where to find freebies.

free kits.

• Shabby Princess-Free FULL sized kits that are absolutely amazing. And tons of them.
• Pixelscrapper- Free pretty much everything.  You can download things item by item so you only get what you will actually use. She has templates and tutorials too.
  
• Sahlin Studio, Chelle's Creations, and Brittish Designs still give out coordinating mini-kits to go with their newest creations
• Summertime Designs- All of her kits are free and some are for donations for good causes
• Check Mscraps often because they do blog train free kits that are beautiful!
• Pugly Pixel and Fuzzimo have fun element downloads  
• Here at Citrus and Mint of course! :) Also I have a scrapbooking freebie board on Pinterest that you can follow which has the most updated freebies available.

free templates.

• Shabby Princess Blog-Last year they gave out 2 page templates for each month.  I used them for my baby's first year book.
• Manda Girl- Free templates that use lots of photos
• Sahlin Studio will give out free templates each month

photo-editing actions.

I take horrible photos and don't know much about photo editing. Which is why I love actions.  These are things you download and install into your program that enhance your photos at the touch of a button!  Marvelous! There are also actions that create shortcuts.

• the Coffeeshop Blog- best action site ever. All free and very cute. She even explains how to install the actions. My favorites are Velvet Truffle, Caramel Dreams, S Curve, Butterscotch Vintage, and Buttercream Black and White. 
• Pioneer Woman- I installed all of them, but I always use Seventies, Boost, Lovely, and Slight Light

newsletters.

Every designer and design site will send out a weekly newsletter with previews of their products for sale that week. They will often include freebies too and give freebies just for signing up for the newsletter!

I'm signed up for these newsletters: the Shabby Princess, the Lilypad, Sweet Shoppe Designs, Mscraps, Oscraps, Sugarhill Co, Sahlin Studio, Brittish Designs,  Chelle's Creations, Suzy Q Scraps, Jenn Barrette , Micheline Martin Designs

facebook.

Designers used to offer free mini kits when they released their new kits, but that trend is phasing out.  Now designers are offering exclusive freebies to people who like their facebook pages. I don't mind because these freebies are usually better (like full sized kits when they reach so many fans or on NSD or iNSD). "Like" your favorite designers and stores, plus check their exclusive tabs often because they will occasionally add new freebies!  They will also post giveaways, drawings, games, and coupons on their facebook walls.

holidays.

Watch out for scrapbooking holidays! Designers will be very generous!

• Birthdays- Stores have birthdays where they will give out freebies, have specials, and run games with free prizes. Some designers will also give you a kit on your birthday (Chelle's Creations, Suzy Q Scraps). Also when designers have birthdays, they will usually give prizes or their age as a percent off their products.
• iNSD  - These days are HUGE!  Lots of freebies, blog trains, and deals. International Scrapbooking Day (iNSD) is around April/May usually, but there is another one in the fall.
• Christmas and other holidays- There will always be specials, and possibly blog trains or daily downloads (where you check the site each day to download part of a kit)