B-Movie Star

Animal Crackers in my soup, lions and tigers loop the loop . . .

You won't have to worry about these lions or tigers though, they are here to have FUN and create some fantastic scrap pages with you!

Newly released at Sugar Moon Designs at Designs in Digital,  it's called "Animal Crackers" and it's a bit of a circus themed kit - but so much more!!! There is just a ton of stuff to scrap with in this new kit!

Here's a preview of the kit:

Looks pretty fun, doesn't it?! Here's a better view of the papers that you're going to be working with:

This kit is just bursting with goodies - 20 papers, over 40 elements and an alpha!

Included:

• 12 fun patterned papers
• 10 worn solid papers
• 1 acrylic frame
• balloons
• Candy Stick Frame
• Animal crackers (bear, elephant, hippo, seal, lion, tiger) on and off a leash
• 2 Paper flowers for journaling
• Snow cones
• Brass Frame and brass brads
• Cotton Candy (or Candy Floss if you prefer)
• Acrylic Clown
• 1 Clown Button
• Multi-colored string
• Trinket charm journal tag
• Worn paper bracket
• 2 different kinds of ribbons
• 4 different bows
• Metal eye hook and clasp
• 2 paper journal tags
• Acrylic monkey
• Acrylic flag banner
• Metal clip
• Acrylic elephant
• Acrylic lion
• Acrylic popcorn
• 2 Acrylic doodled flowers
• Ribbon flower with button
• Circus type frame
• Confetti spiral
• Staple
• Tiger Button

You can see at 100%, Sugar Moon's kits are high quality and satisfaction is guaranteed! What more could you want?!  It's the best kit under the BIG TOP! Check it out today!

Don't forget that at Designs in Digital  Weekly New Releases are on sale  50% off (Tuesday night &) Wednesday 30% off Thursday - Saturday

This month there are some great deals going on at Designs in Digital, you'll want to check out

There's the "Summer Lovin'" collab (a huge kit that's so adorble) for ONLY $4.99 until July 31st! Don't wait! Tiger Lilly's Digis is selling you ALL her templates for only $5.00 - what a fantastic deal!  There's also been the Christmas in July Frolic giveaways - you must be a newsletter subscriber to get the codes for free kits! If you've missed any of the kits, they're on sale for $1.50 each and you'll end up with a ginormous Christmas kit that's full of fun and whimsy! Get on over to Designs in Digital and check out all these great deals!

Now, for sticking with me, here's a freebie for you to kick things off! It's a cute quick page made with the Animal Crackers kit so you can see some of these lively papers and ferocious animal crackers!  Click the image to download!

You know when you're in bed and you roll over to check the time, only to discover that you've woken up fifteen minutes before your alarm is set to go off, and you frantically try to force yourself back to sleep, and the harder you try to sleep the more you wake up, so when the alarm goes off, you're already in a grumpy mood about being cheated out of those fifteen minutes of sleep . . . yeah, that sucks.

That's how this part of summer feels to me - I can see the end of summer - school starting, routines beginning again and so I feel all frantic to enjoy the summer as much as possible before it slips away.

How's your summer going?  I've discovered that I have a sensitivity to wheat and gluten products, and the nutritionist I went to also recommended that I have a dairy free diet as well. So I've been eating gluten and dairy free for about a week. Wow.  You never know how many things have wheat in them before you can't eat it! Thank goodness we live in a time when Celiac's Disease is more known and there are lots of products and substitutes to cook with and eat.  It's really been a challenge, I'm not going to lie to you. I will miss wheat products, but more than the wheat, I think I miss dairy! Cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream . . . sigh. Oh, and what about my childhood favorite - Tuna noodle casserole . . . wow I just realized that's off limits. I wonder if there's such a thing as dairy free cheese that you could make mac and cheese from?

I have noticed that I am starting to feel better. At first I think I was going through a detox and just felt like crap for a couple of days, but luckily those symptoms are passing. So, I'm not complaining (although I do have a tendency to whine a bit about it!) I'm ready for this new food chapter. Gabby and David are eating the same diet as me, David less than Gabby, but he's still doing good - he's having a hard time giving up croutons on his salad!  I've suggested nuts, but you know it's just not the same!

I'm also supposed to be keeping a gratitude journal - which I think is a really good idea.  It does help turn your thoughts from feeling sorry for yourself!

Here's a little card I made to remind myself, but maybe you want one to print out and tape on your mirror, if so, just right click to open up the larger file to save and print.

I've found a new to me blog   Maddy Lane's Make It Yourself (MIY) Blog. It has tons of great ideas, recipes, crafts, etc., for  "make it yourself Eco-friendly creations & inspirations for the home & family ~ inspired by nature"

Sounds good to me!  A couple of things I found that caught my eye - first this recipe for Summer Sangria - oh yeah! Sangria is one of my favorite summer drinks and this one sounds so refreshing!

White Spirit Summer Sangria
Directions:
Fill half of a large pitcher or thermos with ice. Combine all of
the ingredients and stir well. Garnish with slices of limes,
oranges, and lemons. It’s quick, easy, and you can make
them ahead of gatherings or parties.
• 1 bottle dry white wine
• ¼ cup Grand Marnier
• ½ bottle white cranberry juice
• 2 cups freshly sliced fruits, lemon, lime, and orange
• Garnish with lemon, lime, and orange wedges,
as you please

She also has a recipe for Summer Beach Party,  Sweet Curry Rice Salad Recipe. It looks so delicious - I'm going to try it this weekend!

There's also beautiful outdoor lanterns made from recycled bottles:

Right here you have the perfect makings for a nice romantic summer dinner! Go visit the blog and see what else you can discover!

the manifesto of encouragement

right now:

There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.

Someone you haven't met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.

Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.

Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God's children.

A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, "nourish them."

Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you. Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favorite food is, and treat you to a movie. Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you -- for free.

Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.

The next great song is being rehearsed.

Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.

Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.

Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they'll be thriving like never before. They just can't see it from where they're at.

Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want -- and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it's reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all "So worth the wait."

Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche -- this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.

Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.

Someone is fighting the fight so that you don't have to.

Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe. Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.

Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable. Someone is curing the incurable.

You. Me. Some. One. Now.

. . . . . . .

SPREAD THE RA-RA. ADD TO THE MANIFESTO. ENCOURAGE.

This was taken from "WHITE HOT TRUTH" Blog - go there and read more inspiring posts - you really should . . . GO.

The owner of Designs In Digital, Lisa Jo, will be featured  on the DigiScrap Map Video Chat with Saturday, July 10th at 2PM EST. You don't want to miss this because she will be giving away some great FREEBIES and Coupons! Who doesn't love free or discounted stuff!

This is one of the kits that she will be giving away - it's an add on to one of her larger kits that you can find over here

I also have a new mini kit in the shop - inspired by Bob Marley's song . . . you can get it in the shop or you can try to get a free copy on Saturday - I'm telling you there's lots of great stuff!

So don't forget to come join us on Saturday and find out about Lisa, Design In Digital, Just Digi Layouts and grab a bunch of freebies and coupons.

Also, don't forget to check out Designs In Digital - there's always great stuff going on over there - sales, layout challenges, and right now there's a Designer Call if you're interested!

And here's just one of the great sales going on