Happy Halloween! Happy Birthday! And The Spider Papers Freebie!

There sure is a lot going on today! As you know by reading my blog it is my birthday and that we are headed to Disney this afternoon.

And of course you know that it is also Halloween today. It is the one day of the year you get to dress up funny and act silly. Well, some of you may do that every day, but for the rest of us it is a day to let out hair down and have a good time.

Today I am offering the last of my 2008 Halloween freebies. I hope you have downloaded all my other Halloween offerings!

Here is the Spider Papers freebie for you. It contains 10 papers with a cute little spider on them.

Now More Than Ever: A Big Incentive To Vote

As if you didn't need a reason to execute your Constitutional right as an American to elect the leader of your country by placing your vote on Tuesday, Novermber 4, 2008.
Here is what may be the deciding factor for some of you...

Krispy Kreme wants your vote! Actually, the company doesn't care who you vote for as long as you vote. On November 4, locations around the country will be handing out free star-shaped donuts with red, white and blue sprinkles to anyone with an "I voted" sticker (we're guessing other proof may be allowed, in case your polling place is out of stickers). The effort is non-partisan, so don't worry about one of the candidates forking over a wad of leftover campaign money in some kind of weird get-out-the-vote effort. This is just about Krispy Kreme trying to get some foot traffic of its own.

"We can't guarantee that your candidate of preference will win on November 4, but we can guarantee that your right to voice your choice will be rewarded with a patriotic doughnut that will remind you just how tasty freedom really is," said Krispy Kreme's Chef Ron Rupocinski in a press release. "Krispy Kreme encourages everyone to take part in this historical election and vote." ~Beth Pinsker

Halloween Kit Add On Freebie

Only one more day until Halloween! Have you downloaded all the spooky freebies you need yet?

I'll offer one more Halloween themed freebie tomorrow (Halloween Day) and then it will be back to designing "regular" stuff until Thanksgiving comes around!

Today is the rest of the Halloween Kit from yesterday. So here is the Halloween Kit Add On for yout to get your spider overlay and a another Jack-O-Lantern in a slightly differnt color and texture.

Remember, don't stress over eating too much candy in the next few days. You deserve a break! Just get right back on the diet/exercise wagon and keep going! One or two days will not destroy your progress so far. Just don't get TOO slack! LOL

Your Layouts!

I feel so bad! I'm trying the best I can to make my blog something attractive and fun to read. But lately my offerings have had a bunch of snags in them.

I appreciate people like Jean (who let me know about another link that was invalid on the 4 Shared end.) She has stuck with trying to download the kits in the Flowers Collection Series even though she has had multiple issues!

Here is a layout from her using my Iris Collection to honor her mother-in-law who recently passed away. What a great tribute!

Thanks Jean for sticking with my blog and for honoring me by using my kit to pay tribute to a special person in your life!

Another 4 Shared Issue

Thanks to Jean for brining to my attention that the link for the Calla Lilly Collection Add On is also messed up.

I have fixed it on the original post and also here is the direct link to the Calla Lilly Collection Add On.

I'm very sorry this is happening!!! The uploads that have become invalid have been downloaded in the past. I don't know why they would just stop working.

Halloween Kit Freebie

Well, it certainly got chilly here in Florida! I love it. Now don't get me wrong...anything colder than it is right now and I don't think I'd like that.

That's one reason why fall is my favorite time of the year: it is cooler but not freezing cold. I hope this stays this way at least until Halloween because we are spending my birthday at Disney Hollywood Studios (formerly known as Disney MGM.)

We hate going to the theme parks in the summer when it is so hot you are miserable all day. One year we were at Universal Studios and it was so cold there was hardly anyone there at all.

We had gone that late in the year because we wanted to see the Macy's Parade. Well we had no lines in any of the rides because most people stayed away until later in the afternoon towards time for the parade. It was like having the park as a private playground!

Anyway...enough about that (can't you tell I'm excited about the cooler weather??!!) If you have managed to keep reading this far down then you get to download todays's digital scrapbooking freebie: the Halloween Kit!

Have fun with this kit and make sure to pick up the Halloween Kit Add On tomorrow!

Halloween Freebie: Bat Buttons

Today I am offering you a set of six Bat Buttons I made from public domain clipart. I always try to make sure the stuff I use is in the public domain and is free to use without credit or permission.

As always, if this is your work and you can prove it then I will most definately remove it from my site. The last thing I want to do is steal something that belongs to someone else.

Early in my digital scrabook blogging I accidently used something that belonged to someone else. I didn't mean to pirate their stuff and as soons as I was contacted I removed it from my blog.

So enjoy another Halloween freebie that is just a little bit different. But isn't that why you keep coming back...because I offer stuff that has a sort of different look to it? I hope so!

Dahlia Collection Add On 4 Shared Issue

I am putting the Dahlia Collection Add On back up here because I discovered the link is invalid. This just keeps happening and happening. Several people downloaded it, so it had to have worked at one point.

I am slowly going through all the old uploads to see what else is having a problem. As I discover them I will put them back on a recent blog post with the corrected link.

Is anyone out there having these kinds of issues?

Dracula Template is Last Freebie In Monster Template Series

Here is the sixth of my Monster Template Series. I love these movies and it has been my pleasure to introduce (or re-introduce) them to you.

Today's Monster Template is the Dracula Template and it features Bela Lugosi as the infamous vampire. There have been many versions of Dracula but nothing beats this one from 1931!

The other templates in the Monster Template Series include:

Our Little Monster

I Want My Mummy

Creature Feature

Wolf Man

Phantom of the Opera

Monster Template Series #5: Phantom of the Opera

Some people may not consider The Phantom of the Opera a Halloween horror movie (especially if they have only seen the 2004 version.)

However, back in 1925, Lon Chaney made a slient version of Phantom of the Opera and if this isn't a scarry Halloween monster then I don't know what is. The tag line when this movie was released was, "The greatest horror film of modern cinema!"

Today's digital scrapbooking freebie uses Chaney's image from the 1925 film and the "logo" from the 2004 version. Here is the Phantom of the Opera Template.

By the way, the Lon Chaney in this template is the father of the Lon Chaney in the Wolf Man Template.

Please make sure you check out the other four templates in the Monster Template Series. And come back for the last template tomorrow.

Creature From the Black Lagoon

In my post for my Creature Feature Template I mentioned the film Creature from the Black Lagoon was made at Silver Springs, Fl. Someone wrote me a note on 4 Shared saying it was filmed in Wakulla Springs.

Well, according to IMDB the moive was actually filmed in multiple locations!

Did You Miss These Before?

Way back in August I offred a collection of Curled Ribbons. I used a CU template from Scrap N Tag and designed 33 ribbons using the sculpture effect in Paint Shop Pro.

This was a really neat set of elements but it only got 47 downloads. I think this happened because the preview wasn't the best in the world. So I have decided to put this back out there and highlight more of the ribbons in a bigger format so you can see some of the detail.

I hope this is just something that got overlooked and that you will blow the roof off of this download!!!!!

Check out these enlarged examples...

Wolf Man Template Freebie

As Halloween gets closer and closer, I am continuing to offer spooky freebies! I figure Halloween is a major picture taking time with all the costumes and parties so you will need a lot of digital scrapbooking elements, templates and what not.
Here is the fourth in my Monster Template Series. It is the Wolf Man Template featuring Lon Chaney, Jr as the Wolf Man (1941.)

This was always one of my favorites when we got to stay up and watch the Halloween Spooktacular special on tv when I was a child. It may look a little goofy to a grown up, but it was certainly "the real thing" to a 10 year old! We were so naive back then!

I used a pentagram border because it was the shape of the pentagrm in the palm of your hand that signified you would become a werewolf! Ha...caught you looking at your own palm, huh? LOL

I also used some vines for the frames to represent the wolfbane (acutally wolfsbane) mentioned in the poem from the movie. The vines don't actually look like wolfsbane, but give me a little poetic license here if you will!!!

Besides, you're still trying to get a glimpse of your neighbor's palm to check for that pentagram, aren't you LOL

Creature Feature Template Freebie

It is time for part three of my Monster Template Series. I hope you have been collecting them so far!

Here is the Creature Feature Template. It spotlights the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Did you know that movie was filmed right here in Florida? It was in a place called Silver Springs, near Ocala.

NOTE: If you would like something special from me regarding a post I have offered, please email my direct link located in my sidebar. If you leave me a message on 4 Shared I really have no way of contacting you directly. I'd like to be able to answer you yes or no...depending on if I can actually do what you requested or not. I don't want to not be able to do it and never let you know that.

Halloween: I Want My Mummy Template Freebie

Today is part two of six in my Monster Template Series. Here is the I Want My Mummy Template.

Once again this template has an overlay of my favorite horror actor...Boris Karloff. Check out yesterday's Our Little Monster Template for the other Karloff template. It just can't be Halloween without Boris Karloff.

But did you know that Boris Karloff was also the voice of the narrator in the 1966 Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas?

Freebie: Our Little Monster Template

I'm starting my Halloween templates today. The series is entitled Monster Template Series and it contains 6 famous monsters.

As usual I am including both the Paint Shop Pro version, as well as the Photoshop version of each template in its daily zip.

The first entry in this new series is called Our Little Monster and features Boris Karloff as Frankenstein. This is such a classic movie. If you haven't watched THIS version then you REALLY should!
When my son was about 13 we rented this version of Frankenstein along with the comedy version made in 1974, Young Frankenstein . We watched them back to back and I was able to show my son WHY Young Frankenstein was so funny.

Yes, even on its own that movie is halarious. BUT, if you know exactly WHY you are laughing at something it makes it even funnier. My son was able to see the original dramatic scene in Frankenstein and then see the way they made fun of it in Young Frankenstein.

It was a great "family time" activity and every year at this time he will mention something about it in passing (and that was 8 years ago) That shows me he really enjoyed what we did together.

This series contains overlays of the creatures so you don't have to worry about coloring them in exactly. These movies were made in black and white so to me the true Frankenstein or Dracula is a black and white monster! LOL

I hope you can make some cool layouts with these templates in this series! Please let me see what you come up with.

Add On To Ghouls

Thanks for the great comments on my Ghouls freebie. Here is the rest of the kit: Ghouls Add On.

Now that I have all of my Halloween freebies completed I am going to be working on some things to offer between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Beginning tomorrow I will offer my series of Monster Templates for Halloween. There are six of them altogether. I hope you like them!!!!

See you tomorrow!

Stupid 4 Shared...

Is it just me or am I crazy? I actually opened my 4 Shared page today and saw my Ghouls freebie. I saw it has been downloaded and someone left me a comment. I read the comment. (I'm glad you like the gray lace.)

Then poof, the entire file is gone without a trace. All in the course of 10 minutes or so. What is that all about? I didn't do a single thing but try to access it from my post and it said it was invalid. I went to the 4 Shared site and it wasn't even in my list of offerings anymore.

Has anyone else had anything similar happen to them recently? Is this a glitch in the system? I've never experienced the file just vanishing off my list before.

The last time I had a 4 Shared issue the file was saying it was invalid even though it had been downloaded almost 400 times. But the invalid file was still in my list of things I had uploaded.

Any insight into this would certainly be nice. Thanks!

More Halloween Freebies: Ghouls

Continuing with the Halloween theme, I have a kit with some textured pieces that you are going to love! Get the Ghouls here!

This collection contains some lace frames and borders that give it that gauzy/flimsy feel to match the female ghoul.

Of course these frames and borders can be used on fancy layouts as well as ones with a Halloween flavor.

The frames and borders were made using designer elements from The Ephemeral Victorian.

Come back tomorrow for the Ghouls Add On and keep coming back the rest of the month for plenty more Halloween freebies!

Candy Corn Papers Today's Freebie

This freebie contains five papers with a candy corn motiff. I thought you might need extra papers for all those Halloween costume and trick-or-treat photos!

The Candy Corn Papers can be downloaded here.

I'll be offering Halloween freebies right up until October 31st so get them all by coming back here every day!

Halloween Freebie: Ghost Alphabet

Here is a really cute little freebie that I'm offering today. It is simply called Ghost Alphabet. Why try and get fancy with the name when something plain and simple will work just as well!? LOL

I'm working on a series of Halloween templates I hope to be able to offer the middle of next week. Keep your eyes open for that one!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Freebie: Fall Scene Kit Add On

Thanks to those who downloaded yesterday's freebie: the Fall Scene Kit. Here is the rest of the freebie: the Fall Scene Kit Add On.

There is an overlay leaf border in this add on...it is shown in the preview in gray but it will become a lighter version of whatever paper you use. (NOTE: use these special directions for the overlay.)

Starting tomorrow I will be offering my Halloween freebies. I have been having a blast designing these freebies.

My birthday is on Halloween so I am really "into" this special day.

Fall Scene Kit is Today's Freebie

Good morning! Here is a kit for you to download today that has some cute stuff in it. Check out the acorn border and the adorable buttons.

Thanks to Delicious Scraps for the CU buttons and to Scrappy Cat for the weave pattern I used on one of the buttons.

Here is the Fall Scene Kit link. I hope you enjoy this freebie.

#5 In My Overlay Series: Fall Overlays Freebie

There is a special bonus in today's Fall Overlays download. I have included the .jpgs of the overlays so you have the origianl photo and the overlay. The photos are featured in the preview so you can get a better idea of the coloring.

When using these types of overlays you can get as creative as you possibly can think of. Here is a licesne to "think outside the box" and come up with very unique looking papers and/or designs for layouts.

If you have been following my blog awhile you know that I have an ongoing series of overlays that I have been offering. This is the fifth in the series. Here are the links to the other four overlay freebies:

Winter Overlays

Lighthouse Overlay Borders

Tropical Overlays

Summer Overlays

Three of the four photos were taken in Ashe County, North Carolina. Can you tell which one was taken in Golden, Colorado? LOL

Freebie: Autumn Collection Add On

Is it cool where you are? Are you using your fireplace? Do you have to wear a coat yet? The answer to all those questions here in Florida is, "yeah, right."

I miss fall SO MUCH! Yesterday it was in the upper 80's here (and that was at 11:30 am.)

Well at least in my mind it is autumn...as you can tell by my last few freebies. Today's freebie is the Autumn Collection Add On. Get the rest of the pumpkin and leaf motif papers, tags and elmements that you can use for fall, Halloween or even Thanksgiving scrapping.

Here is the link to the rest of the kit if you missed it: Autumn Collection.

Autumn Collection Freebie

Now that October is in full swing, I am offering some fall designs. This one is the Autumn Collection and is a little on the whimsical side. It has plenty of texture and color.

This kit contains a really cute pumpkin overlay.

NOTE: When using the overlay, in order to make it transparent you need to click on the "overlay" option. In Paint Shop Pro that is located in the layers palette to the right of the slider button that controls the lightness/darkness of the layer. Just click on the drop down menu and go to "overlay" and it will turn that layer transparent.

Look for the add on to this collection tomorrow. And if you missed my October Aphabet yesterday you can still get it here.

October Alphabet is the Sunday Freebie This Week

Now that the Flowers Collection Series is finished, I am turning my focus to autumn and Halloween. The next few freebies will be seasonal offerings.

This is my most favorite time of the year. Because I live in Florida, I miss the leaves changing since we have two seasons here: summer and almost summer.

Each year we try to make a trip to North Carolina to visit my family but will not be able to do this in 2008. One of the freebies I will offer in a few days, Fall Overlays, was made with pictures from North Carolina in past fall trips.
Today the freebie I am offering you is called October Alphabet. It has the Halloween colors, but not any Halloween motif so it can be used on fall foliage layouts as well as the Halloween ones. It is very versatile!

A Very Special Tribute!!

There are many reasons someone might want to start a blog that offers digital scrapbooking elements and papers without charging a single penny for the time and effort put into the whole process.

On the list of "TOP 10 Reasons I Continue to Post on My Blog" HERE is the number one reason:
This is a layout by Catmanor posted on Moo Two Designs. This is probably one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me!!! Thank you so much!!!!

Pilates Digest Widget

Today I have added a widget to my sidebar that has a bunch of really good articles and videos about Pilates.

If you have followed a link to this post, WELCOME! I have a lot going on with my blog. I offer digital scrapbooking freebies, talk about Pilates and fitness, and I also have my favorite sports teams featured sometimes.

Keep coming back to this blog for the latest in Pilates. All you have to do is scroll down the page and find the Pilates Digest widget on the right hand side of the page.

Thanks for visiting!

Carnation Collection Add On Freebie

This is THE LAST of the Flowers Collection Series. This makes 18 different flowers that are represented ( 2 kits each...equals 36 downloads!!!!)

Here is the Carnation Collection Add On freebie.

I think 4 Shared is having some major issues so please come back if you can't download right now. My links don't usually expire so you should be able to get the freebies whenever you want!

Check out the Carnation Collection form yesterday if you haven't had time to download it yet.

Opening Night In The NHL (A Repeat Freebie)

To celebrate the opening night of the National Hockey League (NHL) I am going to offer my Stanley Cup Template again as an added bonus freebie today.

Enjoy!!!!

GO HURRICANES!!!!!!!

Today I'm Offering the Carnation Collection Freebie

The Carnation Collection is now ready for you to download and begin using! This kit and its add on tomorrow are the final installments of the Flowers Collection Series!

This series has kept me busy for over a month! And thank you so much for helping me keep the faith while my visitor numbers went down and then back up.

I'm about a month and a half away from Scrapping 'Til Dawn's first anniversary! I was hoping to make it to one year! Now maybe I will be able to do that.

Next up will be my autumn and Halloween designs. These kits and alphabets and overlays were fun to make. Look for them beginning Sunday.

Interstate Road Signs Freebie Has Problems

It was brought to my attention by Jody that my Interstate Road Signs freebie has a problem with the link on the 4 Shared end. It's really weird because this freebie has been downloaded over 375 times and NOW there is a error message when you get to 4 Shared.
So I have rezipped the freebie and am offering it here under the name Interstate2. If you got the link to work before, this is the same freebie. It is just named differently so I can try and upload it into 4 Shared again.

Sorry for the problems this may have caused and thanks for letting me know about the trouble so I could try and fix it for you.

Freebie: Hollyhock Collection Add On

Another installment in the Flowers Collection Series is what I have to offer you today for your freebie.

Here is the Hollyhock Collection Add On. There is only one more kit in this collection and I will be offering it over the next two days.

Make sure you have looked at all of the kits in this collection because there may be one or two elements or papers that you "just have to have" even if you don't like the entire kit.

This post today corresponds with yesterday's Hollyhock Collection...in case you missed it!

If you are "into" weave papers, there are 2 included in this kit. I also offered my Weave Papers freebie back in August if you are interested.

It's the Hollyhock Collection As Today's Freebie

Yesterday I discovered that I had put this collection in the wrong folder and I almost forgot to include it in this Flowers Collection Series!

I'd have been real upset if that had happened because someone actually requested hollyhocks and I would have hated to let them down.

So here is the Hollyhock Collection. I was going for an unusual look for this particular kit because I wanted to make sure that no two kits in this series were that much alike. Look for this kit's add on tomorrow.

On Friday and Saturday I will post the last of the Flower's Collection Series when I offer the Carnation Collection and its add on. There are 18 collections in this series when all is said and done. I hope you have been able to find something you like in at least some of the kits!

Add On to the Iris Collection

The digital scrapbooking download for today is the Iris Collection Add On. I hope you enjoy designing with it.

I thanked The Ephemeral Victorian and Scrap 'N Tag yesterday for the elements I used in the Iris Collection and I wanted to mention them again today.

The end of the Flowers Collection Series is almost here .

NOTE: Yesterday I said there was only one more collection in this series...but I found one more that I had put in the wrong folder when I was working on it.

When this series does end, if there is some kind of kit or template or element you would like to see then please ask and I will try to design it. It is always more fun when I am working on something that someone has requested!

Iris Collection Freebie

Good morning! Thanks for visiting my blog for another time! Today I'm winding down my Flowers Collection Series.

After today's Iris Collection and the add on tomorrow, there will be ONE MORE collection in this series.

I used some CU elements from The Ephemeral Victorian and from Scrap'N Tag. Thanks!

I will offer my autumn and Halloween designs after this series is finished.

Sunday Freebie: Sweet Pea Collection Add On

And now, a few more papers and elements to go along with yesterday's Sweet Pea Collection post.

Thank you to the handful who have downloaded every single offering in my Flowers Collection Series.

The Sweet Pea Collection Add On is right here.

Jr Wrecks in Practice at Talladega

Ok, so now I am on Dale Jr's WRECKED race car. Junior's tire exploded in the second practice yesterday and it sounded like "the shot heard 'round the world!" Watch the video in this link.

It appeared that the names were not on the car at this point. I looked at the video at Junior's car and it didn't look like names were all over it. Look at this picture from Doug Demmons/The Birmingham News and you'll see what I mean.

Besides, there didn't appear to be any damage under the 88 on the passenger's side...that's where my name is supposed to be!

Thank God Junior wasn't injured. I can stand my name being mulitated on the side of a car...that's just how my luck goes. But it always gets me a little in the stomach when I see an Earnhardt against the wall.

Ok, so they will pull out the back up car and Dale Jr will do what he does best...kick some butt at Talladega!

Sweet Pea Collection Is Latest Freebie

Here is another special request for my Flowers Collection Series that has been on going since September 6th.

This is called the Sweet Pea Collection. There are a lot of papers in this kit (along with the add on I will offer tomorrow.)

Hope you have a great weekend. By the way, the tai chi class yesterday morning was a wonderful success!!! (I mentioned it in Wednesday's post.)

New Award: Gold Star Blog

I've been given the honor of receiving the Gold Star Blog Award thanks to Kyra at With A Russian/Dutch Heart. She had such kind words for me! I love it how people who have never met face-to-face can be so kind to each other!

The rules for this award are as follows:

• If you receive this award, you must pass it on to 3 other blogs.


• If you have already received this award, you don't need to pass it on.


• You must post on the chosen winners blogs to let them know about the
  award.

I have been thinking hard about this one and here are my choices to pass the award to:

1. Lady Shannon at Memories Made Easy because she is hard at work helping to make CU Freebies Only Forum successful. Please check out this new CU site. It has a ton of good stuff!

2. Delicious Scraps for offering a lot of CU freebies so I can be a little more creative.

3. Moo Two Designs because it is a neat website with a lot of cool stuff!

I AM ON DALE JR'S CAR!!!!!!!!!

YEAH!!!!! Not only did I get my name on Dale Jr's car for the AMP Energy 500 this weekend at Talladega SuperSpeedway, but it is in a fairly good location.

Use this link and my email address (palmtreesandwetsand@gmail.com) to see where my name will be.

I am on the passenger's side door directly below the 88. That's where Junior will either hit the wall or where Kyle Bush will rub up against him and ruin my name! LOL

Gosh, I hope Jr wins this weekend!!!!!

Tiger Lilly Collection Add On Freebie

Now it is time to offer the Tiger Lilly Collection Add On. I hope you can use some of the elements and papers in this kit!

The Flowers Collection Series is about to draw to a close. I've been thinking of a few things to do next so this weekend I will be working on them.

Last of the Lillies: Tiger Lilly Collection Freebie

First of all I want to say a very special "thank you" to Ann_Ominous for some designing tips. What you guys may not know is that I have never had any training or even experience in designing with Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop. I taught myself how to use them. I also just jumped in with both feet to the designing thing because I thought it was fun. I have simply tried to put some things together in a way I might like to see offred to me.

So when Ann_Ominous sent me an email with some desigining ideas I was very open to the idea of learning some new techniques for my designs. I will still always have my own style, but I may just incorporate some of her ideas into my next designs.

Today is the last of the lillies in ths Flowers Collection Series...but NOT the end of the entire series just yet. There are still 3 more collections after this.

Here is the Tiger Lilly Collection.