Blog Party at the Cottage!

March is here and spring is near... and the Cottage designers and creatives have prepared an awesome Blog Hop party for you!

Here's the preview of my contribution. Click here to download, and when you're done make sure to visit the rest of the blogs below to collect all the parts of this mega kit! We're all in different time zones, so if someone doesn't have their part posted, just come back in a bit and grab it then. Happy scrapping!

Stellarific Creations:http://stellarificcreations.blogspot.com/

Scrapbooking In Australia:http://scrapbookinginaustralia.blogspot.com/

Cottage Scrapbooks blog:http://cottagescrapbooks.blogspot.com/

The Cottage Creatives:http://creatives4cottagescrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Stella's other blog:http://creativebystella.blogspot.com/

Stella's Cottage Blog ~ Meeting Place:http://cottagescrapbooks.com/forum/blog.php?u=4

mITSYBELLE:http://mitsybelle.blogspot.com/

KayC:http://grandmaspixels.blogspot.com/

Jean Ann:http://jacksscraps.blogspot.com/

DarleneH:http://darlenedesigns.blogspot.com/ >>>>> you are here

KDesigns:http://www.kdesignscreations.blogsot.com/

JessicasSweetNothings:http://jessicassweetnothings.blogspot.com/

Cadacee's Corner:http://cadaceescorner.blogspot.com/

Ozsuehttp://sue-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/

Just for Fun...

I was tagged by my friends Livia and Nani - this is just for fun. It's a "show me your photo" game, and here's how it works:

•Go to your photo folder in your computer

•Go to the 6th folder of photos

•Go to the sixth picture

•Put the picture on your blog and a description of it

•Invite six friends to join the challenge

•Link them in your blog.

I promised not to cheat... but I'm really organized and that means a lot of subfolders, so I went to my personal photos and kept counting six folders down until I reached the point where I could see my photos. Here's the sixth one.


This is my sister Debbie, my friend Tina, and me on the right. It was taken in 2003 at the Italian Festival in Reno, Nevada. Not too embarrassing, thank God - but I can't figure out why my sister is so much taller than me in this picture. Maybe she was on a step. We're actually both the same height, although she insists he has 1/2 inch over me. Whatever. :)

Here are the six people I'm tagging - come on, people, let's see your stuff!

1. Toiny
2. Kristine
3. Mistybelle
4. Tracy
5. Brenda
6. Charlie

This Week's Update...

Some of you know that my eldest son is studying abroad in Florence, Italy right now. As it happens, my niece is also studying there. She's at a different school and they're on different schedules (Michelle will be coming home this weekend), but they had a few weeks overlapping during their stay, which I think is so cool. Here's a photo of Joey and Michelle with the Arno River and Florence's Duomo behind them:

This photo is really getting me excited about my upcoming trip to Italy - next week! But more about that later...

I want to show you the previews for SAS' new mega kit, Oriental Cherry Blossoms. It's really lovely and best of all it's on sale right now. For only $5.98, you get 60 papers, 101 elements, and even a bonus quick page.

So with Joey's stay in Italy and my upcoming trip there, naturally I needed an Italian-themed kit for our layouts. Hence, I created Ciao Italia.

This weeks freebie is an awesome Quick Page made with Ciao Italia, created by CT Kay. Please take a moment to stop by Kay's blog and leave her some love. We enjoy giving freebies and samplers away, but it always makes us feel really good to get comments from you guys. By the way, Kay also has some great Quick Pages on her blog that you can download, but hurry because I don't know how long they will be there.

Click on the preview below to download the Quick Page and please do not share the download link, or hotlink. Have fun - and if you use this page feel free to send me a link where you post it... I'd love to see what you make! My contact info is in the TOU included, or on my sidebar. Enjoy your freebie. :)

Here's a layout I made - quickly! - using this Quick Page:

It's Finally Here....

Drumroll, please... announcing the SAS-y Valentine's Day Blog Hop Party! I hope you've cleared out some room on your hard drive because you're in for a downloading treat. Get comfy with a cup of tea and make sure to go to all the SAS-y Designers' blogs to snag all the wonderful treats.

My freebie for this party is called Lovey Dovey. It's fairly large so you have to download three zips to get it all. Enjoy!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Here are the rest of the designers' blogs to visit. Happy Valentine's Day!

Ambowife Designs - http://tazmanianshe-devil.blogspot.com/
AneczkaW- http://aneczkaw.blogspot.com/
Brenda -http://digitalcreat ionsfrommillstre amcottage. blogspot. com/
Cathy Cher Designs ScrapsatonalScraps- http://www.scrapsationalscraps.blogspot.com/
Charlie's Digiscraps- http://charliesdigiscraps.blogspot.com/
Darlene - http://darlenedesigns.blogspot.com/ --->>> you are here
EllenM Creations ScrapsatonalScraps- http://www.scrapsationalscraps.blogspot.com/
Enaideel Scraps - http://thescrappytimes.wordpress.com/
Jeanette B. http://acmommy28.blogspot.com/
Kristi W http://scrappindivaz.blogspot.com/
Mamrotka - http://mamrotka.blogspot.com/
mITSYBELLE - http://mitsybelle.blogspot.com/
Monika - http://monikadigitaldesigns.blogspot.com/
PiggyScraps - http://piggyscraps.blogspot.com/
SKrapper Digitals - http://skrapperdigitals.blogspot.com/

Carmela Sampler and 50% Off Featured Kit

Today I have another sampler for you from my Carmela kit, which is currently one of the featured kits at Cottage Scrapbooks. That means it's marked down 50% - only $2.75 for the whole thing! This is a beautiful collection for any type of vintage, feminine, or romantic layout. There are plenty of blues, greens, and wooden elements for "guy" layouts as well.

A Carmela Bundle Quick Page Album is available, too. These sets are available individually, but you can save money buy getting the bundle package - and you'll have enough pages for an entire album very quickly!

Here is this week's freebie. Remember, no sharing or hotlinking, please. Click on the preview to download.

I have a coordinating Carmela Quick Page freebie that will only be in this week's Stone Accents Studio newsletter. To get this Quick Page, make sure to sign up here for the newsletter.

Don't forget to come back on Friday - the kick-off to our SAS-y Valentine's Blog Hop Party!

A Brand New Kit and Bargains Galore!

It's the beginning of February and that means a new challenges in the forums! Check out this month's Quote Challenge at Scrapbird. This month we're doing a layout using a love quotation:

"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."~ David Viscott

If you post a layout to the gallery using this quote and supplies from any Scrapbird designer (including freebies), you'll get this Quick Page posting bonus, just for playing along.

I am so excited to show you my brand new kit, Ciao Italia, (which means "Hello, Italy," now available at Scrapbird (and coming soon to my other stores). This collection is perfect for everything from travel layouts to pizza night with the kids. There are plenty of non-Italy-specific papers and embellishments included, so this kit is really versatile.

Here's a layout I made using Ciao Italia:

Do you love a bargain? I'm retiring a couple of my older kits from my SAS store, and you can pick them up CHEAP until the end of the month. After that they will be gone for good.

Today is only $1.35 for the whole thing, and includes 10 papers and 30 embellishments:

For My Mother is a huge kit that includes 18 papers, 1 full alpha set (upper and lower cases, numbers, and punctuation), and 35 embellishments. Pick it all up for only $1.99!

Bella Mia is on sale right now at SAS, only $2.93 - that's 35% off!

I made this layout using Bella Mia. These photos are of my dear friend Carmen, whom I've know since high school, and me.

Last but not least, my Carmela collection is being featured at Cottage Scrapbooks and that means a huge savings for you. Get the kit right now for 50% off - only $2.75 for this little pretty:

Don't forget to mark your calendars for February 13, for our SAS-y Blog Hop. There will be lots of yummy Valentine's treats for you, so start cleaning out your hard drives now.

This week I have a template to share with you. No hotlinking or sharing, please - just send your friends here to download. Click on the preview and enjoy!