best places to get freebies:)

ok....so this is a very subjective list. not everyone likes the same stuff, but i think that these sites have the best freebies. i am pulled towards more of the high quality, urban type papers. be prepared to search a little and know your STYLE:) it is so easy to go overboard and get all the freebies you can find.
purge every month or so. if you haven't used it yet, you can always find it again...plus it's free so no biggie right?
try and acknowledge the designers whenever you can. i try to...but i can't always succeed. but TRY!
use those templates at least four times. you can rotate, flip and mirror the images. don't think you have to KEEP them. i delete...so can YOU!

my top digital freebie links:)


paislee press


three paper peonies


summertime designs


karenika


simple scrapper


designer digitals


scrapbookgraphics


craftcrave


i think that's all i have for now:)

the STASH!!! use it up.

I scrapped paper today. made a bunch of pages with no embellishing and put them into the pool album. will go back and add stuff later. it was fun to see the pile of prints go down:) i am still figuring out what i want to do and where to go with my scrapping. we'll see where the journey takes me!
using up the stash and  budget scrapping is where it is at!

page for the day.

credits:

kit: doohickey designs (freebie)

tag: designer digitals

no template today:))) LOL.

Freebie kits and other goals.

i have a stash of digital freebie kits i have accumulated. the hoarder in me wants to keep them forever, but my HD is getting full. SO.
my goal is to use my freebie kits at least on two pages and then it goes BUH-BYE:)
let's see what comes of it:))))

Is it possible to scrap on a very SMALL budget?

i have been thinking about budgets and planning and taking control of my financial future. we are in a recession and we will not be coming out of it anytime soon...no matter what anyone thinks. as avid memory keepers we all strive for the next thing, the coolest thing, the next big trend or gadget, often forgetting all the things we already have in our stash. we get caught up in the validation aspect and setting up unrealistic expectations for ourselves. it is often the case in most hobbies, maybe it is just the nature of it all.
the minute that you buy a piece of paper it becomes passe. it depreciates in value simply because you HAVE it. and then, more likely than not, it becomes a part of the stash borg: that all consuming pile of stuff that never gets used because a, it is out of "style", b. because it is too precious to cut into or C, because you forgot you had it. you name the excuse, i have used it. at one point i just wanted STUFF, any stuff. If it was the cool stuff that all the IN people were using then all the better. i was buying more than i was using. so i stopped. cold turkey. BIG TIME.
a few months ago i started to digiscrap and i fell back into the old ways. i found myself craving...just like the paper junkie i am! Luckily i have been able to control myself (not having money helps!) and will only buy a few things a week. i have been averaging about  $7-10 every 2 weeks or so and only print out pages when i have disposable cash. i have been collecting cans, bottles and loose change to pay for digital pages. i am trying to find the absolutely best price i can get for any one given thing. digiscrapping is very budget friendly, as long as you keep your printing in check. there are so many wonderful, generous designers that post freebies on the internet. it is a really amazing thing.
so the moral of this long story is?
simply this. you do what you love. you pass on your stories. you set a budget and stick to it. use the things you have at your disposal. improvise. have fun with your supplies. remember that this is a hobby,  not a popularity race and not a finish line. or it could be. it can be as finite or as infinite as YOU make it.
it IS possible to scrapbook with a very small budget. i know because i am doing it. right now.

getting the job done:)

this file folder of pictures will ALL be in this album in a few days.

the first few pages using a BUNCH of old stash. cause i have it and i will use it.

the front of the album decorated just a little.

all done for the day with the paper scrapping. darn it is i will not use up all my stash by the end of 2010:)))

this is the goal:)

i i have quite alittle collection of empty albums.

They are just begging to be full of pictures amd memories.

first up...a HS 9x9 album. themed albums here i come:)

i paper scrapped....kind of:)

I was trying out the printer to see how my digital pages would look. the look quality wasnt quite what i was looking for, so i think i will stick to costco:)

BUT. there was a great opportunity to try the hybrid thing so here is the result.

i adhered the 8x8 print to a background made from a piece of SU kraft and a piece of baja breeze pattern paper. i added a few HS chipboard pieces and journaled a little, plus added some homemade photo corners. The best things was that i was able to use up some supplies in a very easy and fast way.

this is the chipboard title....

i think it came out pretty good, no? this is totally an option!

downsizing is hard:(

it's something i have to do for my mental health, but getting there is so HARD!
so far i have purged YEARS of thing i would have probably never used, used up a LOAD of stash and gone into digital.
i have freed up a LOT of space, but i am now at a crossroads.
we want to make our basement into a guest room, living space along with the kitchen project. we have decided not to move and stay where are, given the amount of space we can get for our budget...so i need to make permanent changes.
my main focus for all these years with my scrapbooking was to catch up and get my photos into pages and building a framework of books. the books took over:) so in an attempt to condense i decided to redo some old pages. i got quite a few done. but then it was like pedaling in water. i was getting nowhere and SUPERFAST! i became a bit of a hoarder, i'll admit to that.
so where does this leave me?
my 8.5x11 pages that i was so trying to condense need to be put into binders. no two ways about it.
12x12 are still in the air.
the few CM pages that i was redoing will get done soon.
i have weeded thru the embellishments and let go of i would say 80% of what i had. and it's ok.
the pattern paper and CS i am keeping because most of my pages are just that. i have also kept my diecut things because those are timeless.
i have kept my SU and papertrey inks because those are versatile supplies.
everything i have that is scrap related is in two underbed boxes and one 8 cube expedit that doubles as our tv shelf. i have a very small laptop cart that i use for scrapping that is next to my bed. it works for now:)
i do not miss the stuff, but i miss the possibilities i saw IN the stuff.
it is time to move on and change directions. totally time to do it!

is it possible to scrap without:

spending any $ except for the bare basics?
2010 is going to be the year i REALLY find out. i have made a pledge to stop spending $$ on anything that is not essential.
this means that my scrapbudget will be strictly for printing pictures and pages, buying adhesives and nothing else.
i have enough cardstock to last me forever. same with pattern papers and embellishments. i want to minimize the amount of space that my books take up, so i will be looking for new album storage.
i went off scrapstuff cold turkey, but once i started digi-scrapping i began getting weak:) but i have will power:)