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Hello. Henriette here, to announce last month’s Photo Challenge winner and to give you July’s Challenge!

The winner of last months photo challenge is……..

sconnell with this amazing picture:

It looks like the flames are coming out of the screen! Congrats sconnell, and thanks for playing!!! The $5 gift certificate will be send to you soon!

Our monthly Photo Challenge is a challenge where no SCRAPPING at all is involved but just taking pictures is the only requirement to play. Each month I will choose a subject for the picture.

This month it is: show us your most gorgeous sunset picture!

After a no sunlight challenge it is all about the sun this time; make a picture of the sunset in your part of the world, with or without persons, buildings and/or beach, you choose, as long as it is a sunset!

Here is mine:

This was taken a couple of days ago by the river that runs at the end of our little patch of land.

How to play:
- Take a picture that has something to do with the subject, you can be as creative as you want, just make sure it has a connection with the subject.
- Post your picture in the gallery and link it back to this forum post.
- You can submit as many pictures as you like!
- I will choose the winner at the end of the month and she/he will receive a $5 gift certificate to our fabulous shop!

Thanks for playing and keep those pictures coming!

Hi, Kate here with Theory Thursday for this week.  I thought today I would summarise what I think are the essential tutorials out there for making a great page!

Constraining proportions

In my opinion there is nothing that ruins a page faster than stretched or warped photos and embellishments.  What may not look obvious whilst creating the page, is immediately obvious once it’s up in a gallery.  What do I mean?  Take a look at one of my earliest pages here:

I think it had potential, but I had no clue about how to not get my photos stretching like that!  I think I gave up this page in a huff because my husband said “Um love, the photos are really stretched”.  Haha! Here is a great tutorial to learn how NOT to do this, from Teresa.

Shadowing

Shadowing, or realistic shadowing is something I am still learning, but thanks to the tutorials on the ScrapMatters blog, I’ve learnt that it REALLY makes a difference to your pages. I quite like this page, but I think it could have been much better with some good shadowing.  As it is, the only shadows are the ones that were already on the embellishments (i.e. the frame).

Here is a great tutorial by Britt, which shows you how to get some really realistic shadows happening on your pages, I quite often check back to this blog post to get some more tips.  It’s one of those things that gets easier with practice.. and it’s quite nice when people start asking “is that a paper page or digital page?” - I think that’s the aim.. to make your pages look less flat!

Overlapping elements

Here is an example of a layout I used this kind of tutorial for (although now I look at it, it could have done with some realistic shadowing, LOL)

Here is a great SM tutorial about this.

Creating lines

Britt has another excellent tutorial about creating a line in your layout for your eye to follow.. it’s fantastic for making you think about the overall effect of your layout.  There are some great examples in her post, but here’s one I did this week that I think is a good example of making your eye follow a line.

There are so many great tutorials out there for almost any trick you can think of for scrapping.  I really encourage you to pick a few and give them a go.  I’m always surprised when I do a tutorial, even if I only use that specific skill once or twice, the little tips along the way really help me to keep learning more about Photoshop, and expanding my scrapping skills.

You didn’t think we forgot the 4th of July holiday did you? I hemmed and hawed about it a little bit, we have such an international audience, it seems sort of unfair to only celebrate the USA’s Independence Day. But then I realized that everyone in every country probably loves any excuse for a sale! I know I do!

So without further ado, here’s the ad:

July 3rd-6th PDT enjoy 25% off everything in the store except clearance items, commercial use and Bella Scraps Magazine.
I hope everyone forgives me the late notice about the sale!

Thanks to everyone who wished me a fabulous birthday earlier today. Since I had 25 comments on my earlier post I will go into the store and refund every 25th order 25%–just my surprise way of thanking you for commenting on our blog!

Hi everyone–Andrea here. Well today is my birthday and since I always have my birthday so close to Independence Day here in the USA I had planned on sharing some word art for Independence Day as my birthday gift to you. But as I started going through my quote collection getting ready to work on it, I found myself more in tune with my travel and life quotes. Don’t ask me why! And travel and life both work for pretty much anywhere and anytime. So I chose quotes for the word art that describe traveling through life. So I hope you enjoy this. I’ve got some other goodies up my sleeve for later on in the day! It’s my birthday and I can celebrate how I want correct?

Here’s a preview of the word art–all phrases come in both black and white for easy recoloring. Click the preview to go to 4shared to grab it. Edited: I fixed the link–thanks to everyone so willing to help others out by posting the correct link! You’re great!

Happy July everyone–Andrea here. So much is happening here at ScrapMatters this month, I thought it deserved a little blog post of it’s own.

Announcing the winners!
Thank you everyone for all your GREAT entries! It made picking a favorite WAY too hard! I had to just choose one of my very favorites since there were so many that I liked. Thanks again to everyone and be sure to play along this week too!
Winner of my favorite pick was The Werners with this LO:

I especially loved the circle border she used around all the photos and loved that she used both bw and color photos in the LO. The ribbon wrap around all the photos was especially cute and I thought it was really creative how she used paper blocks in place of some of the photos too. GREAT Lo! Loved how it turned out!

She even went back and re-did it to meet the requirements. I love the little scallop frame she used that matched the scallop border around all the pics. Great Lo!

Ladies, I’ll be PMing your your codes for the store!
Thanks again to those of your who participated - keep playing everyone and you could be one of our next winners!

Hello everyone SassyPixie here for the Tuesday Template Challenge! This is my first time hosting a challenge and I am very excited. I recently took my kids on vacation to my hometown American Fork, Utah. As usual, driving into town I was overcome with nostalgia. Memories always come pooring in. I happened to visit at the same time the neighboring towns were celebrating their summer celebrations. As I was thinking of the theme of my challenge I decided to challenge all of you to do a layout of your favorite summer tradition. It may be your town celebration, 4th of July or a family reunion. It can even be a childhood favorite tradition that you were always a part of growing up! This week template comes from the awesome Brittney. Have fun with it, make it your own and show me your favorite traditions. There will be one random winner and I will pick my favorite. Winners will receive a $5 GC to the ScrapMatters store.

http://www.4shared.com/file/52610127/c82cca83/brittdes_sassptch.html

Here are some layouts from our CT members to get your creative juices flowing…

here’s mine

ktkadoo

Zakirah

KateyPie

Mikelinz

and ldrag2000

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Have a great week!

Yep, you know what the beginning of a new month means at ScrapMatters. It’s time for a new Quick Page Exchange.  Here in the States July is the month of red, white and blue so I have chosen my own MY INDEPENDENCE kit to use for our July quick pages.

I feel a little weird about spotlighting myself but we like to give all our designers a turn so I guess it’s my turn.  Since it’s my kit we are using I decided to add a little bonus for everyone. For a limited time when you buy MY INDEPENDENCE you will receive my brand new MY INDEPENDENCE ADD ON kit for free. It will be included with the download of the main kit so make sure you download all the included files.  You can use both kits for your quick page designs.  And don’t forget MY INDEPENDENCE will be 30% off for the entire month of July!!!

Now I don’t want our international members to think this quick page album is going to be an American only album. I would love to see a great variety of entries and if you check the gallery at ScrapMatters you will find there are already a great number of wonderful LO’s using MY INDEPENDENCE that have nothing to do with America or the 4th of July so please join us in what I’m hoping will be another wonderful exchange.  Jump on over to the forum and join us!!!

Hello everyone–Jeni here! As I was thinking about what to write about for today’s post I came across a little section of great advice in one of my paper scrapping magazines (July 2008 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc., by Better Homes and Gardens) that came straight from their readers - fellow scrapbookers. I thought all of these bits of advice were applicable to any scrapbook page and any scrapper, no matter what your style or experience level. These are all great ideas so I just had to share them.

“The best advice I ever received was from a friend shortly after I started scrapbooking. I was continually asking about the ‘right’ way to do something. She told me, ‘There is no right or wrong way to scrapbook. Use your imagination and go for it. If you like it, you did it right.’” - Judy Crosby, St. Paul, Minnesota

“Don’t worry about catching up. You’ll never be caught up because the whole point is to continually chronicle your life experiences! Just enjoy all the steps you take to get to the wonderful finished product.” - Laura Wilson, Canton, Michigan

“Remember, it’s better done than perfect. I absolutely love some of my pages, while others are just so-so. But my family is looking for the memories, not perfection.” - Dana Lowry, Hickory, North Carolina

“My husband loves graphic design, so I often ask his advice. He always tells me the same thing: ‘Keep it simple!’ Yes, elaborate layouts are beautiful, but when you want to focus on that picture you love so much, there’s nothing like a simple layout!” - Marta Egea, Barcelona, Spain

” Don’t forget the journaling - it’s the most important part when you’re looking back at your scrapbooks. With all the wonderful embellishments available, we sometimes get so carried away we forget to tell the story - or we don’t put as much effort into the telling. But it’s the journaling and the picture that we’ll really want to focus on in the future.” - Anne Nugent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Such great advice, right? There were lots more listed in the magazine. I still LOVE my paper scrapping magazines even though I hardly ever touch my paper supplies anymore! : ) They have tons of ideas that can easily translate to digi, and now most of them even have a whole section written just for digiscrapping. Definitely worth checking out! (I guess that’s my little piece of advice!) Although we’ve probably all heard these things a million times, I know it always helps me to hear them again. I often forget about these little things sometimes - and those little things can make a BIG difference.

So now it’s your turn. Got any great pieces of advice for us? Please leave us a comment - we’d love to hear it!

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday, where ever you may be in the world!  It’s me, Tami, with another AMAZING Team Member to spotlight!  Today I chose Katie (ktkadoo), cause WOW!  She’s got some GREAT LO’s!!!  And I just have to say she was soooo sweet to agree to let me spotlight her!  I just contacted her yesterday and she got back to me in record time!  I’ve been gone for almost two weeks so I was under the gun to get some info on her and she was so great to comply, even last minute!! :):)  Anyhoo, let’s get to know her better, shall we?!

What brought you to ScrapMatters?   I’m pretty sure it was a CT call. But I can’t really remember… 

What is your main job/career?   I’m a SAHM. Recently I’ve tried to get people to pay me to scrapbook. I also teach viola lessons to one little girl in my town. And I received a degree in Family History from BYU, that I now use for nothing, but I have been extracting Greman Church Records for genealogical purposes with a professor there. 

Are you married/kids/pets?  I’ve been married for, well it’ll be 9 years in December. We have 4 gorgeous kids, 2 dogs and 1 cat. 

Where do you call home?   Right now we live in a (technical) ghost town in Utah, but my husband and I both grew up near York, PA and PA is still home in our hearts. 

What are your three favorite foods?  Ikea’s Swedish Meatballs, Fettucine Alfredo, pierogies 

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  mint chocolate chip 

Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?  usually sweet 

What is your favorite beverage?   hmmm…I’m not much of a drinks person…I really like hot chocolate, and I’ve been known to drink it even in the middle of summer. I suppose my favorite are smoothies…ooh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Sonics Strawberry Cream Slush 

What is your least favorite food?   hmm…I don’t even know because I don’t make what I don’t eat…I guess I don’t like fish products, seafood etc. It’s not something I EVER ate growing up, and now I have no desire to even give it a try. I also don’t really care for boxed macaroni and cheese, but the kids adore it… 

PC or Mac? PC 

How long have you been digi-scrapping/How did you get into it?  I‘ve been scrapping for about a year and a half now. There was a post on Babycenter about digi-scrapping, so I looked at it and decided I could do it. I never did like the expense and mess of paper scrapping, so it’s not something I ever regularly did. Digi-scrapping is perfect for me. 

What program do you use to digi-scrap with?  Microsoft Picture It 

What are your hobbies besides digi-scrapping?  I love doing family history stuff, I play the viola, reviewing our finances …I’m terribly boring… 

What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?  the layout…sometimes I just can’t figure out where to put everything… 

What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking ? I don’t know…I’d like to know how to sew better, and I’ve never learned how to knit or crochet… 

What are your favorite books/authors?  I don’t read much, but I do really like the Chronicles of Narnia 

What are your favorite movies?  I love the Phantom of the Opera movie 

What is your favorite quote?  I like so many I don’t think I can pick one. I just love every quote about families and kids that are inspirational. 

Where do you find inspiration for your layouts?  Other layouts in the galleries I frequent. 

How much time are you able to spend scrapping each week?  Way too much…I’m embarassed to admit it… 

Of all of your layouts, which is your favorite and why?  This is soooo hard…I really like this one. I love the simplicity of the layout, I loved the kit used, it’s just the most appealing one to me. 

Thanks, Katie!!  That is one of my favorites, too!  Here are more of her LO’s that are just completely adorable:

I love those pink flowers!  Too cute!

And this last one that she created for yesterday’s challenge that she’s hosting on the blog!  Check that out here…  And all the images are “clickable” so you can go leave her some love and check out her other cutie petooty LO’s!  

Have a super day, everyone!!

Hello!! Katie (ktkadoo) here. I’m so excited to be hosting another challenge, and I hope many of you will participate…

Another perspective…

How many stories are there in one picture? I think there are always more than one story, but when we journal in our scrapbook pages, we most often record our thoughts and feelings and the story that we saw unfolding. What did the other people see? What did they think and feel? Your challenge for this week is to scrap a page from another perspective.

Entries must be placed in the gallery and linked to this thread. They are due July 4th at Midnight. There will be two prizes; the first is a $5 GC for the shop which will be awarded to the layout that I feel really grabbed the idea of this challenge the best.
The 2nd award will be awarded to everyone as a participation prize.

Here is the preview of this beautiful paper pack created by Jeni Hopewell:

Missing by Me using Sprite by Britt-ish Designs and Erica Zane

Eeyore by Brittney using Little Lovebirds, What’s Hanging Tag Alpha and Journals and Tags, and Let’s Polka all by Andilynn Designs

No More by Mandy Rae

Play Learn by Zakirah using Sprite by Britt-ish Designs and Erica Zane, Happiest Dots on Earth by Britt-ish Designs and Tabby Dates by Britt-ish Designs

this Wedding Page by Ellie using What’s Hanging Journals and Tags by Andilynn Designs and White Wedding by Ellie Lash

So Easy by Jeni Hopewell using All American Kids and Clearly Seen Elements, both by Jeni Hopewell Designs

Swings by Shutch using Sprite by Britt-ish Designs and Erica Zane

Soldier by Mikelinz

I hope that’s enough inspiration for you! Now get scrapping…