News and Updated CU Freebie :-)

It's been a very hard week for me. My close friend that had a serious stroke on Friday last week was taken off life support and died on Tues, May 27, his 59th birthday. We felt it an appropriate day in the circumstances. I haven't been able to scrap anything yet, it's too raw for me, but I do have a layout to share. My daughter prefers paper scrapping over digital and she made this paper layout, Unfortunately her scanner is non-functional at the moment so she sent me a pic of it --

George May 27,1949 - May 27, 2008

've been a mess most of the week but I did manage to finish up a post I started last week for a CU freebie ---

Thanks to the ladies in my ADS Designers Yahoo Group, I have learned to make seamless tiles. I realized while working thru a couple of tutorials on the subject that my 'Over the Rainbow' kit CU add-on, Oil Paints Textured Layer Styles for Photoshop had these horrible seam lines in anything over 3 inches. So -- Today I have an updated version to share, completely seamless, Please delete the old version, this one is much nicer! I like a bit of bevel on my styles but I realize not everyone does so in this update I have the layer styles with a bevel, a pattern file that is flat, and png fills for psp users :-)

Over the Rainbow CU Ok Add-on Oil Paints Textured Style, Pattern, & Fills - Download Here

New Layout and My First 3 Tags :-)

I have my first of seven tags that I owe - My first tag went to Sindiego
I also have my second and third tags - the second goes to DreamerPaula
and the third goes to Andrea Gold

I noticed that most of my ADS group members had multiple tags so I've decided to tag my favorite designers :-)

I have a layout to share, this is my layout for the May Template Challenge at GDS. Andrea Gold has beautiful templates. This month's goodie is a 2 page brag book set and posting a layout gets a full size Template for a posting gift ----

Brag Book Template by Andrea Gold. Ano Nuevo Kit by Jessica Alger. Glitters by me :-)

I haven't had much time to design the last few days with everything that's going on. I do have a couple things ready to go but for the previews. That always seems to be the hardest part for me, lol. I promise to get something posted as soon as I can :-)

I've Been Tagged :-)

It's been a very busy week. I was working on my post last night, telling you 7 weird and random things about myself. I was just too tired to decide who to tag next and was going to finish this morning, But, I've had a family health emergency today so I haven't gotten done anything I planned to do. My ex-hubby and I decided years ago to get a divorce and stay friends rather than stay married and be enemies. We have continued to be close friends, This morning he had a stroke followed by a full out brain bleed, The doctors in the er had to make burr holes in his head. It was very hard to see him so quiet and still. He's in a coma and there's no way to know right now if he'll wake up or not, and what damage there is. I know you all will forgive me for not tagging anyone right now, I've been tagged 5 times now and I will try to get a layout made for the layout tag blog game. Blog tag is so fun, I'm such a bad blogger, I need more hours in the day, Here's what I have so far on answering my tags. I promise I'll get caught up. Doing this will help keep my mind occupied,

I've been tagged, and not just once but 3 times! This is the first time I've ever been tagged, it's pretty cool. Now if I can just come up with 7 appropriate wierd or random things. On to the formalities ---

I've been tagged by --- Tara of Creations by Tara, Kathy of Carolina Girl Scrap Creations, and Debbie of Beckmoore's Scrapalittle Thank you for the chance to play ladies :-)

Here are the rules ---

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

And now 7 facts about me ---

1 - I'm an old hippie that still loves tie-dye. I've shared a house with a bunch of other old hippies for 10 years+ in Southern California,

2 - I'm originally from Kansas. When asked how I got to California, my favorite answer was/is - I put on my ruby red slippers, clicked my heels together 3 times and said there's no place like home and I landed here, without landing a house on anyone, thank goodness, lol. I heard every Wizard of Oz joke there is when I moved here and too make things worse, I had a yorkshire terrier at that time, not quite a scottish like in the movie but close enough. Nevertheless, the movie remains a family favorite.

3 - I'm totally addicted to Netflix!! I love movies and don't go to theaters. I impatiently await the mail on movie days, lol.

4 - One of my favorite programs for my computer is Windowblinds, part of Object Desktop by Stardock/Wincustomize. Windowblinds skins the win xp/vista user interface. There are lots of artists, called skinners, that live for making skins to make computer desktops look different, I have an idea but I need a skinner's help. I want to convert my scrapkits to skins. Imagine opening your start menu and seeing the layout of your choice. Getting a right click menu that looks like a journaling or tag. Think scrapping your computer interface. Anyone interested in this idea please leave a comment with your email.

5 - My mom passed away on Feb. 18. It was a hard mother's day,

6- I'm a complete computer junkie. Alot of women shop for shoes, etc, not me, lead me to closest software store. Better yet, I stay at home and shop online. I'm also totally addicted to freebie hunting, And not just for scrap freebies, Some of my best other than scrap freebies over the years have been a complete queensize quilt cover set from England, a leatherman multi-tool, an igloo cooler, tons of samples and full size products, photo paper and other printing supplies, pens, calendars, cook books and magazines,

7 - I've found that I prefer to have both photoshop cs2 and paintshop pro 9. They're usually both open at the same time, Oh yea, ArtRage too, lol.

Next comes tagging 7 others. I'll be back tomorrow to do that. My brain is fried from trying to think up 7 things about myself, lol. When I get this tired my fingers tend to forget how to type. Goodnight, cya tomorrow :-)

New 'Micro' Kit :-)

I really like the 6 inch by 4 inch brag book size scrap pages. It's alot easier for me to send a 6x4 layout into Walgreen's Photo to be printed for 15 cents than it is to send in an 8x8 or 12x12 from $1.50 up. I've filled a photo album already this year and urgently need a new one, lol. Don't get me wrong, I do make layouts in all 3 sizes. Sometimes, if the layout resizes right, I have my larger layouts printed in 6x4. With my larger 8x8 or 12x12 layouts I like to make a picture dvd so I can pop the disc in my dvd player and watch a slide show, very much like the slide shows available on most blogs. Last month my fav designer Paula Yagisawa aka DreamerPaula released a gorgeous 6x4 full kit called "Micro Flowers" at her Gotta Pixel store. It was the first kit I've used that was designed in 6x4, I usually resize down from my full size kits. I immediately started having ideas for my own 'Micro' 6x4 kits. The kit I have for you today is my first 'Micro'. But first, I have some layouts to share. These first two I made with Paula's 'Micro Flowers' ---

Here's my munchkins again :-D. I made these layouts as a 2 page set, I have them meet on the doodled flower side. I did throw in my own touch in a couple of places. I made the frame using all 5 colors of the fibers in the kit. I love the charms, Paula also included a blank charm. I just embossed a recolored to match arrow on the blank charm. The colors in this kit are fabulous and it's so fun and easy to work with. You can check it out for yourselves at Gotta Pixel.

I have my first 'Micro' kit, designed in 6x4, to share today, 'Spring Pastels Micro 6x4'. Truly the only thing 'Micro' about this kit is the layout size, there are a whopping 50 papers and 80+ elements. All papers are 6x4, 300 dpi, and all elements are scaled to size. Here are a couple of layouts ---

These layouts are my beautiful daughter Courtney with son Jake first and daughter Abbi second. Several items were made with CU items by members of my ADS Designers Group. Isn't that mushroom the cutest? I've made both of these layouts into brag book pages as a bonus :-) Here are your links ---

Papers - Download Here

Elements - Download Here

Brag Book Pages - Download Here

Don't forget the June 1st Popsicle Paradise blog hop. There are 23 of us at last count from my ADS Designers group participating. I have to tell you the kits are fantastic. This is going to be HUGE and GREAT!!! You don't want to miss this. Busy on June 1st? No worries, the blog hop links will be up for at least 30 days. Clear out some space on those crowded hard drives, you're going to want it, lol :-D

A Quick Freebie :-)

I have some glitter papers and brads to share. I made them to go with an upcoming kit but as I finished more of the other papers and elements, I decided I didn't like them with that kit anymore, But, I do really like how they came out so here's my newest freebie, Black Glitters. There are 5 glitter papers and 10 oval & square glass brads. The preview looks really crappy here, I promise they look much better than the preview :-)

Download Here

New Kit :-)

I'm so proud of myself, I actually kept my dentist appt this week. I have a very bad habit of letting my phobia take over at the last minute and not going. I had one extraction and one filling. The shots to numb me up were horrible but the rest went fine. It is nice to be able to chew my food properly again. I'm mighty tired of soup, lol.

I have a new kit to share today. I'm really bad at kit names, I call this one Square Swirlies.

Papers - Download Here
Elements - Download Here

As always, please when sharing, send your friends here to my blog. Please support the fight against digital piracy.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for June 1st. There's a giant ADS Designers blog hop coming, We still have new designers signing up. Make sure you block yourself a good amount of time, it's going to be great!! Check out the listing of ADS Designers in my sidebar, our group is growing all the time, We have a great group for aspiring designers/commercial use freebies. It's the best!! Info on joining available at Digiscrapilious

I also want to say thank you for the wonderful condolences comments and emails I've received on the passing of my mom in Feb. They mean the world to me!!

I have several new kits in the works and a new commercial use freebie as well. Check back soon :-)

Toothache :-( & Autism Awareness Collab Kit :-)

It's been a long, painful 10 days or so. I've had the worst toothache I've ever had, plus I've been very sick with it. So now I have the trips to the dentist, I'm VERY phobic with dentists. It usually does take pain or an abcess to drive me there. I have my second appointment tomorrow, my tummy is already in knots, lol. You know I'm sick when I don't feel up to being on my computer, I'm so sorry I've been away so long, I had planned to have a cute mini ready for NSD, but..... I should have it ready in a day or so, There is a much more important post I'm late for ----

Donate to AutismSpeaks.Org

send the receipt to XandraMartinDesigns@yahoo.com

with Autism Charity Kit in the subject field, and you will be sent the download links and password!

I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to participate in such a worthwhile project!! Here's a peek at my part -

I'll be back very soon with my next freebie :-)

New Freebie :-)

I finally finished my kit 'April Grunge' for the Stone Accent Studios April Color Challenge. This is my first kit made for a color challenge. I think it came out really nice :-)

Part 1 - Download Here
Part 2 - Download Here

Spring Polka Dots Last 2 Parts :-)

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get the last 2 parts of 'Spring Polka Dots' posted. I've been feeling abit under the weather, but not quite so crappy today, so. Here are the last 2 parts. There may be an add-on coming, I'm working on a alpha :-)

Part 5 - Download Here

Part 6 - Download Here

As Always, Please when sharing, send your friends here to my blog. Please support no digital piracy.

I have a kit ready to post for the April Color Challenge at Stone Accents Studio. Check back later, I hope to have it posted very soon :-)

2 Freebies Today I is CU Ok :-)

A few posts back I mentioned there was something really cool coming, we've been given permission to post teasers so ----

Mark June 1st on your calendars, it's a day you're not going to want to miss. I've been participating in an aspiring designers yahoo group started by Crystal of DigiScrapalicious and The Template Club. We are making a mega collab kit. There will be LOTS of parts!! Trust me, you don't want to miss this, the previews are looking fabulous!! Information on the aspiring designers group can be found at DigiScrapalicious :-)

On to the freebies ---

Freebie #1 is a set of 2 quickpages for Spring Polka Dots. Here they are in use with my grandkids, my little munchkins --


I'm sorry the alpha I used isn't included in the kit yet. I'm just starting to work on my own alphas so I hope to have it ready for you soon :-)

Download Here

Freebie #2 is a set of Commercial Use ok Layer Styles, made in photoshop cs2. These are an add-on to my first kit 'Over the Rainbow'

Download Here

As Always, when sharing, Please send your friends here to my blog. Please support no digital piracy!!

Come by tomorrow for the last 2 parts of Spring Polka Dots :-)

Spring Polka Dots Parts 3 & 4

Here are parts 3 and 4 of Spring Polka Dots ---

Part 3 - Download Here

Part 4 - Download Here

As Always, when sharing, Please send your friends here to my blog. Please support no digital piracy!!

Keep checking back, there are 3 more parts to Spring Polka Dots, and, I have a new CU freebie coming soon :-)

New Mega Kit :-)

I have a new mega kit to share. It's around 87 files and 177mb. I call it Spring Polka Dots, here's a preview of the entire kit -


I have it divided into 7 parts of about 25 mb each, hopefully it will be ok for dial-up users. Here are the first 2 parts -

Part 1 - Download Here

Part 2 - Download Here

As Always, when sharing, please send your friends here to my blog. Please support no digital piracy!

Stop by tomorrow for the next parts of Spring Polka Dots :-)

Mini Kit Freebie :-)

I have a new mini kit today. I've been playing with layer styles in photoshop. I came across 3 nice sets of commercial use styles on sale at http://www.scrappindigikreations.com/shop/ that I really like. I made today's kit from one of those style sets. They really helped me understand much better how layer styles work and the great things that can be done with them. I've even been making some styles of my own. Make sure you stop by later, I have a set of commercial use styles to share :-)
This kit is fairly simple, I hope you like it ---

Download Here

As Always, when sharing, Please send your friends here to my blog! Please support no digital piracy!!

My first CU Freebie :-)

Hello everyone! I have a new freebie to share I'm very excited about. It's my first element template for commercial use. I have a layered tag to share. It is in PSD and PNG formats so it should be usable by any program. I made this using the tools included in photoshop cs2 :-)

Download Here

As always, when sharing, please send your friends to my blog. Please support no digital piracy!!

I also have a new kit ready to share. I have to make a preview for the first part and upload it to 4-shared. I hope to have it posted tomorrow :-)

Cool News!!

I have cool news today, I can't say much about it yet. Suffice it to say it includes lots of cool freebies. Keep checking back for updates :-)

I have 5 kits in the works. I promise to have a freebie posted in the next day or so :-)

Time to get blogging again!! :-)

Time to get blogging and designing again. I'm working on 3 new kits and planning to revamp & re-release my 2nd kit, Ready For Spring Mini. Back soon with a freebie!! :-)

My mom --

Betty Franc Smith

July 6, 1926 - Feb 18, 2008

My mom passed away this morning

Happy Valentine's Day :-)

I have a new kit for you today. It's a nice little mini, 5 papers & 11 elements - Ready for Spring -

Download Here (link fixed)

As Always, when sharing, please send your friends to my blog. Please support no digital piracy.

I'm almost finished with my next kit, Bright & Dark. See yesterday's post for a peek. It's my best and favorite so far. It has dark & grungy papers with bright & glittery elements. Make sure you stop by tomorrow :-)

I still have my layout challenge for kit Over the Rainbow on-going. Send me a layout to munchkinscraps@yahoo.com. I have an add-ons pack of the kit leftovers for a posting gift :-)

Anna - Thank you so much for your lovely comments!! Thank you also for letting me know about the link to elements pack 5 part 2. The link is fixed now. I can't wait to see your layout :-)

Over the Rainbow Part 5 & a Peek :-)

YEA!!! Digiscrapdepot is back!! I'm sure you've read this on other blogs, but --- Digiscrapdepot needs our help. Their old server crashed from high traffic volume. They have found & moved the site to a new server but the costs for this server are considerably higher than the old one. Vicky has asked us, the digiscrap community, for a $1.34 donation. $1 for the server and the 34 cents it costs for paypal processing. She is leaving the donation buttons on the digiscrapdepot blog up until there is enough in the kitty to pay the server costs for 1 year. I honestly don't think this is too much to ask. We the community are basically the cause for the server crash with 150 hits every 20 seconds. A dollar seems a very reasonable, CHEAP, donation to help keep a very beloved site open, Want another reason to donate?? How about getting some free kits too. Crystal aka DigiScrapalicious and a few other designers have put together a collab kit "Spring Fling" for donators. To get these great kits click here to go to her blog for more details :-)

I have part 5 of Over the Rainbow ready. This is the last part. The layout challenge is on-going. Send in your layouts & I have an add-ons package of the kit leftovers as a posting gift. Sorry, no peeks at the posting gift yet. The only way to see it is send me a layout munchkinscraps@yahoo.com. Here is the last elements pack, part 5, make sure you get you both parts -

Download Here - Part 1 Part 2 (part 2 link fixed)

As Always, when sharing, please send your friends here to my blog. Please support no digital piracy.

I have a new layout to show off. It also gives a peek at an upcoming kit. The template for this month's Blueprint Challenge at Gotta Pixel is round. This was my first time doing a round layout. I liked it alot and had a lot of fun with it. I've had this kit in the works and the round template gave me a boost of inspiration. Many of the elements in the layout I was making as I went. I call the new kit Bright & Dark. Here's my layout and peek at the new kit -

Check out the Blueprint Challenge Gallery. There are lots of great layouts!!

I have a new mini kit all ready. Make sure you stop by tomorrow :-)

First Layout & a Freebie

I've received the first layout for my Over the Rainbow challenge :-D This layout was sent in by Alice aka DreamOfSunshine --

I love how you've used the hearts & arrows!! Beautiful layout!! Thank you so much for sending it in!!

I'm almost done with the final elements pack. What doesn't go in it, goes into the posting gift add-on. Alice - I'll be sending you the link as soon as I have it uploaded to 4-shared.
I'm going to try to leave the layout challenge up for as long as I have the files up. My intention at this point to is to try to keep my links alive as long as possible. Send me your layouts made with Over the Rainbow and I have a very nice add-ons package for a posting gift. I'm still adding things to it. I'll have a peek up as soon as I have finished.

I'm feeling a bit guilty that the final elements pack is taking me so long, it will be worth the wait I promise. In the meantime I put together my first quickpage from the kit. Here is my layout -

My beautiful grandkids!! :-)

Download Here

As always, when sharing, please send your friends here to the my blog. Please support no digital piracy.