New Releases and Desktop

Here what's new from me this week - One in a Million. This set is versatile enough for boys, girls, children and adults.



Some sample layouts using One in a Million.




MandaBean and I worked together on Melon Blossoms.



Here are a couple of sample pages. Check out Mya sportin' the camo shorts.



I've also re-released You and Me.



July Desktops
Here is a set of desktops created by Jennilyn with my One in a Million page set. Enjoy!

Monday Morning Inspiration

It's early Monday morning here and I thought I'd start the week off with a scrapping challenge. It's not really fair to call it a challenge as there is no gallery to post in, no deadline for completion and no prize to be earned. This is more just an idea to use as inspiration in your scrapping this week.

This week's inspiration is to help generate ideas for unconventional, but compositionally effective journaling placement. If you are anything like me, journaling is a challenge both when it comes to deciding what to write and where to put it on the page. It is usually the last thing I add to a layout and I end up typing it wherever there is an appropriate space left. If your approach is similar to mine try this:

Create your page as you normally would all the way to the finished product, but without the journaling. Once the page is done, take away one of the elements on the page and replace it with journaling or text of some kind. Allow the shape and placement of the removed element to serve as inspiration for the look of the journaling.

Here is how this approached worked for me. I did a page for SSD's Paper 2 Digi Challenge and chose to scrap lift S is for Silly by hamtaro807.



Here is the page I came up with.



To add my journaling, I chose to remove most of the stitching and put my text on a path in a square along the same lines as the stitching. Here is the result -


Credits: Simply White Papers by Micheline Martin, SSD, Heavy Duty by Kristin Cronin-Barrow and Shawna Clingerman, SSD, Buggy Cute - Ladybug by Saramarie, SSD, Black Jack Alpha by Fee Jardine, SSD, Down 'N Dirty Sketchy Alpha by Zoe Pearn, SSD, Date Bits 2 by Misty Cato, SSD, Paper Leaves by Anne deJong, Funky Playground, Fonts - DJB Lorraine1 and DJB Doodl E Doo by Darcy Baldwin, Digichick

I also considered removing one of the arrow paper blocks and adding my journaling in there. I like the idea of photos, squares of paper and square of text all mixed together, but I ended up going with the text path. I still might try the text/photo/paper blocking on another page.

If you incorporate this approach into a layout, feel free to leave a comment with a link to your page so others can see what you came up with. Happy scrapping!

They're Back ... and a freebie

This week I've spiffed up a couple kits that used to be available at Scrapbook-Elements and re-released them at the Sweet Shoppe.

I love pastel baby kits as much as any mommy, but sometimes those bright-eyed smiles and little ones at play need something a little brighter - thus the inspiration for Baby Brights.



Perfect for summer with year-round versatility, I've re-released Tangy Treat.



Three of the most popular Date Bits sets are available in the Penny Candy section (meaning they are 30% off).







Both sets of Fabric Curls have also found their way to the Penny Candy section.





Complimentary Sample
Here is a set of paper-cut hearts created from the papers in the Tangy Treat Page Set. Enjoy!

Out and About in the Digiworld

Some bad news - a couple of talents designers are retiring or going on hiatus. The good news is that you can get some great deals on their products before they leave.

Anne deJong's products are all 50% off at Funky Playground until June 30th. She has wonderfully realistic paper elements like these adorable paper petals. I also picked up her beautiful Reawakening set.



Rebecca Lynn has also announced she is taking a break from designing. Her store at Oscraps is 60% off.

Scrapbook-Bytes runs a monthly quick page exchange. Participants pick up a kit at a discounted price, create a quick page and send it in. In return they receive the quick pages from all the participants. This months kit is Colors of Spring by Lori Wiley of Diamante Design and Lauraskathi (shown below). You can read about the exchange in the SBB forums.



While I was over at SBB checking out the quick page exchange, Seascapes by Lindsay Jane caught my attention. There is a ton of stuff here combining a lot of the current trends in digital and yet it all goes together nicely and has a timeless appeal. There are illustrated elements that would work great for a child's layout, but still appropriate for other pages, a touch of sparkle, a few of the trendy leaf elements and wonderfully soft, shabby papers.



If you are in the market for some digital scrapbooking related online reading material here are some options.

Scrapbook News & Review - A monthly online magazine including projects, page ideas, tutorials and more
The Daily Scrapper - An online newspaper with interviews, freebies, classifieds and other newspaper inspired content
DigiScrapChat Blog - Check in on Thursdays for her "Thrify Thursdays" column featuring deals in digiland

My layout picks this week are a celebration of clean lines, classic style and great beach/splash photos.

Splash by Dumpty - Pink and brown aren't the first colors I turn to when scrapping beach photos, but they work wonderfully here. Who knew solids squares and rectangle could make a page looks so happy and fun?

Skippping Waves by esther-a - Here is another example of a page with clean lines that has a great sense of flow and movement.



Summer by flohbock.1971 - I'm usually not a huge fan of realistic foilage as the main element in a layout, but I really like the way flohbock has used the orange blooms as a visual anchor to an otherwise beautifully airy page.

TrendWatch - White Space and Floating Clusters

When I first started digiscrapping, simple, graphic-inspired and color blocked layout compositions were the 'in' style. Just over a year ago the pendulum swung, clustering became the composition of choice followed quickly by what I like to call the 'pile as many elements on as possible' trend. I'm pleased to see the pendulum starting to swing once again with a return to less cluttered pages.

One approach that seems to catch my eye in the galleries are simple clusters surround by white space. I call these 'floating clusters' as they aren't anchored to a page edge, but rather seem to be self-contained arrangements towards the middle of the page. Vinniepearce's I Love Your Smile is one example.



It looks like a really simple page until you analyze it. Everything has a purpose both in respect to composition and conveying meaning. The celery-green paper mat and subtle rectangular brush define the space and draw the eye into the photo. The heart adds a splash of color and creates a visual flow from the photo to the expertly crafted title. The butterflies serve as a color accent and add a delightful sense of playfulness.

Of course, great photos add to the impact of a page and this is especially true with clean composition. Such is the case with A Child's World by tnkbuzan.



I really like her use of an 'almost' symmetrical page composition. The frame, papers strips and centered journaling provide an appealing structure while the funky flowers serve as an eye-catching counter point.

True white white space can make a bold statement. Check out Tracey's bold colors on white in Being Emma. I have a feeling this girl is full of personality and Tracey's page captures and wonderful sense of spunkiness and attitude.




One doesn't have to use a light background to have 'white space' impact. The effect is achieved by leaving large spaces unoccupied and just about any monochromatic background will work. Dagmar uses a brown background and funky element in her My Girl.



I decided to try my hand at a 'floating cluster' composition using an almost white background and minimalist approach. Here is the page I came up with.


Credits: Monsters Under the Bed Alpha by Dani Mogstad, Lisaroseyposey Cardboard Solids by Lauren Grier, Squiggly Grunge 2 by Fee Jardine, Room A Zoom Zoom by Micheline Martin and Melissa Bennett, Blank Canvas by Micheline Martin, all at Sweet Shoppe Designs; Font - Punchlabel

New Releases and Freebie

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day. We a terrific day. Mya was dedicated at church and afterwards my parents and in-laws came over for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so the boys (big and small alike) played in the backyard and Mya kept everyone entertained by smiling, squealing and playing with her toes.

Here is a look at new things released this weekend.

First a collaboration with Robin Carlton, All American Girl.



Purchase All American Girl by Friday June 20th and receive this mini-heart album free. The album is sized to fit the Maya Road Mini Heart Album.



Here is a look at the keepsake Robin created with the album.



Here's a set for scrapping life's bumps and bruises.



A couple of alphabet sets ...





These next two items were previously released at SBE and are now available at the Sweet Shoppe.





Free Sample
Here are a couple of quick pages created from the papers in the Ouchie Page Set. While they coordinate with the Ouchie page set, they could easily be adapted for other themes, such as the 4th of July. Thanks to Kim Wresh for the templates used to create these pages. Enjoy!

Out and About in the Digiworld - Dad's Day Edition

Before we get to the Father's Day items, congratulations to Zig Zag Scraps on their grand opening. Lynne Marie Favreau has a wonderful freebie, Sandy Flip Flops available so you can sample her work.



Dad's Day is just two days away. Here are some product and gift ideas for Dad.

Vera Lim managed to combine quirkiness and sophistication in My Dad My Hero. Here is a look at the papers. There are coordinating elements in her shop.



Kim Hill's Handyman's Special has lots of potential for Father's Day cards and layouts.



Big Fish, Little Fish by Lauren Grier and Mikkel Paige is an adorable way to celebrate the father son/daughter relationship.



Stacey42 used Bree Clarkson's Daddy Layered Album to create this gem.



Penny Springmann has examples and instructions for these blocks up on her blog.



Don't have time for a project? Rina Kroes has come to the rescue. There is a set of free Father's Day cards available on her blog.

New Releases - Rookie and Get a Room

My set this week is inspired by little boy's playing with the 'big kids' (their dads, big brothers, etc). Rookie works for all sorts of sports themes. Most of the papers are versatile enough for non-sports pages as well.



You'll receive this set of 2.5x3.5" card quick pages free when you purchase by Friday June 13th.



I've also put together a set of 8 8x8 quick pages.



MandaBean and I teamed up to bring you these cute room sets.



The come with these 'room' papers as well and regular backgrounds.



Of course we had to do a set for the boys.





Here are a couple of pages I did with the Get a Room Boy set.





Free Sample
Here is a set of quote plaques. Enjoy!

Creating Perspective

Here is a page I created using the new Get a Room Boy set Manda and I did together. As soon as I showed it to friends the first question I got was how did I create the perspective look. The good news is the kit makes it easy. The 'rooms' come as background papers with the set and the furniture and decor I just placed as is from the kit. The one exception being the door on the right hand side. It has been skewed to fit on the side wall.



By request here is a tutorial on skewing the door to place it on the side door. The same techniques can be used for any item to be placed on a wall window, frame, painting, etc.)

Start by placing the door on your room canvas.



Click on the move tool in the tools palette. Click and drag to move the door so one of the lower corners is where you want it to end up in the final result. In my case I've moved the door so the lower right corner rests along the 'floor' on the right side.

When the move tools is active your should see a bounding border around the door with 8 boxes (one on each corner and one on each side). I'll be referring to these as 'handles' as you will be grabbing them to move and distort the door.

If you don't see the bounding box and handles, check to make sure the 'show transform controls' box is checked in the options toolbar near the top of your workspace.

Find the handle on the side opposite your anchored corner. Hold down the control key and click and drag the handle upward and inward to skew the door and make it thinner.



Continue holding the control key and click and drag the top corner handle straight downward to reduce the slop of the top side of the door.



You are just about done, but chance are your door looks a little short. Without holding the control key, click and drag the top handle of the door straight upward.



Voila! You are done.



The same general approach can work to transform nearly any object although the direction and amount of distortion will change depending on the object and placement on the page. In general

1) Set one corner as an anchor point and avoid using the handle on that corner and the ones on the adjacent sides in further transformations.
2) Use a side handle to skew.
3) Use the corner(s) points adjacent to the skewed side to adjust the top and/or bottom slopes.
4) Adjust height as needed.

Out and About in the Digiworld

Ahh the first week of the month, always tons of stuff going on in the digiworld.

Congrats to Sunshine Studio Scraps on their grand opening.

Proceeds from this month's Songbird Avenue kit, Leap of Faith, benefit MercyCorps. Guest designer for the month is the talented Vicki Stegall.



While Bluebell Scraps Design isn't new, the site is new to me. They offer a variety of unique products such as The Weather by SussieM.



Although it is now my 'home' site. I am still amazed at the number of things going on at the Sweet Shoppe. A couple of weeks ago they welcomed a new hybrid team who has been filling up the Hybrid Babe Gallery with a ton of great 'off the page' ideas.

Also along the hybrid lines Bree Clarkson has started a 52 Card Pick-Up Workshop designed to inspire people to create a stash of cards for every occasion. Check out this cute Get Well Card by mom2jma.



I even jumped in on this week's Cookie Challenge. Here is my result.



For readers who may be looking for a way to get started with Photoshop and digital scrapping, I recommend the new online class, Photoshopping with Priss FUNdamentals, at Digital Craft Cottage. This class is based on the in-person Photoshop classes Priss has taught at Peninsula College for the past 10 years. The class for beginners starts at the very beginning with opening your program, opening and saving images, setting preferences, etc. I had the pleasure of teaching alongside Priss at retreat last summer and she is one of those rare experts who is blessed with patience and the ability to explain things in simple easy terms. If you need help getting started, let Priss take you though the process. More information can be found in the Digital Craft Cottage forums.

If you like fresh and funky, don't miss Julie Makotinsky's Kaleidoscope Page Kit at Little Dreamer Designs.



Jennilyn's Cheater Challenge at Jennilyn Designs is a great oppportunity for those who are inspired by templates. She provides both square and rectangle versions of the challenge template.

A mixed bag of layouts to share with you this week.

First Ultrasound by alansrock - I have ultrasound photo from both of my pregnancies, but I've never scrapped them. They are wonderful mementos, but I don't have a clue how to make them aesthetically interesting. I love alanrock's approach.



Smell the Flowers by Kay Miller - Ok, so everything Kay Miller does is gorgeous, but this page brings me to a stop everytime I see it. Notice how the crop of the photo just above the eyebrow line draws you into that beautiful face.



Kauai by 4noisyboys - I'm always looking for multiphoto page ideas and I like the subtle colors and combination of photos and papers in this page.

Backyard Superstar

Thanks again to everyone who gave me ideas and inspiration for scrapping my soccer photos. I took ideas from various pages and ended up with a fairly simple storyboard-style 2 page layout.

Here's the first page ...



and page 2.


Credits: Rookie by Misty Cato available 6/7/08 at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

As a thanks to everyone for your ideas here is a template based on the page. Enjoy!