Cool free digital downloading sites..

upadted 10/01/08
Okay, first of all know that I can't post "hot links", where you can go and immediately download stuff, thats just the rules. I will post the sites, and a few instructions on where to find stuff, what it's good for, etc. I will be updating this periodically, so you can look back at it. Also, I plan to put a link bar on the side to all of them. For some you can open and then save as a regular file, or you can downlaod as zip files and "unzip" later - I found that to be a lot faster. Some will only let you download as a zip file. Note - I found all of these by surfing the net, putting "free digital scrapbooking" or something similar into a search engine and see what it comes up with. Also, if you guys find good places, please leave a comment or e-mail me and i'll post it. I also hope to post some of my work, but my laptop is currently down so it will have to wait until that's fixed - hopefully by this weekend. Happy digi scrapping to all!

FONTS:
Having lots of fonts makes a big difference in your finished product. There are lots of sites to download from, but these two seem to have nearly everything covered:
http://www.dafonts.com/ has a lot of pay for fonts, so click on the free fonts first, then see what they have to offer
http://www.searchfreefonts.com/ lots of fonts, have to open the font to download it.
http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/tutorial_font_installation.html this is a link to a tutorial on how to load your downloaded fonts into your computer for use, it is hot link which is okay because it's to a tutorial, not a download (yes, I actually read the terms of use - or at least skim it).

DIGITAL STUFF (KITS, EMBELLISHMENTS, PAPERS, ALPHAS):
http://www.shabbyprincess.com/ my absolute favorite, I love everything they have. Go to downloads from their home page. They also have super cute kits that you can buy, but i'm waiting until i've exhausted the bajillion free stuff online before I buy.
http://www.about.com/ nothing to download here, but a very comprehensive list under "free digital scrapbooking" of lots of sites, and specifies which ones you have to a member of their forum (free) before you can download - really helpful to know.
http://www.freedigitalscrapbooking.com/ lots of different stuff, not a lot of anything. Some cool papers, some good fonts. click on "featured freebies", then join and go to club members only - they have a cute download every month, and you can also download all the old ones that are still available.
http://www.digitalscrapbooking-free.com/ go to free downloads on side, and go from there, a lot of expired stuff (no longer downloadable), but some super cute current stuff, and you can often link to a link and find a treasure trove.
http://www.peppermintcreative.com/ only has one download at a time, but they are super cute. Have to join to download.
http://digifree.blogspot.com/ pages of links to free downloads - I found some amazing stuff linking from this page, but I doubt you'll like all of it, and some links to things you have to pay for, they're only giving you like one sheet of paper.
http://vicki20.blogspot.com/ My current second favorite site, tons of awesome stuff, and nothing expires. List on bottom of right sidebar is allmost all downloadable themes, and she does more at least weekly I think. Everything is coordinated kits with papers, embellishments and alphas to match.
http://sweetblossomdesigns.blogspot.com/ part of the creative team (ct) that works with Vicki 20 above, but has a bunch of her own cool stuff as well as add ons to vicki's.
http://www.rakscraps.com/ Have to join, have a huge download every month from the 15th - end of the month, kind of confusing to navigate, but worth it.
http://blogpartycentral.blogspot.com/ just found this today - HOLY COW!! There's 70 different designers collaborating together. So far only one theme (fall), but enought fall stuff to last a lifetime, and papers and ribbons and stuff that can be used for lots of other things.

One thing of note, most of the blogspot pages download from 4shared, it requires a wait time of 9-40 seconds, and you can't really go anywhere else on the web while waiting, but I work on "unziping" files while i'm waiting usually.

As I have more info and more time I will update this, but i'll also put links to the cool places on the bottom of the sidebar. Enjoy.

Where i've been....

Yeah, i'm finally posting. I actually started a post almost two months ago called, "why I haven't been blogging". As you've gathered, things haven't changed much. Some is my never ending quest to actually have a clean and organized house, but I always need a break from that battle. It used to be blogging only, but there's a new hobby in town. I've started digital scrapbooking, and I LOVE IT. I spend almost all of my free (not working on forementioned request, playing with Ains, cooking, working, sleeping or dealing with other responsibilities) working on it. It's become such a big part of my life, i've started talking to others about it and excitedly sharing when I find a cool new place to download stuff from. Because of that, i'm going to post a list of the cool places to download from along the right sidebar, but i'll also have a post explaining a little about each one. I will periodically update it, but it should always live in October to look at. Anyways, an update on us. We are busy as usual. I have been picking up a few extra days a month at work to offset our mortgage since we lost our renters last month. We are signing a contract today with a new realtor and really hope it sells soon. Brody has been traveling a lot lately for work, and as much as he enjoys it I think he'd like to be home more. My dad & Sandy were here last weekend to play and help with Ains while Brody was out of town, and my mom will be here this afternoon to visit and watch Ains while Brody and I go out of town for the weekend for a couples get away. We are trying to decide between the seafood festival in Tillamook and Astoria - Brody heard the festival was a rather redneck affair - anyone know anything? Ainsleigh is growing up so fast. She LOVES TO TALK AND SING, can't imagine where she got that from. Her vocabulary is huge now, and I can't believe the comprehension she has - especially in what she can say. She's not getting much bigger, but a little taller. We're well on our way to being daytime potty trained. She is pretending a lot more with her toys and is just a joy to be around. She seems to be losing her baby look and starting to look like a little girl. It's such a wierd thing having them grow up - such a mix of emotions of wanting them to experience new things and not wanting them to change. Well, I could actually get on blogger at work the other night, so maybe i'll try to stay updated there. I don't have any pictures to post now, but should soon. I need to see what new ones we have, and do some other stuff. I also need to just video her when she works out with me, seeing her do a jumping jack is hilarious. Hope this finds all doing well. Oh, and I have been keeping up with everyone else's blogs, i'm just too lazy to sign in and leave comments, something I really need to improve. Loves to all! :)