free seeds

{i} NSD 2012 :: DSA Blog Train

Happy Happy {i}NSD!!  I hope that everyone is well and enjoying a happy and scrappy day today soaking up all the fun on blogs, and in the stores and forums!!  And I hope that you get to enjoy some time scrapping your stories this weekend too!

This weekend is one that not only celebrates this hobby and storytelling journey I love so much, it is also the anniversary of my design debut!  This time in 2010 marked the beginning of Zinnias and Swallowtails and I am SO very grateful for all the support and inspiration I have received from all of you along the way!  Thank you!

You may have found your way here Jeanye’s blog while hopping along the annual (and wonderful!) DSA blog train but if you’ve missed a spot or got lost your way, you can head to the DigiScrapAddicts forum to find the complete list and start fresh.

I’m so happy to be a part of the fun to share something with you!  I so hope you like it!  You can {download here} or click on the image below:

Your next stop on the DSA {i}NSD train is Tickled Pink Studio which is home to my friend Becca and she has something pretty and fun for you!  Don’t forget if you’ve missed a spot or lost your way on the DSA train, you can head to the DigiScrapAddicts forum to find the complete list and start fresh.

Here’s to a wonderful happy, scrappy day!!  Happy Scrapping!

 

Honor :: Documenting Veteran’s Day

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Veteran’s Day is a day that holds a special place in my heart.  Not only because I am wife to a man who has chosen to dedicate his life to the service of his country in a way that few ever do.  Not only because I am the grand-daughter of a man who, together with his entire generation, sacrificed and served for something greater than himself.  But also because I know that I am blessed to live freely and live safely and live with choice and opportunity because of the men and women in uniform who have lived and died so that I could.

That is a kind of service that could never be adequately honored.  It is the kind of service for which I give gratitude with my whole heart.  It is the kind of service I hope to never take for granted.

And so with a humble heart full of thanks to all those who have served and who serve today, I say “thank you”.

—————————————————————————————————————————–

And in honor of this day, I’d like to offer a fresh free download.  🙂  It was inspired by the service of those in uniform.  And created with a heart full of gratitude and hope to honor our veterans here in the U.S. but can certainly be used for any page or project.   And I got a little help from my kindred spirit and the fabulously talented Amy too!  She contributed some of her amazing mishmashed sentiments!

I so hope you enjoy!  Feel free to click the images or {this link} to download (everything shown is shown in separate previews, but available in a single download).

Feel free to click the images or {this link} to download (everything shown is shown in separate previews, but available in a single download).

Happy Scrapping! ♥

Happy {inter}National Scrapbooking Day

Happy Happy {i}NSD!!  I hope that everyone is well and enjoying a happy and scrappy day today enjoying all the fun on blogs, and in the stores and forums!!  And I hope that you get to enjoy some time scrapping your stories this weekend too!

This weekend is one that not only celebrates this hobby and storytelling journey I love so much, it is also the anniversary of my design debut!  This time last year marked the beginning of Zinnias and Swallowtails and I am SO very grateful for all the support and inspiration I have received from all of you along the way!  Thank you!

There is SO much to share today so I’ll dive right in!!  I have some {fresh seeds} share and some blog hoppy {free seed} goodness too!

You may have found your way here from Laura’s blog as you travel the fabulous DSA iNSD blog train but if you’ve missed a spot or lost your way, you can head to the DigiScrapAddicts forum to find the complete list and start fresh.

Or you may be visiting today as part of the amazing hoppity hop-ness of The Lilypad blog hop.  In which case you probably found your way here after visiting Krista’s blog.  If you get missed a stop on the TLP hop or have lost your way you can find a complete list {HERE}.

Either way there are a bevvy of amazing freebies to snag today and I’m so happy to share a little something with you too!

I was inspired by all things fresh and sunny and celebratory to create something fun and versatile.  I so hope you like it!  You can {download here} or click on the image below.

Your next stop on The DSA {i}NSD train is Live Your Stories which is home to my dear Crystal where she has a couple fabulous somethings for you today! Don’t forget if you’ve missed a spot or lost your way on the DSA train, you can head to the DigiScrapAddicts forum to find the complete list and start fresh.

Your next stop on The Lilypad hop is Rebecca’s blog.  I know you’ll love what she has to share too!  And remember if you get missed a stop on the TLP hop or have lost your way you can find a complete list {HERE}.

And now on to even more {i}NSD fantasticness…

I have two, nay three amazing collaborations coming to The Lilypad today!  And I hope that you will find they are just what you need to help you scrap all the amazing goodies you are snagging this weekend!

One year ago, NSD marked my designing debut and I celebrated with the support and cooperation of my dear friend Crystal as we released a special template-only grab bag together.  And we thought it would be fun to revisit the grab baggy spirit and fun!  So I’m happy to present the 2nd Annual {i}NSD Grab Bag collaboration from Zinnias and Swallowtails and Crystal Livesay.  This is a versatile set of 8 layered templates inspired by layers and a play with paper.

And here is a full reveal of what you will find inside this fun little grab bag:

You can grab this bag o’ templatey goodness in my store for $3 throughout the weekend.  After this time it will return to it’s original price of $9.

Here is a spot of grab bag inspiration:

I have also teamed up with the ever amazing Amy Martin to create a set of templates inspired by the process of moving, packing and unpacking.  We always have fun collaborating together and this set was no exception.

Meet Packed, a set of 10 layered templates created in the spirit of  tighter, layery, stacky compositions:

And Unpacked, a complementing set of 10 templates created in the spirit of  airier, looser compositions in mind:

You can also grab the bundle, Packed and Unpacked to enjoy the full set of 20 templates.

And here’s some amazing Packed and Unpacked inspiration:

And lastly, Amy and I have created this fun set of Thankful cards, which are perfect for creating heartfelt custom thank{full} greetings for those people in your lives whom you’d like to shower with thanks!

And don’t forget to check out all the fresh goodness at the Pad for this month’s BYOC.

As always I looove to see your stories and art too, so please feel free to share with me anytime.  Just shoot me a mail or share them on my facebook page.  And if you haven’t signed up  the newsletter yet you may want to do that so you can be the first to hear the latest news and get the latest exclusive savings.

There are also two giveaways happening now.

Be sure to check out:

Brought To You By the Letter J for your chance to win a gift certificate provided by Jacque Larsen

Scrap Your Theme Song for your chance to win a gift certificate provided by Kristin Cronin-Barrow

—————————————————————————————————————————-

And with that, I shall send you on your way with wishes for a beautiful weekend full of all things scrappy!

{free seeds} archive

As I continue to restructure and organize things on the blog as we approach the final reveal of my personal site, I’ve gone through the archives and created a {free seeds} archive for your convenience.  I will update it as new free downloads are added in future.  In the meantime, feel free to take a peek and snag any {free seeds} you may have missed in the past.

So hope you enjoy!  Happy Scrapping!

gathering and sharing {free seeds}

There are some {free seeds} that have been shared in various places over the past few months and I wanted to take a moment to gather these few seeds all in one easy-to-access post for your convenience.

The first, “advent”, was originally shared during my guest stay and as part of Scrap Orchard’s advent celebration.  You can download it by clicking the image or the link {HERE}:

Next is “cranberry” which was originally available during Leora Sanford’s 25 Days of Christmas event.  You can now snag it {HERE} or by clicking the image below:

Next is a template originally available as part of a monthly “with a twist” challenge at After Five Designs.  You can now snag this template {HERE} or by clicking the image below:

So hope you enjoy!  And if you ever feel like sharing your pages created with zinnias and swallowtails template designs, I’d love to see them!  Feel free to share on my Facebook page or send me an email.

Happy Scrapping!

{grow with love: holiday} details and a {freebie}

So it’s officially that time of year.  That beautiful time of year.  And we are about to embark upon Grow With Love: Holiday.  As per usual, Crystal and I will alternate blog postings, wherein we share the prompts, a smattering of inspiration and some insight and encouragement along the way.  All the while we *will* be continuing with GWL: Kids posts on Mondays (here) and Thursdays (at Crystal’s blog)…yes, we may very well be totally cuckoo.  BUT, as always all the Grow With Love posts and projects will remain on our blogs indefinitely so anyone can dive in anytime or come back when the time suits them best.  We know it’s quite a lot to be getting on with, but we wanted to get these holiday posts up during the holidays and hope they will enrich and encourage you in your storytelling and in your living this season.  And so without further ado the holiday blog schedule will look like this:

Day One: Friday 3 December at Sara’s blog (plantyourstory.com/blog)

Day Two: Saturday 4 December at Crystal’s blog (liveyourstories.com)

Day Three: Tuesday 7 December at Sara’s

Day Four: Wednesday 8 December at Crystal’s

Day Five: Friday 10 December at Sara’s

Day Six: Saturday 11 December at Crystal’s

Day Seven: Tuesday 14 December at Sara’s

Day Eight: Wednesday 15 December at Crystal’s

Day Nine: Friday 17 December at Sara’s

Day Ten: Saturday 18 December at Crystal’s

Day Eleven: Tuesday 21 December at Sara’s

Day Twelve: Wednesday 22 December at Crystal’s

Whew!  Wish us luck!  Hope to see you along the way!

——————————————————————————————————————————

if you are coming to this post anytime after the end of year 2011, you can now find all the posts in one happy, coordinated place in the Grow With Love: Archive {HERE}

——————————————————————————————————————————

Also wanted to point you in the direction of a fabulous post from Crystal over at Vanillabees.  She created a compilation of her favorite picks for all the latest and greatest holiday kits..which will be a great resource for picking kits for this or any other holiday project.  Woot!

Now for another little something fun…I created these layered tag templates that can be used for this or any holiday project and pages.  They are completely customizable (and completely free!) and each tag includes many options for building your own tag.  You can create tags with scalloped edges, with punched edges, with alphas, with cut-out numbers and combinations of each.  Lots of possibilities to create tags that really fit your page design.

You can snag them by clicking the image below or by clicking {HERE}

Sgleason_hollydays_preview

So hope you like them and have fun with them!  Happy Scrapping!

Ooh and stay tuned because I have two fabulous {fresh seeds} coming Friday. Can’t wait to show you!

 

1 3 4 5 6