Big Christmas Blogtrain from Val's Gals

Hi there!

I know, I know. I've been a bad blogger. So much as been going on in my life it's even hard for me to keep up. So I decided not to burden you by blogging about it. ;) Nah, not really. Just haven't got a lot of free time lately. One of my resolutions for the new year is definitely to blog more often. I always tended to leave it until there's too much to talk about, and that makes the posts too long, and that makes me too lazy to blog, and that makes me leave it until I have more time to blog, and that makes the list of things to talk about even longer, and thus begins the shameful cycle again. Hope I can cure myself soon. :D

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Anyway, you must have come here from Laurie's blog! We have a great thing going today. It's the Big Christmas Blogtrain by Val C. Designs' Creative Team. See this ad here (so beautifully made by Corinna aka Ruebchensmum) for more details. And... my dear French visitors, French text is provided below ;)



Today we have a blogtrain with wonderful prizes to win. All you have to do is follow the train, collect the words given on the different blog and post the sentence that results from these words in the comment section of Val's blog.
Aujourd'hui il y a un blogtrain avec des superbes prix à gagner. Tout ce qu'il faut faire, c'est suivre le blogtrain, collecter les mots qui sont donnés sur les différents blogs et poster la phrase qui résulte des mots donnés dans le coin comments sur le blog de Val C.

And here are my words:
Et voici mon mot:

"and to say"

Okay, I didn't have to do this but hey, it's fun! So I scrapped the words as well. I used Val C. Designs' kit Daily and Daily alpha for it. ;)

Now take those words and keep on to Eszter's blog, collect the whole sentence and leave it at the comment part in Val's blog! (If you get lost along the way and didn't get all the words for the sentence, you can always go back to start over again from Corinna's blog.)

I wish you all good luck and have the best holiday with your loved ones!!! :)

Maintenant, prenez ces mots et de garder sur le blog d'Eszter, de recueillir toute la phrase et de le laisser à la partie commentaire dans le blog de Val! (Si vous vous perdez en chemin et n'a pas obtenu tous les mots de la phrase, vous pouvez toujours revenir en arrière pour recommencer sur le blog de Corinna.)

Je vous souhaite à tous bonne chance et ont les meilleures vacances avec vos proches!!! :)

All for Anita :)

Let's just see some nice things today. Or I hope you'd think they're nice. ;) Of course I'm talking about my scrapbooking pages! I've been a bad blogger and haven't shown them in a long while. The digital backlog is piling up BIG TIME!

Today it's all about Anita. :) These following LOs are from Designs by Anita's kits throughout November to early December. I'll start from the most recent and work my way backwards.

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Snow - from A Winter's Day kit @ Mscraps and Two Little Pixels
(used with a template from Dunia Designs' An Easy Way 1 to 5)

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Love - The picture is from my in-law's wedding day. :) Aren't they gorgeous together?
from True Love kit @ Mscraps and Two Little Pixels (used with a template by Biancka for a challenge at MScraps)

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Best Thing - Now this is from MY engagement party all those years ago. :)
from Little Thoughts kit @ Mscraps and Two Little Pixels (used with Anita's Grungy Masks set)



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In Grandma's Hands - Just wanted to make some pages documenting Neill's bond with his Khun Yai :)
The page is inspired by 'That's My Boy' by dlhoffer
I used Persistent kit @ Mscraps and Two Little Pixels
with Anita's Frame It In No.2 (CU) @ MScraps and Two Little Pixels on the right page



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So, don't forget to visit Anita's store, where many more of her fantastic products are waiting. :)

I'll be back very soon with more pages to show here. Stay tuned!

Holiday shopping, anyone?

Happy Thanksgiving! For those who celebrate the fabulous holiday, of course. We don't celebrate it here in Thailand but I always love spirit and the idea of being grateful for what we have.

The concept actually applies to Buddhist teachings as well. To be satisfied, grateful, and know what is "just enough" for you, that equals to letting go of greed. Isn't that wonderful? Wouldn't it bring a little peace to the chaotic world? (A little pageant-y for me but what the heck. LOL!)

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I'm running a little late at everything. (When am I not that? Umm............ Let me think.............. Still thinking............) So I'll just leave you a couple of ads here. Hope they are useful for those who are shopping for holidays!!! All images are linked to corrensponding stores.

Oh! First, some good news!!!!

I am very lucky to be chosen as this week's Featured Scrapper at MScraps.

I would really LOVE IT and LOVE YOU if you ladies can visit the thread and play with the challenge! It's easy! You just have to visit my gallery at MScraps and lift one of my layouts using at least 75% of MS products. I'm the last one for November so, with holiday preparations and stuff, there might not be a lot of participants. It can be a bit lonely there. Keep me company, pretty please.........? ;)

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Now, the second good news! Val C. Designs asked if I wanted to join her CT and I said yes!!! I have always loved Val's beautiful kits and she's sooooooooo sweet and one of the most generous designers out there. So it's such a pleasure to be working with her again.

She just opened her store at Zig Zag Scrap recently and now some of her fabulous products are on sale during the Black Friday! Go shop!

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At MScraps, Anita and Dunia are also having some sales of their kits. Dunia has 3 new products on sale for 20% off during the weekend, while Anita's shop is 30% off!

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Gotta end with this bittersweet news. Designs by Doodelle (Rachelle) is closing her shop at MScraps. She'll be starting at a new store next month. From now until the end of the month, though, you have a chance to pick up her stuff at MScraps at a very looooow price! Some of the old kits will be retired forever so, seriously, don't miss the chance at owning some vintage Doodelle before it's gone for good!


I have a big bunch of new layouts for ALL the designers I CT for that haven't been shown here yet. That will have to wait until next time, though. See ya soon! Now enjoy your shopping!!!!!

What can you do to help make others stronger?

There's a lot to tell so I'll try to go straight to the point. :)

I took part in a charity collab for a digi friend whose husband is sick with cancer. The family is in trouble because he recently lost his job and his insurance doesn't cover the treatment. The friend is Chelsea of Caged Bird Designs, who is really sweet. I have only worked with her for a short time at DSC but she was very nice to the CTs there.

The charity collab is named "That Much Stronger." Here is the details about the kit itself as well as the charity -- the Doudy family's situation that this kit aims to support, direct from Scrapable website:

More than 40 designers have come together for a great cause to help
one of our own in the digital scrapbook community! This is a HUGE
mega collab which has more than 200 papers, over 300 elements,
about 50 word art, 10 alphas and 4 templates. Too many to count!

Chelsea Doudy's, designer of Caged Bird Designs, husband was diagnosed
with skin cancer right below his left eye, it is a Squamous Cell Carcinoma,
if left untreated it will start to effect the nerves and then move to the eye.
This comes on the heels of other medical bills for their son, Luke.
Clayton has also recently lost his job. The Doudy’s have no insurance and
have been told Clayton will need the Mohs surgery in the next two months,
and the hospital will not do the surgery without a down payment because
they have no insurance.

You can help! All proceeds from the sales of this kit, after Paypal fees,
will go directly to the battle, care and surgery of Clayton's skin cancer.
We have a big goal to meet!

Here is my part - my contribution to this amazing collab kit. It's a set of 7 main word arts with 33 variations, including optional shadows, grungy versions, journaling prompts, and some extra elements.

I want to show you what you can do with my contribution to the collab kit, so I created this layout using solely the word arts and elements in my part. It turned out to be one of my favorit LO ever! It's very personal, raw, and real. I love it. (Remember this is just one part! Imagin what else you can do with other 200 papers and 300 elements in this huge kit!)


Journaling reads:
You remind me of myself. My complex and confused self.
Strong-willed to the point of being stubborn, yet hungry for reassurance.
I am too hard on you sometimes because I am equally hard on me.
And that might not always be the right thing to be as a parent.
I'm still learning and trying every single day.
Just want you to know that I understand!
And I always love the strong-willed and sentimental you.
No matter what, be assured... our love will be stronger everyday.

My friend Tammy, of Designs by Polka Dot Chicks, also made this beautiful layout using a word art in this set, with a heartfelt message to her son:


Credits:
Kit - Essentials by StudioDawn @ SBG
Wordart by Pom's Breathing Room
Template (modified) by BIO

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I'd really appreciate it if you can purchase the kit to support the family. (You can also make a direct donation to them if you want to.) With almost 2GB of digi goodies, it is definitely more than worth the $10 price. Well, maybe a little freebie to sample it first? I'm happy say that I have a permission to share some with you. :)

Here's one word art and one seperate brick brush to compliment the WA. They are included in my part of the collab kit. Please click here or on the preview below to download.

Enjoy your freebie and thank you in advance for supporting the Doudy family and That Much Stronger!

I'll be in Doodelle's Studio, Studio...

An America's Got Talent hardcore fan would surely recognise that the title of this blog post is a reference to Sponjetta Parrish's memorable performance on the show. Boy, those were 3 and a half minutes of pure fun and it gave me a great laugh and a good night's sleep! (If you click to see the clip, make sure you watch the second half. Nick was absolutely hilarious!!)

Okay, the reason I thought of Sponjetta's performance is because...... Designs by Doodelle is a guest Studio Girl at ScrapbookGraphics for November!!! I know, I know... The !'s are redundant since I'm blogging about this so late and most of you knew it already. LOL Well, I'm still excited abut this great gig and Rachelle totally deserves it! So...shall we take a look at what she has in her studio, studio, this month then? :D

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Abundant Grace is the first product of Studio Doodelle I got to play with. It's a whimsical and creative Fall and Thanksgiving kits rolled into one. I just love how my layout with the kit turned out.

Rachelle also has this seperate set of Silver Charms that will compliment the kit and you can easily mix and match it with many others.

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Then there's Tickle, this fun and goofy kit that would just make you smile along when you see a page made with it! And I had JUST the perfect series of photos for it too. ;)

Journaling reads: May 20, 2010
These photos were taken the day Neill pulled one of his front teeth out.
Yep. Pulled.
It had been wobbling for a while and we were planning to see the dentist about it.
Then one day he turned and said, 'Look, Mom! No blood at all!!'
He was so proud of himself that he, literally, pulled it off all by himself! LOL

There is also a seperate set of frames, Tickle My Fancy Frames, that are just gorgeous for all kinds of layouts!


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The latest kit of Designs by Doodelle/Studio Doodelle I got to play with is the romantic and chic mini-kit Affections. (Available at both MScraps and ScrapbookGraphics!) I chose to use it with a picture of Dunia's beautiful twin daughters, Rafa and Duda, who turned 9 months old on November 4. It came out just like I hoped, so soft and tender. :) The page earned a GSO at DigiShopTalk too.


( *** Please note this modification (by me) - The hand-drawn butterfly sticker offered in the kit was used as a mask to make the pierced paper butterfly in the above layout. *** )


Still need more creative inspiration? Visit Rachelle's (Designs by Doodelle's) blog to see other fabulous pages created by her Creative Souls -- my Soulsistahs!! :D

Oh!! And to end this blog post with a great news. Rach has prepared a special exclusive gift for Studio Doodelle customers who purchase from her store at SBG for the whole month of November! Look below, isn't it so gorgeous and useful? Don't miss it, ladies! :)

Shhh.. I'm not here...

Sorry I can't talk much and I won't talk long. Just tiptoe-ing in and will sneak out very soon.

I actually should have blogged much earlier. A lot of news to share, layouts to show, and promotions to.. well.. promote. Now it's too late and the iDSD had come and gone. I'm so sorry. I'll be better soon I promise. A lot is happening and I'm having a bad migraine attack. Everything coming out of my mouth sounds wrong and mean. (Bad Pom!) I should go to bed but I can't sleep. :(

Anyway, I still enjoy browsing around and reading about all my friends in Digi Land's iDSD experiences. Glad to learn that everyone seems to enjoy it so far. All the freebies from stores and designers are great and discounts are awesome. A lot of money was happily spent. Some stores are extending the sales for a day or two as well. That's a great news. :)

Well, I should try to go back to sleep. Good night!! ;) I'll be more sane next time we talk! LOL

Boo! and freebie too! (2)

Yep! As promised, another post with the same name, right after the previous one! LOL!

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And like the earlier entry, first we begin with the good news!

Rach (Designs by Doodelle) has an important gig next month being a guest designer at an exciting store!!! Apart from holding a Guess My Gig games at her Facebook fan page, she's also holding a RAK for new kits she has coming out at the guest store too! Head over to Facebook or DST for both games now! Or you can just go to Rach's blog to read the details about them. :)

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Now my news. And I'm sorry to say that it's a sad news. After almost a year working as a Creative Team Member of Digital Scrap Cafe, I have decided to step down. Yes, I'm leaving DSC.

It's such a hard decision to make, I lost quite a few nights' sleep over it. It feels like the end of an era for me!! I enjoyed being active and getting creative for the wonderful shop and this friendly forum so much, but I just don't have enough time to be as active anymore. It really breaks my heart (you know how much I love DSC) but you've gotta do what you've gotta do, right?

In any case, I'm hosting this one last challenge there and I hope you will be able to find time to play with me. It's a template challenge!! I made a new template out of an old layout of mine, then I used it with this new layout for the latest lovely collab kit from Aprilisa Designs and Pixelily Designs called Eek! I'm Scared!

Here's my layout with it:


Journaling reads:
*NOT counting down to October 31 !*
Papa has taken leave from work to visit us from the second week of October,
and he's due to be back in Lebanon on Oct 31.
That makes this year the worst Halloween ever!
We know we woud miss your funny faces so much!

There will be a little parting gift from me to all participants of the challenge as well. So please go to the challenge thread to find your download link and make a layout! Play with me! Please..... :) I hope you like the template!!

** There is a problem at DSC so the challenge is cancelled for now. You can click on the image to download. **

** Edited: Many thanks to @Ally S. who let me know that she couldn't download the template from DSC because there's a malware warning on the site. I heard the complaint earlier and the site were already working hard on it. Anyway, in the mean time, if you can't access DSC either, you may use this link to download the template directly.

And if you do have a chance to make a layout from the template and can't post the layout in DSC gallery due to malware warning, please leave the link to your page in the comment space here and I'll make sure to show it in the challenge thread and make you eligible for participating prize. :) Thanks!! **

Boo! and freebie too! (1)

Yep! This is post number one. There will be another entry with the same title, featuring another layout with (somewhat) the same name, from another kit with (somewhat) the same theme, and another coordinating freebie (fortunately not of the same kind) coming right after. Don't ask me why. It just has to be. I'm confused myself. LOL!

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Yesterday was Friday and it's the day of new releases! I just want to mention this one by Dunia quickly because it's so cool! It's a new template pack inspired by Camila Maria who always rocks her layouts with clustering style. I haven't got a chance to play with the templates yet but I'll show you the page I make with it soon.

I know it's only a day left but maybe you can still catch it! Dunia's Good-bye Sale at Zig Zag Scrap, 50% off her entire shop until October 31 only!!!

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Designs by Anita also has something out for the special day tomorrow! Halloween! Yayyy! We don't celebrate Halloween at home but Neill can't help getting excited with it. He even asked Papa to buy him a pirate costume - fully equipped with eye pad, ear rings, a sword, a cap, a head scarf! I'll snap some shots for you to see if he really gets to wear it somewhere. :D

Anyway, here's Anita's delicious Halloween kit called Trick or Treat! (Available at MScraps and Two Little Pixels) I so love the classic colors and cute elements. Very versatile and good for both boys and girls too!

Here's my page using this fabulous kit!

Journaling reads: April 24, 2010
For almost 10 years that Mama has been collecting pictures of Papa's 'Boo!' Faces,
This one is certainly a clear favorite,
Neill couldn't stop laughing when he saw this.

I made a 12x12" quickpage out of that layout for Anita to give away on her blog and she was so kind as to allow me to share it here as well. So, click on the preview below or just click here to download. Leave me a word or two if you like it please. And don't forget to go to Anita's blog to read all about the kit and see other awesome pages from other CT members too! Enjoy!

For Dunia: news, kits, and layouts!

A lot is going on for Dunia right now and I'm here to spread the words! :)

Dunia Designs is leaving Zig Zag Scraps (to become exclusive at DigiScrappersBrasil) so she's having a 50% sales for her whole store at ZZS. Grab the fabulous products before October 31!

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She's also having a few lovely kits out recently. This one, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a collaboration with Rubia of Studio Basic, so you can rest assured that the kit is certainly fun, funky, and fabulous! Templates and a set of alpha are also included!

For some reasons, I always find myself using Dunia's kits for my hubby's cute little grand niece Deandré's pictures. I feel that Dee's playful personality goes with Dunia's style so well. So here is Dee's fun day at the beach, scrapped with this great kit. I used Studio Basic's template (included in the kit) too!

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Another one is a relaunched kit for Christmas, Christmas Wishes collab kit by Dunia and Loreta Labarca (available at DigiScrappersBrasil and MScraps)!! Honestly, I love the kit so much and have loved it since I saw it last year. If you celebrate X'mas at home, this one is for you. It's so versatile and has so much to play and be creative with.

I made a page with this kit last year, using a picture of Yuri, Dunia's handsome son. He was such a perfect model for a perfect Christmas celebration!!

The quote in the layout belongs to Burton Hills. It says, 'The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.'

So true. Don't you agree? :)

What can you learn from little birds?

If the title sounds a little philosophical, then maybe that's because it's kinda is! Am I confusing you already? :) It's all about this page here.

Journaling reads: (October 27, 2002)

In Thailand we have a saying that can be translated as
"Little birds build nests according to their size."
This is based on a Buddhist belief that one should always
be aware of their own situation and live within their means.

I had this thought on my mind when Chris and I decided to host a small party
to let our friends know of our engagement
and my decision to leave Thailand to live with Chris in East Timor.
We sent out an informal invitation to friends with this photo on it.

The fact that it was taken at an instant photo booth in the old Bangkok airport
only a few minutes after Chris's flight had landed made it even more special.
No make-up, stiff hair, or beautiful suit and gown. Just us and the camera.
It became the first symbol of our lives together on the path of little birds.

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Yes, I know. It's an old picture and an old story. But the moment I laid eyes on the Kissing Birds kit, I thought of both immediately. I wanted to tell the story and tell it right, because it means a lot to me. This kit helped me do just that.

But then again it's always like this between me and each one of Rachelle's (Designs by Doodelle's) kit. They make me feel the urge to tell a story. Sometimes, though, the right story doesn't show itself to me right away. When that happens I prefer to wait. I know that if I give it time and don't rush myself to "just finish it", it will pay off. Probably not very nice of me as a creative team member but I'm lucky that Rach is super sweet and understand her Creative Soulmates very well. Hehe...

Anyway, here's the ultra cute and super creative kit that inspires me so much, Kissing Birds:

You may pop in Rach's blog to see other stunning layouts that the MScraps CTs have created with the kit, and also a layout from Tammy and one from Indy -- my two creative soulmates on Rach's CT team!

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As usual, Rach lets me turn my layout in to a QP to give away here. I hope you woud enjoy it as much as I do. There's plenty of room on the layout to tell your own story or you can even add more of your own special photos onto it. Please consider leaving me a word or two if you like the page enough to download. You know how much I love to read. :) Here's your download link.


Indy has a quickpage from her layout to give away as well. Don't forget to tell her I send my best regards when you stop by her blog to catch the goodies! ;)

A Perfect Day to ...

It's a perfect day to ... insert your own verb there in the blank! :D For me, I guess I'll have to say it's a perfect day to write! I've been working on an article (IRL work) and now I'm making 2 back-to-back blog posts for Anita's kits and then Rachelle's while hubby is having his perfect snore in bed behind me. LOL

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Let's start with a good news about Anita! Designs by Anita is featured at The Daily Digi and I feel so excited for her. It is such a wonderful site where I learn a lot about graphic techniques and also about digiscrapbooking design business from. One thing you will get to learn more about today is Anita herself! This article, In the Designer's Studio with Anita, will give you an inside peek about who she is and how she works. I find it really interesting and fun to read!

Anita has created a new and exclusive kit to include in the Digi Files#22 along with products from other well-known designers. This kit by Anita is called "A Perfect Day" which is so perfectly stunning in everyway!

Here is what I made with it:

Journaling reads:
We found a cute little cafe near our holiday house in Rayong
so we decided to stop for snack and, of course, an inpromptu photo session.

We took turns taking pictures.
Then we set the camera on tripod to shoot us together.
The brief quality time was such a perfect moment for us.

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Being such a totally efficient and hyper creative designer :) , Anita also has this very useful and cool set of Grungy Masks out this week at MScraps and Two Little Pixels!


And this is my layout using one of the Grungy Masks with a little bit of A Perfect Day!

I used a picture of Neill and Grandma over the Sirikit dam in Uttaradit, taken when Neill was participating in a sports tournament there last year. I like the shape and lines of the bridge and I like the depth of focus in this photo. It fits the masks perfectly and I'm really satisfied with the outcome. They really are "best friends"in a sense and I feel so blessed for that. :)

Digital Scrap Cafe October 2010 Blog train is here!

Uh... Well... Technically, the blog train is here but I am not, though. LOL! I'm actually on a beach somewhere sipping a mai tai (..more likely a cup of hot latte but it's more fun to think mai tai. Hehe) But since this is the 15th of the month, I just have to pop in here to welcome you on board the Digital Scrap Cafe October 2010 Blog Train.

This train is taking you to see the beauty of Autumn with the beautiful collab kit "Falling for You" by all the fabulous designers of Digital Scrap Cafe! Included in this gorgeous kit are 110 elements and 61 papers, more than enough to satisfy your scrapping needs all season long. :)


For this month, our talented and sweet Blog Train hostess, Alison of Milly Dee Designs, suggested that we make a hybrid tag as blog train freebies. What a fun idea! The tags can be printed out and used as is or you can of course use it as a part of your scrapbooking layouts.

Sadly, due to family business and out of town trips this month, I couldn't participate fully and wasn't able to make the tag for blog train. I still would love for you to visit all the participating blogs and collect the fantastic goodies our designers and CT members have waiting for you though. Here are all the blog train stops:

Digtal scrap Cafe
Tempusfugit
The Beale Five
tincancanoe
Kristen's Scrappy Life
Cage Bird Designs
Three Hearts Digital Designs
Milly Dee Designs

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Well, hybrid tag or not, I still can't let you leave this blog empty handed, especially on the DSC Blog Train day! My gift for you here is the 2011 Monthly Calendar Dates that I made to use with my own family calendars. The project is currently in printing process and I'm so excited about it!!!. I'll probably write another blog post to show you all the calendar pages soon. :D

Here's one sample of the calendar dates in use. (I modified my layouts to make the calendar. This page uses Designs by Doodelle's Creative Soul kit with a wire cupcake element by Three Paper Peonies, and my own calendar dates.)


Please click here or on the preview below for download link. I hope you enjoy it and have fun with your own calendar projects. And don't forget to check out the DSC blog train as well for a lot more freebies!! Talk later!

*Edited to add this: @suzielarose asked if the font I used for the calendar dates is my handwriting. I'm flattered but no, it's not. (I wish! LOL) It's a free font by Tom Murphy called One Constant. You can also find a link to his website [DIVIDE BY ZERO] in the TOU file of the calendar dates. ;)