea



kit I used here is called Grunge Attitude, but is not at the store at the moment. I bought it for 1.50 Euros on the *retiring soon category a while ago... by Celine Designs @ Digital Crea Fr
dymo letters are a freebie from this wonderful lady I discovered through the Yahoo Group Digital Scrapbook Freebie (as most of my freebies lately! , Gunhild Storeide


background paper from Brume de Lune by Dilo @ Digital Crea Fr
other paper cuts & most elements from Pop City by Chouk77 @ Digital Crea Fra
all brown stiches I made myself.
alpha from You've got mail from Pouyou also @ Digital Crea Fr


kit Between the Headlines by Captivated Visions @ Gotta Pixel , this girl is one of the very few British designers around, she is beautifully nice , active in the forums and very talented, of course!


kit Agatha by Isabel Mendez also @ Gotta Pixel
another very nice designer who takes her time to look at your work and praise it...love this kit, I bought elements, papers and add on...great value on their sales, which they have regularly.
the alpha I made in my program, Digital Scrapbook Arist 2 by Serif, which is like a step before PhotoShop Elements...and I'm SO in love with it, I should write a reveiw really....
if you like the Alpha, I made that, the lower case & numbers and a mini kit with metal frames and music sheet papers, write a comment here and let me know you want it and I ll give you the link to the freebie download!


background papers by Chouk77 from a freebie that has as many as 6 or 7 kits from many designers @ Digital Crea Fr,background text by Choukette, the alpha is also from DCF, kit Angels Of Love from Droopette but she is no longer there, I followed her to the new store though, wll be showing shortly.
the rest is all a mixture of different kits but all from DCF, and honestly, these elements are CU sold in there, so they end up in all the kits, impossible to tell who originated them, because, though they do credit the designers'designers....they just mention their names, not who made what....and I better stop here or it wont be nice LOL
photo maks are courtsey of the most beautiful inside and out girl in the net, CraftyScraps' Michelle, or Wolvsie35 if you know her from ScrapbookMax


background paper again, You've got mail from Pouyou, the frayed grey fabric and dymo alphas by Gunhild Storeide, branches from Digital Crea's freebies.
The doodled frame with the Special Day text I made with one of the program's brushes but, I have to admit, copied it from Kawouette's Day by Day (also Digital Crea Fr)


Mega Grab Bag Project 365
by Captivated Visions & Jessica Edwards @ Gotta Pixel


same as above,(Project 365) only the alpha & numbers are from another kit, Happy Being me
also by Captivated Visions


I recently discovered DigiScrapsDrive In,which has some forums I LOVE and some very talented people , some of the elements are from their freebie daily download, the bird & word art are from a freebie from Ange (designer @ Digital Crea) the background paper is from Love is all we need , SnickerdoodleDesignsByKaren, the one and only!!!! (next post is all dedicated to her :)


everything apart from the lace and white doodle page frame are from Captivated Visions Project 365


alpha City Girl by Bella gipsy @ Gotta Pixel
I made the background stiches, the red frames are from a kit called Little Things but couldn't find the designers name and I'm too tired to look in the dowload folder...same with the big frame, may come back tomorrow to edit...

Ok, so, in this responsable trying to credit all designers, I'm exhausted... easier to scrap than to blog it..... just hope you got the idea of the outing :)
I 'll be back soon!

The Identity Exhibition

Hey again...
I have been trying to get to normal (or as normal as I can ever be..LOL) so I wanted to share with you the two outings we had in the middle of all that chaos that were the past 4 weeks.
Thing is, you see, I really thought in the middle of this that I had some not so much advanced stage of breast cancer, so I really wasn't looking when I scrapped these, I didn't think I would be making publish posts, so it will be a bit difficult to credit people, but will try as I go...

To get to the outing: this was the Identity exhibition at the Wellcome Collection, free to all, amazing 8 rooms with everything to do with our identity, like DNA invention, twins,and a few rooms dedicated to sexuality as it is Gay,Lesbian,Bisexual & Transgender History month here in the UK.
We took Nadia, one of Sarita's best friends, as she wants to be a doctor.
I called in advance (they were AMAZING!) and booked a parking space and a wheelchair.

This LO was made with a template I got from a freebie of Sweet Digiscraps by Liz (one of GottaPixel's owners, I learned when trying to know where I got it to link here...) only I changed everything around ...I'm a disaster scrapping with PSE, so I just took the PNGs into my DSA and resulted in this:





The girls needed the toilettes, so I waited in the corredor and took some photos until they came excited wanting to show me this (according to them) amazing hand drying device...
(these two LOs, I m sure came from Bella Gipsy @ Gotta Pixel)





It's a shame, but understandable, we couldn't take photos in the exhibition rooms, but we (of course!) ended up in the shop.
These are some captures from our stroll in this marvelous place.
This LO I know for sure was done with (again) Bella Gipsy's Lucky Star & Lucky Charm kits, from her store at GottaPixel.
The Dymo Alphas are from Gunhill Storeide (love her! see bellow)



this next LO is from a wonderful freebie called Sweetness of Blue I got from K Designs, through the wonderful Digital Scrapbook Freebies Yahoo Group (should post about that too, really!)



Next is Cardamome (one of my favorite) Pretty Little Things kit,from her store at Digital Crea France.



next, the paper is from a long time ago freebie called Denim Daisies, from MMD, the alpha from Pouyou's You've Got Mail @ Digital Crea.



this is Sarita reaching out in the shelves in the shop, I thought I make something different (though I'm not the best on fantasy stuff) as I got this kit, Entre Des Mondes, by Petitsouris @ Digital Crea



and here was where I got fascinated with the moleskin books but ended buying the one which is now my doodling diary..( you can read about it this in my previous post







the place was about to close when we were in the shop, so we went to a chinese restaurant and dinner and tons of fun...here is Sarita with the serynge/pens I bought them...
here the kit is Sheeps and Dreams, from Choubinnette @ Digital Crea, not sure but think the Alpha is from Gotta Pixel.



here is Nadia, who is a bit camera shy :)



we had fun!



finally this is something I made because I love this photo of Sarita I took in the shop. The title and journaling are a song, called Imaculada (immaculate), sung by Elba Ramalho, a song I used to sing to Sarita when I was pregnant and still didn't know it would be a she..., still, she turned out to be SO that song!
The paper is from Gunhill Storeide, another fabulous find from the women of the Yahoo Group, I will come give the links soon, she is AMAZING!



So, this is it until tomorrow.
I put together another little book with the other outing we had, which will be posting tomorrow.
I'm really eager to get to my CT work now I'm feeling better, you cannot imagine how amazing Karen's new kit is, and I also want to share about DigiScrapsDriveIn...but that ll have to be in another post..., thanks for popping in!