Brenda here with your “what matters monday” post.  I apologize that I don’t have anything fun for you today.  I had great plans but as things usually go, my two little loves are very sick.  :(  I guess all of my inspiration is in the pile of tissues somewhere and there is no way I am digging through that. 

Through all of this I have re-discovered what matters to me.  With all of my responsibilities and hobbies, my children are always the most important.  Sometimes I get wrapped up in the mundane things of my life and I forget to stop (or at least slow down a little) and really see them for who they really are.  My sweet and spicy little crew. My only challenge to you is that you slow down a little today in order to take a closer look at “what matters” to you.

Just a little inspiration for you before I have to go wipe noses (again).

click the images for credits

by littlemuffin06

by neety

3.   Are you married/children/pets? I am married to a great guy, Doug, (who loves looking at my digi LOs), and we have two children — Parker age 5 and Penny age 2.  (In case someone hasn’t noticed the zillions of LOs I have done with their pics –LOL!!)

4.   Where is home for you?
We live in Modesto, California. My husband and I both grew up here, and our families are here… We moved to Boulder, Colorado for a few years when I was in Grad School, but we ended up back here… this is home.

6.   What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Hmmm… I like lots of different kinds… Mint and Chip, anything with a coffee flavor…

10.  PC or Mac? What program do you use? I use a PC…. I actually use Storybook Creator Plus by Creative Memories to do all of my digi scrapping.  (I know — I am totally in the minority…) It was the software I started with, and I am just so used to it and efficient with it, that I can’t bring myself to change over to another program.

11.  How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? 
I have been digi scrapping for about 15 months. I paper scrapped for 10 years prior to that and was getting SO behind on my pics. When Creative Memories came out with the digiscrapping software, I decided to try it out… I had not even HEARD of digital scrapbooking before that. Soon after getting started, I was browsing the DIS (Disney) Boards and ran across the Scrapbooking forum over there.  I met a bunch of neat ladies who provided great inspiration and support… Not long after that, I met Britt when she joined the DIS too…and the rest is history– I  stalked her back here to SM and have been hooked ever since! LOL!!

12.  What was your 1st LO about? 
Geez — I honestly can’t even remember — but I KNOW it was hideous!

13.  Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? I love spending time with my family most of all… We travel whenever we get the chance.  I also like to read, and I have a “thing” for decorating. Before digital scrapbooking, I put most of my creative energy into interior design projects, etc….. Now digital scrapbooking kind of serves as my creative outlet…. and I’ve noticed our house isn’t as cute as it used to be! Ha-ha!!

14.  What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? 
Hmmm…. I have paid A LOT of attention to my shadows over the past several months because I think they totally make a LO.  Also — I am not so good at using white space…. It’s hard for me…. I see all of these great LOs with lots of white space, and I’ll start out planning on utilizing white space in my own LO, and then, before I know it, the page is filled up…..LOL!! 

15.  What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? 
I would like to be more patient…. Patience is not a virtue for me. And I would like to take some photography classes at some point.

16.  What are your favorite movies/TV shows? 
I like all of the weekly dramas: Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives…. I honestly rarely watch movies anymore… When I do, I like romantic comedies (chick flicks) like My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Devil Wears Prada, etc…  I also love a good mystery/suspense movie, when I can really sit down and focus.

17.  Describe your “scrapping” environment.  Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?
I usually sit on the couch (feet up and blanket in lap) and have something going on the TV that I am only *sort of* watching.  I usually have some kind of coffee drink next to me.

18.  If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?
Hmmm…. I love using stitches — I think they add great texture to a LO.  I also love using ribbons and lace — I really have fun layering and clustering them.

19.  Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?
Hmmm… I can’t really think of anything.  I guess I am an open book — or maybe just really boring! LOL!

 Well…. I don’t really know that I have a distinct style — let’s say it’s “evolving.” I do love color and texture….so I like using lots of fun bright papers, and I love playing with layers and clusters.  Also, I kind of prefer LOs that resemble “paper” scrapped LOs… Maybe that comes from doing traditional scrapbooking for so many years before digi.

Hello All… It’s Cyndi, here to give you this week’s Saturday Special Challenge.

When I was a paper scrapper, one of my favorite techniques was inked edges.  I’d ink everything, from pictures to papers to elements… sometimes even the brads.  I love the depth it gives a layout.
 
When I made the transition to digital scrapping, it took me a while to realize I could get the same look on my digital layouts.  It was a wonderful discovery.  And today, I’m going to share this technique with those of you out there who might not know of it yet.  And then… I’m going to challenge ALL of you to scrap a layout with inked edges. 

The easiest and fastest way to get the inked edge look is to download an action or a style and just apply it.  There’s a ton out there.  But since this is a technical challenge, I guess that would be cheating.  We’ll go the long way.
 
(FYI - since I work in Adobe Photoshop, my tutorial will be in this program. I’m using CS2.  Elements is limited in the adjustments you can make.  For a tutorial on inking edges in Elements, go to HUMMIES WORLD)

So here we go:
Make sure the layer you are going to ink is active.  Then go to Layers> Layer Style> Inner Glow.

Next you’re going to change the levels of the Inner Glow.  (This part may seem lengthy and complicated, but once you do it a few times, it will be a snap… just stick with me)
  
Change the blend mode to Normal or Multiply for a darker look.  And change the color to your preferred color.  On this LO I inked the paper strips with a slightly darker shade than the paper but I inked the picture with black.  It’s really just a matter of preference.

Now adjust your levels.  Here’s what I used:
Opacity – 75%
Noise – 20%
Technique - Softer
Source - Edge
Choke – 20%
Size – 50 px
Range – 65%
Jitter – 0% (to be honest, I have no idea what this one does)

You can double click the contour editor to change the look in the corners.  Double click the contour window or click the arrow to open the flyout menu and pick a contour from the menu.

I rarely use the same levels twice.  I just keep adjusting until I find the look I want.  And I always make sure the preview box is checked so I can see the results on the actual LO.  The possiblities are endless.

Here is a close up of three different ink colors on my LO.  For the paper on the left, I used a soft lavender and for the middle, a darker lavender, giving them a more chalked look.  For the picture on the right I used black.

And here’s my finished LO

I used Secret Sage by Erica Zane, Jeni Hopewell’s alpha from Merry Merry and Alamama’s new template… free on her blog… GO HERE

And here’s one from Christy.  She uses Storybook Creator Plus (SBC+) by Creative Memories and the process was completely different for her.  But her results are gorgeous with a faded black edge that comes in from her photos.  Great job Christy!!  Thanks for your wonderful entry!

Christy used A Christmas to Remember by Simply Sweet Designs

Now for the details…

You will have ALL month to scrap your layout.  When you complete it you must post it to the Saturday Special Challenge Gallery (click to enter) AND in the forum HERE to get credit.

Your completed layout will earn you one point in the Matter of Scrap Challenge System.

In addition, you can earn another point by using a newly released product (you must scrap and upload your layout within the first 7 days of the product’s release - and remember, you must indicate that you used a new release).  I’ll also be choosing my favorite LO at the end of the month and that person will receive another point.

Remember, no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

So friends… let me see those inked edges!

Hello Henriëtte here and it’s time for this months photo challenge, but first let me thank you for all your beautiful family, friends or weddingpictures of a group of people. I really enjoyed each and every one of them and the beautiful layouts you made. Ofcourse we have a winner this month and that is: markyzmom, Chelle with this adorable picture:

They are so cute! Great lighting & composure; and I love the sheep too!
I know a group of two isn’t a very large group; but the pose, the looks and all the great props made this such a wonderful picture, I just love it!
Congrats to you Chelle!

On to this months challenge: make your photo subject really stand out

Great photography subjects are all around us. You don’t have to go far to find interesting people, flowers, or wildlife. The real test is to use your skills to create a photo with genuine impact.
How do you make your subject really stand out in a photograph? You need to know that a more expensive camera will not automatically make you a better photographer. In truth, the techniques in this article will work for almost any camera. All you need are manual aperture and shutter speed settings, and a decent zoom lens.

Here are a few simple tips for adding impact to your subject.

Tip #1.
Highlight A Brightly Lit Subject Against A Dark Background. If you are shooting a subject in full sunlight, with a shady background, the subject is always going to stand out. This is a simple principle to understand, but it is a little easier said than done.

When your photograph has two very different levels of light, the lightmeter in your camera can be confused. It may expose for the dark background, causing your subject to be overexposed. The trick is to expose for the subject.

You can’t do this on automatic. What you need to do is switch your camera to manual, and adjust the aperture and/or shutter speed settings until the photo is underexposed by one or two stops (according to the lightmeter). When you get the balance right, you should have a dark background and a perfectly exposed subject.

Here is my go on tip #1:

Tip #2.
Use A Small Depth Of Field To Blur The Background. You have seen plenty of photos where the subject is sharp and clear, but the rest of the picture completely out of focus. You will find this an easy way to add impact to the subject, and a three-dimensional effect to your whole photo.

To achieve this, you use a combination of a large lens and a wide aperture. First, zoom in on the subject with your largest magnification. This will naturally reduce the depth of field. Then adjust the aperture to its widest setting. A wide aperture will reduce the depth of field even further.

The closer you are to the subject the more pronounced the effect becomes.

Here is my go on tip #2:

I used a lens from 18-55mm (the only lens I have btw ) and just fiddled around with the settings till I got this. If anyone is interested my settings were: F4,5 shutterspeed 1/60 and ISO 1600.

Tip #3.
Use A Wide Angle Lens To Exaggerate Perspective, if you have one. This technique is almost the opposite of Tip #2. A wide angle lens makes everything in your photo appear much smaller, so objects in the distance seem much further away than they really are. Meanwhile, you can stand very close to a subject in the foreground (a person, animal etc) and still fit it in the frame.

As a result, your close-up subject will appear to tower over a background in which everything else seems very small and distant. Although the surroundings will be mostly in focus (the wide angle lens has a much larger depth of field), they will seem relatively small and insignificant, making your subject seem larger and more dominant by comparison.

I would love to show you an example for this tip too, but I don’t have a wide angle lens myself.

So there you have three fairly simple ways to add impact to the subject in your photos.
The great thing is, you don’t need a professional camera to try these ideas out. As said earlier, if you have a zoom lens, and manual control of your aperture and shutter speed, you can add impact to your photos with just a little practice.

Even better, in the age of digital photography, practice costs nothing…so get out there and start snapping!

From an article by Andrew Goodall (picturecorrect.com)

Well it sounds so simple, right  ? Not really I agree, but after reading this tutorial it got a lot clearer to me too  : http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_aperture.html
It got me practising and it made me understand my camera and the terms shutterspeed and apeture better than ever before!

And here are the beautiful entries of the creative team; both such adorable pictures.

This one is from Brittney, she used here depth of field to make everything but the subject’s face out of focus.
 

And this one is from Stacy, she used a shallow depth of field.
 

Henriëtte

Good morning all, (scrappy)Kate here with this months Hybridology 101 tutorial!

But first I have to say…
Happy New Year!  I am so excited to be bringing you ScrapMatters first post of 2009!

Now, on to business.  Here’s how to make a craftwood/mdf album, just like I have:

To make on like this, you’ll need:

• a craftwood album of your choice, available at most craft stores - mine was a KAISERcraft (beyond the page) “Tabbed Journal”
• fabulous digital kit to create your pages… I chose Britt-ish Designs fun Christmas kit called; “Hustle & Bustle”
• digital layouts created with your chosen kit to suit your album theme/content
• matte photo quality paper to print on to (or outsource your printing!)
• craft glue for adhering your layouts to the album
• paint to suit the colours of your digital kit; mine was white - goes with almost everything!
• binding rings; mine were PINK (!) KAISERscrapbook Album Rings
• embellishments to finish it off; I used ribbons, jewels/bling, buttons, paper flowers and string!
• & finally you’ll need something to seal it… I used a matte spray-on lacquer, but most people tend to use modge podge.

I will be putting up the templates I created for this album on my blog in the next few days, so if you’re interested, stop by and pick up a freebie!

Don’t forget to upload your creations to our hybrid gallery, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have had a a Happy & safe New Years Eve!
Kate

Hi Everyone.

Denise here to bring you another Word Up! Challenge. I really liked the word art pack that Stacy offered up last time, so I thought I would do the same.

This time, since it is New Year’s Eve, it is of course about New Year’s. Are you going to a party? Are you making a resolution? Let’s see what you can come up with.

Here is the word art pack:

Download here.

So, here’s your challenge. Scrap whatever you want, use one of the word arts in your layout, and get a point. You must post your layout in the gallery, and also, post your layout link and image in the forum here.

Use a new product from the ScrapMatter’s store, get another point.

The challenge will run until the end of January…and then I will pick my favorite to get one additional point.

Here’s my layout, resolute.

And here’s a little more inspiration from the CT.

[LO by Christine, aka alamama]

[LO by Mary, aka littlehiccup]

Can’t wait to see your creations.

Happy scrapping.

Denise

Hi everyone! Maria here to bring you the Tuesday Template Challenge! I know it’s still Tuesday somewhere, so I’m not VERY late! LOL

Take the template and scrap about your New Year resolutions. Think about what’s important in your life. Concentrate on your feelings. Scrap about you and your thoughts.

Here’s your link

Add some things, take something away - any changes are fine, just make it your own!  The only requirement is to use your own picture on this page. 

And here’s some inspiration from our fabulous CT!

By Christine

using Andylinn’s *Winter White*

By Mary

using *Way to Be* by Andilynn Designs, *EZ Notes* by Erica Zane, *Tiny Wrinkled Dots Alpha* by Jeni Hopewell, stitches from *Woodland Fantasy* by Erica Zane

By me

using Britt’s *White Christmas*

Since it’s the last week of December, entries will be accepted until the end of January! Please upload your LO to the Tuesday Template Challenge gallery, as well as linking it here in this thread to get your point. You can also earn an additional point by using any product released in the past 7 days in the SM shop. Just make sure you mention that when uploading your page. At the end of the challenge, I’ll be choosing one random winner for an extra point as well! You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products to participate in this challenge, but we love it when you do! Remember, no double dipping. Each LO must be created for one challenge only. Can’t wait to see your pages!

 Happy Scrap Girl here with with todays post.  I’m sure that most of you, like myself are busy recovering from the holidays and getting ready for New Years celebrations.  So I thought I’d do something fun that we haven’t done for a while.. a Scavenger Hunt!

The answers to all of the questions can be found in the gallery, the shop, the blog and the forum. Yup…  I’m going to make you work for it!

There are 10 items  you must find for the hunt and you have until Saturday, January 3rd to send your answers to me. I will randomly select one person with all of the right answers to win a gift certificate to the shop and announce the winner on Sunday, January 4th!

Ok here are the questions:

1.) How many designers do we have in our shop?

2.) List TWO members (by user name) who have had layouts selected for the “Layout of the Week” by the Scraps Matter Gang.

3.) Name both of the free participation gifts available in this weeks’ Speed Scraps (No.’s 56 & 57).

 4.) Name 2 designers that have kits that include a monkey.

 5.) Sya’s Blueprints released a new kit on Dec 25th - what are 2 of the main colors in the kit?

 6.) ScrapMatters has a weekly hybrid challenge - what is it called?

 7.) Since it’s a very cold winter day where I am right now, tell me 2 kits in the shop that have the word “Winter” in their names.

8.) Who hosts our monthly photography challenge?

9.)  Which designer has cold toes?

10.) What’s the one thing you love most about ScrapMatters? (Hey - I had to give you one super easy one, right?)

You can pm your answers to me in the forum (user name: Happy Scrap Girl) or email them to me at happyscrapgirl AT live DOT com. 

Have fun on your search and have a safe and happy New Year!

~HSG

2.What is your main job/career?
I’m a stay at home, homeschooling mom and love it! I’ve been home now for almost 10 years. Wow!

3.Are you married/children/pets?
I’ve been married to my best friend for 12 years now. We have 5 beautiful children. Pets or pests? Oh, gotcha! Yes, we have two dogs - 1 of which I truly adore, Hot Lips, and 1 which would be the later, Titan.

4.Where is home for you?
We live in the big ‘ole state of Texas out in the country. I think I was misplaced and should have been born in New England, but can’t seem to find my way back. Really, I’ve never been to New England, but it’s my dream to go there someday.

5.What are your 3 favorite foods?
Anything Greek
Fajitas from Uncle Julio’s
Ice Cream! (yes, even in the Winter!)

6.What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Peanut Butter ‘n Chocolate from Baskin Robbins

7.Snacks…Salty or Sweet?
Both - together of course! Chocolate covered peanuts, French fries and ice cream. Why are we talking about food? It’s almost the New Year! Time for a resolution! Haha!

8.Beverage of choice?
Caramel Macchiato - homemade or straight from Starbucks. I’ve learned to make them perfectly at home, so it’s harder to justify the $4.33 anymore. I’ve even done a LO of it!

10.PC or Mac? What program do you use?
PC - Mac? I wish! I’m using PSE7.0, but haven’t quite taken to it yet, from PSE6 - the actions are different.

11.How long have you been digi-scrapping?
Almost 6 months. I started in July.

12.What was your 1st LO about?
My first layout was about our trip to Branson, Missouri.

13.Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)?
Now that I’m a Nikonian, I’ve gotten back into photography. Some say those are related, but I think they are much different forms of art!

14.What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?
Trying to narrow down the number of photos I want to use.

15.What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?
Going back to photography (remember, they aren’t related!) I would love to learn to compose my photos well and get out of automatic mode.

16.What are your favorite movies/TV shows?
Well, don’t laugh, but we don’t have TV here, so I usually watch things via the family computer from online or DVDs. My favorites are Little House on the Prairie, Survivor, and The Office.

17.Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?
Sometimes I’ll turn on one of my favorites (see above) and just have it going in the background and sit at my desk. But, if I haven’t seen it before, I’ll be on the couch with my laptop (now that I have a tiny EHD!). Hubby works nights, so most of the time I stay up way too late scrapping!

18.If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?
Probably buttons and a flower (even on my boy LOs. I have 4 boys and 1 girl, gotta squeeze those flowers in wherever I can get them!

19.Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?
I’ve given birth to my last 3 children at home (2 in the water). Yes, on purpose!

20.Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?
I love templates! I use them on almost every LO. Is that a handicap? I also use the color within my photos to pull my LOs together in most cases. Usually I’ve already picked a title before I started the LO, so I have an idea of where I want to go with it.

21.Favorite LOs that you have done?
That was hard. I think my scrapping has really progressed since I’ve been hanging out at SM! Must be all the awesome LOs in the gallery that have inspired me so!

Happy Saturday, All!!  Tgmousechick Kim here with today’s Saturday Special!

I find the week between Christmas and New Year’s very interesting.  It’s the week where the media does its summaries of the year: Fascinating people, big news stories, celebrities who passed away.  It’s amazing how much can happen during a year, and I’m reminded of things that just seemed like they happened yesterday, and “wow, that happened just this year?”

So, this Saturday’s challenge is short and sweet- work on a page that summarizes your year.  It can be a collection of news events that touched your life, or a summary of things you did with your family this year (or a combination).  Perhaps it can be a page of some of your favorite pages you finished this year!

Here is the page that I put together:

http://www.scrapmatters.com/gallery3/showphoto.php/photo/18469- Credits found here!

This can be a fun project while you are organizing your photos for the past year- a task I plan to do this week.  I organize my photos by year, and then by month, and any large events like a birthday or a trip some where get a folder of their own.  And then I’m going to burn the whole deal to a couple of DVDs for storage.  A previous blog post here, talks about backing up your photos.  It’s something that should be done often, but can add a nice sense of completion at the end of the year.

A reminder on the monthly challenges (since this challenge counts for the points system):

Create your Year in Review page and post it in the Saturday Special challenges gallery on or before December 31st.  And post it in the SM challenge forum here.  When you do, you will receive one point for completing the challenge.  You don’t have to use SM products, but we love it when you do!  As a bonus if you use a NEW SM product that has been released within one week, you will receive an additional point!  And there is no double-dipping.  Each LO must be unique to this challenge (i.e. can’t use it again for another challenge).

***One Special Note: Since this is the end of the month, you have the option to post the layout by December 31st and have it count for December points, OR, you can wait until January to post it, and you can have the point count for January points.  But no double-dipping there, either! ***

I hope you all had a lovely holiday celebration, no matter what holiday you celebrate!  Let me be one of the first to wish you a happy New Year!!