Tami here again for another Words for Wednesday thought! This week I’d like to focus on what your titles are saying about your LOs. I’m going to pull some wonderful LOs from our gallery to show examples of how your title can make all the difference.

Ok, first of all: Location, Location, Location!! Here are some great examples of how the placement of your title can really pull in your eye:

Zakira

This is a perfect example of how reading the title leads your eye directly to the focal point of the LO, the photo! I love this!

Morgan

This beauty (the first of a 2-pager) has the title on the same horizontal line as the main photo, which helps you focus on that gorgeous little sweetie!

Next: Emotion! Have you ever thought about your titles evoking the emotion you want for a LO? Maybe not intentionally, but I bet you’ve created a LO where your title says it all, without even reading the words!! Weird? Let me show you…

Brittney

This title is not boisterous, big or overstated. It simply is, and you kinda have to look for it. To me this says Britt is really missing her brother, but doesn’t really want that to be the focus, ’cause he’s where he’s supposed to be and she wants to be supportive! Maybe I read too much into it, but I think this title is PERFECT for this LO!!

Kayjaybee

Sorry I couldn’t make this bigger, but the title says A LOT! If you have children, or know one, you can relate to trying to see the world through their eyes. Sometimes it tugs at your heart to know what some children have to deal with and I think this title captures that emotion perfectly. I love the little note as well. What a sweet LO!!

Teresa

I think you can all see that Teresa sees the beauty in her children! Who doesn’t!? But I love that she used her children’s terminology in the title: “So super 100″ is how they say “REALLY, REALLY!” How cute is that!? So she’s used a family saying in the title to really emphasize the beauty in a child’s mind, as well as in a photograph. Absolutely lovely!!

Our last little focus on titles will be: Fun! Titles can be just as fun as the photos they are describing! Here are some examples of some great titles that are just too FUN!!

Leah

This LO is just fantastic, but that title is too funny! I love that she used a pirate’s booty to say “booty!!” TOO clever!

Emileem

How cute is this!? She just uses a bunch of fun words to describe this sweet 4th birthday! I love all the different alphas she uses. Don’t be afraid to mix up the alphas and fonts. It makes for such an interesting and fun LO!!

And finally, carsmom53

I love how she has “jumping” look like it’s jumping! Cute idea! And again, she mixes up the alphas which I think is always fun!!

I hope these ideas have given you some good inspiration for next time you struggle with the title of your LO. Just stop and think about what you want your title to say about your LO and you’re halfway there! Have fun scrappers!

And don’t forget to stop by this Saturday for National Scrapbook Day! You WON’T regret it!! There are TONS of fun things planned for you!

Until next time…

Hi all! Brittney popping in to announce the winners from last week’s template challenge! It was so incredibly hard to pick a winner, I can’t even tell you! Our lucky random drawing winner was virginiajen with this AWESOME entry:

And my pick is Erica‘s wonderful LO!

Congrats girls! I will be PMing you your $5 GC codes today!!

Now, on to Katie’s new template challenge!!!

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Come on get happy!!

This week’s template is so fun! Brittney entitled it Happy Template and she said I didn’t have to do anything happy with it, but we are anyway.

Make a happy layout. Make something that will make you smile when you see it. Use happy colors, and happy pictures. I want to see the word happy somewhere on your layout. It could be in the title, in journaling, a sticker, whatever. It just needs to show up. Let’s see just how happy we can get with each other’s layouts.

Here is the preview of Brittney’s page and the template.

Here is my example:

Here’s the work from our uber-fabulous CT.

And this one from Stacy H. He truly is one cool dude.

This one is from Leah. I love the sequins and the ribbons!

And here is this one about Tracy’s daughter’s first real haircut. I love this kit!

What a great layout subject in Melanie’s. What a cutie!

And check out Taters bright colors! I love the gifts at the bottom!

I really love the colors in Kate’s. Isn’t it beautiful?

The rules:

1: You do not need to use ScrapMatters products.

2: Entires are due by midnight May 5 (in 1 week’s time).

3: You must post a link to your lo here

4: The word *happy* must appear in your lo.

Two lucky winners will receive a $5 gift certificate to the store. One will be my favorite and one will be a random pick. (Now, that’s something to get happy about)!!

Download your template HERE.

This template comes in both .psd and separated .pngs.

It’s time to go get happy!

Hi Andrea here to report on the winners from our very first The Saturday Special challenge on opposites. It was so hard to pick just one winner so I’m glad we got to pick two favorite LOs this first time.  Leah, our newest CT member, chose “Best of Both Worlds Tour” by caitsmama as her favorite LO and my favorite was “Jumping with Daddy” by carsmom53. They each will be getting $5 gift codes to the store.

Our random winners were suzyqscraps and inspirecj they each will receive a kit of their choice from Andilynn Designs.  Everyone who participated will receive the black-and-white freebie Britt & I put together.  Enjoy and thanks for playing along.

So sorry for the late post today everyone!

How well do YOU know the SM shop and our products??  I’ve put together a very quick hunt to test your knowledge.  Can you find which kit each piece of this hanging display came from?

Get into the shop and start your hunt!

Email your answers to smgames@usa.com before midnight on FRIDAY (Pacific Time).  You need to list the kit the item is from and the designer of that kit.  (example: 1 – “Shiver Me Timbers” by Britt-ish Designs).  Have fun!!  I’ll draw two entries who got all 9 right and those two lucky scrappers will win a GC to the shop!  I will announce the winner on National Scrapbooking Day (this coming Saturday, 5/3/08).

Have fun!

xoxo,

Hello again! It’s Tami here with another amazing woman to spotlight! This week we’re highlighting a new member to ScrapMatters, EZane! Woo hoo! If you’ve had a chance to see her work, isn’t she simply amazing?! If you haven’t, take a minute and view her gallery. I’m sure you’ll get some incredible inspiration!!

Ok, let’s get to know her a little better, shall we?

What brought you to ScrapMatters?
Brittney (Britt-ish Designs) & I were on a CT together & she let me know about it–thanks Brittney!! loving it here!

What is your main job/career?
let’s see…a toss up between laundry slacker or poor housekeeper…maybe we’ll stick with SAHM–makes me sound better!

Are you married/kids/pets?
Super happily married with 3 kids (2 boys 6 & 3 and an almost 1 year old girl)

Where do you call home?
an apartment in Virginia

What are your three favorite foods?
Sushi, strawberry shortcake & cheesecake

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Right now I’m hooked on Ben & Jerry’s Pistachio Pistachio

Do you prefer salty or sweet snacks?
Yikes–both! I definitely have a sweet tooth but sometimes I just need some spongebob cheeze-its (yes, I know, they are for the kids….but still…)

What is your favorite beverage?
water

What is your least favorite food?
McDonald’s

PC or Mac?
PC

How long have you been digi-scrapping/How did you get into it?
About a year, but I’ve been addicted to playing with my photos in Photoshop for 14 years now. I was looking at paper scrapbook supplies online & saw a digital section, I clicked to see what that was all about & it was all over! Instant addiction–I just LOVE it!

What program do you use to digi-scrap with?
Photoshop CS

What are your hobbies besides digi-scrapping?
I don’t know–I can’t stop digiscrapping long enough to see if I have any! I used to like reading, knitting, paper scrapping & photography…I still take photos–but the rest seem to have been put aside for now.

What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?
Waiting ’til the kids are asleep! I get an idea or take a super cute photo & I just want to hop on my computer & play!

What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking ?
I wish I could do better at cooking meals..I really hate thinking of what to make for dinner every night, it doesn’t make it easier having a picky 6 year old…we eat a lot of the same boring meals all the time.

What are your favorite books/authors?
I like science fiction/fantasy books–I also like books by Orson Scott Card and I know there are more, I just can’t think right now…my brain is stuck in LO mode I think…

What are your favorite movies?
The Princess Bride! I also like Pride & Prejudice and the Harry Potter movies

What is your favorite quote?
hmmm…can it be part of a hymn? “Families can be together forever!” LOVE that!

Where do you find inspiration for your layouts?
I usually just start playing with a kit or a photo & go from there…I don’t usually have a set idea, I plop a bunch of stuff onto my canvas & start moving things around until I like it. Probably not the best system…LOL! But it works for me…most days.

How much time are you able to spend scrapping each week?
I can usually squeeze in a few hours after the kids go to bed until I get too tired…so maybe 14 hours a week if no one is sick & cranky.

Of all of your layouts, which is your favorite and why?

I just love how this one turned out–this is my son & my nephew (the driver)…first of all–the photo is too funny and the LO just came together better than I expected–I love the way it turned out with the bright blocks of color & the fun designs. Plus-they are driving out of the frame, which is SO A.J.! He watches behind him more than in front while he’s driving-it’s hilarious!

Isn’t she super cute!? Love your answers, Erica! Thanks for letting us get a little peek into your everyday life. And for some more quick inspiration from Erica, here are some of my favorite LO’s!

I love this one because it focuses on just the two of them! Aren’t they a gorgeous couple?! Sometimes I forget to put the focus on my husband and I… I’ve gotta learn from her! Isn’t it fab?!

I just love everything about this next LO, starting with that sweet photo! I love the colors, the bling, and especially that sweet letter to her daughter. LOVE IT!

Talk about thinking out of the box… Shadow Box! Haha! Isn’t this awesome!? I never would have thought of something this creative!! I love that she framed one picture and has her cutie looking at himself! Soo cute!!

Ok all, I hope this has helped you get to know Erica a little better! Take some time to leave her some love for those sweet LO’s! And Erica, watch your inbox for a special PM with a Gift Certificate to our sweet store! Thanks for playing along with us!!

So, until next time…

Hello and happy Saturday everyone! Zakirah here with the Saturday Special challenge. How’s your day going on? I hope y’all are having a great time with your family and friends. Today I wanna challenge you to interpret this ad as creatively as you can on your layout:

The rules for this challenge are simple. Use whatever kits you have, any colors you love, be creative, have fun, and enjoy yourself!

Post your layouts to the gallery by Friday midnight EST, May 2nd. And don’t forget to post your layout links at this thread too! I’ll pick 2 winners for this challenge, one lucky winner and another one my favorite. These winners will win $5 gift certificate to the ScrapMatters shop! Whoohooo!! Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 6!

So back to the challenge. Here’s some suggestions on how you can get some inspiration from the ad:

• Apply the composition on your layout; look at how the image and text elements are arranged and positioned, and then apply this onto your page.

• Flip the ad and see it in different angles; 90 or 180 degrees, or even 230 degrees, it’s up to you. You may come up with diagonal, horizontal, or vertical layouts. It’s up to how you interpret and play with the composition. Be creative!

• Take the colors as inspiration. Pale red, maroon and black are the colors used on this ad. Take the palette as it is or interpret it in your own way: Use bright colored border, slightly dark paper for background, and a dark ribbon. ‘Read’ the colors and play it your way.

• Use a combination of thin and big shapes like in the ad. Play around with the shapes and make them help you to focus on the subject of your layout.

When looking at the ad, what inspires me the most is the composition and here’s how I interpret it:

Credits: All from Sunshine Digiscrap – Just For You & Joyful kits.

And here’s the layouts from the awesome ScrapMatters team! Man, they just blew me away with these creative layouts!!

Britt ~ I love how she interprets the composition of the ad! Britt uses GG Digital Design’s Sweet Pea kit.

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Leslie ~ I love how Leslie flipped the composition 90 degrees and came up with a horizontal layout! She uses Britt’s Leave The World Behind kit.

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Katie ~ Love the mixture of grey-ish and brown paper and the ‘A’!

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Stacy H. ~ Look how Stacy uses the red ribbon instead of paper! It makes her layout pops because of the contrast between the plain, textured paper and the polka dot ribbon. Very creative!

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Melanie ~ I really love how she placed the cluster at the bottom of the page!

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Sya ~ I’m so in love with the colors she used!! And look how she placed the cluster on the top with the scattered buttons on the white space – very creative!

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Linz ~ I really love how she interprets the composition. The hanging photo and cluster, the journaling, the title, everything is on the perfect place!

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So, are you ready to take the challenge? Hopefully you are, LOL. I’m sure y’all come up with amazing layouts!! Can’t wait to see them! Hope you have a creative-filled Saturday and have fun with the challenge!

Hi all!
Happy Scrap Girl here with another Photography Phriday post. 
It’s finally starting to be spring here where I live, and I’m so excited to be outside with my kids.  The fresh air is good for all of us, and it gets us all moving.  I’m excited to be able to take pictures out in the sunshine again (as opposed to my dark living room   ) 

I thought for today’s tips I’d talk a bit about outdoor photography. I’m not a pro photographer, but I’ve picked up a few tips along the way that even us amateurs can easily apply to get better pictures for our scrapbook pages.

• The best time of day to take your photos is in the early morning or late afternoon / evening.  The light is does not cause as many harsh shadows during this time of day.  But, it’s not usually possible to limit our photo sessions to just these times.  We really want to have great photos at any time of the day.  
• Turn on your flash!  I know it sounds silly to add more lights to an already sunny day, but when the sun is over head, it can cause harsh shadows in our photos, especially under eyes, noses and necks.  Turning on your flash will help to fill in these shadows and create more even lighting.   
• Try taking photos in a lightly shaded area of your yard.  The trees will provide a natural filter for the bright sunlight, and will help to reduce those dark shadows – a flash is still a good idea here.  Same goes for a cloudy day – the clouds help to filter the light for fewer shadows.
• Think about the position of the sun when you are setting up your shots.  While you may not want to pose the shots you are taking, you can situate yourself so that the sun is working with you, and not against you.  The sun should be behind the photographer so that it is lighting up the faces of the subject.  You don’t want to have your subject looking directly at the sun (you’ll get squinty smiles for sure), so have the sun at an angle behind you.  
• Don’t focus so much on the image in the viewfinder.  What you are seeing there has already happened.  Keep an eye on where the action is headed and anticipate what will happen next.  This is especially useful for taking pictures of moving toddlers or sports shots.  Snap your photo a second before the foot hits the soccer ball, and you’ll get a photo of it connecting with the ball.  If you push the button when you see the foot touch the ball, you’ll get a photo of the ball moving down the field…
• Pay attention to everything that will be in the background as well.  You may have a wonderful shot of your angelic 2 year old, that might be completely ruined by the branch sticking out from behind their head.  If you can’t change what is in the background try changing your camera settings to make the background a bit blurry and out of focus.  A portrait setting works well for this, as does zooming way in with your lens.  

These are a few of the things that have worked well for me.  Don’t be overwhelmed by them, just start by focusing on one or two of them and after a while, they will become automatic. 
Now get outside and take some pictures!

Hello to my fellow double-page loving friends!  It’s Kristie (Suzie Belle Designs) here today with your Theory Thursday blog entry.  In my last entry I talked to you about why double-page layouts are the coolest- and why it makes me sad I’m seeing less and less of them out there.  If my previous attempts at converting you all didn’t work before, maybe I’ll have better luck today! 

I have a wonderful friend named Heidi who shares my love for the double-pagers, so I was thrilled when she called me and told me she had a great article for me to read in the April 2008 Creating Keepsakes Magazine on just that subject.  I’ve been trying to decide what I wanted my next blog-entry to be, and this was perfect!  The article is all about one of my suggestions in my previous post- converting your single-page layouts into double ones!  So go grab a freebie template or find a single-page layout that you have seen and wanted to scraplift- and I’ll give you some ideas on how to turn it into your own double-page creation! 

As you double-page scrap, it’s really important to make sure you’re looking at your layout as a whole rather than two separate pages so before I begin, I actually open a new document sized 12” x 24” to work on and then crop it after it’s all finished- this way your pages will flow perfectly together.

#1  There are many great ways to convert a single page layout into two.   I’ve told you about turning a single-page by 90 or 180 degrees for your second page before- and the first method the article gave was to MIRROR it, which is along those same lines.  So all you have to do is create your
first page as you normally would, than reuse the template after flipping the canvas horizontally.  Make sure your elements all line up across, and it’s nice to even use the same ones continued through both pages, and voila!  You’ve got yourself a rockin’ double-pager.  Here’s an example I made using one of the templates in The Fun and Flirty Template Pack by Britt-ish Designs.

Here’s a preview of the original template:

And here’s how I used it by taking the template and flipping it over for page #2:

#2 The next easy conversion method is to EXTEND a one-page layout into two pages.  Have way more pictures and way more to say than can possibly fit into one page?  This method is for you.  I’ve chosen  to do my next layout because I had way more pictures of this specific event than could possibly fit comfortably onto one page- and most of my pictures were the same orientation (tall rather than long) so I thought they would look really nice just displayed in a row straight across the two pages.  Here’s my scraplifted layout (from Allison Davis) when used for just one page:

And here it is again when I’ve extended it across the two (Look how much more detail and journaling I can add using two pages rather than one):

#3 In method number three, you want to take your favorite parts from your single-page layout and DUPLICATE them onto the second page.  Maybe it’s the paper scheme, perhaps it’s a really fun element you’ve found you love, a frame, a shape, etc.  Whatever it may be, use that thing you love to tie the two pages together.

Single:

Double (I reused the paper, border, doodles that I totally love, and double matted rectangular shapes for my second page):

#4 The final method I’ll talk to you about today is to STRETCH your single page out over two-pages.  I’ve seen a lot of single-page layouts that I totally love and want to scraplift in the ScrapMatters gallery- but the problem I have is that I almost never only have one or two photos I want to use- it’s always way more!  So instead of having to cut down your choices to one, just take that photo area on your page, and stretch it across to page number two.  Stretch your elements, paper, everything to fit more pictures side by side across your two pages.   Here’s one of the a single page layouts I saw in the gallery and totally loved- This one is by Brittney (Britt-ish Designs):

And then here’s my stretch scraplift of it:

You’ve seen mine- now I want to see yours!  Go look at your old single-page layouts or find a page you’d love to scraplift and try one of these four methods to see what fun double-pagers you can create!   

Kristie

Credits:

Picture #1- Template #2 in the Fun and Flirty Template Pack by Britt-ish Designs

Picture #2- Ribbon from Cool as a Cucumber by Suzie Belle Designs, Template #2 in the Fun and Flirty Template Pack by Britt-ish Designs, Everything else from the About a Boy Collaboration kit by Ellie Lash and Flergs

Picture #3- Let’s Polka kit by Andilyn Designs

Picture #4- Punch of Papaya kit by Suzie Belle Designs

Picture #5-  Template by Happy Scrap Girl; paper from Tomboy Kit by Sunshine DigiScraps; Doodles by LgPerspectives

Picture #6- Template by Happy Scrap Girl; paper from All Aflutter and Boho Bella- both by Suzie Belle Designs, Doodles by Lg Perspectives

Picture #7- Everything is from Diamante Designs by Lori Wiley- Border (recolored) from “April News”
- Background paper from “Warm Glitz Paper Pack 2″
- “Inked Frames”
- “Funky Swirls – Black and White”
- Shones Blumen
- Floral BeautiesStitches by Britt-ish Designs: “In Stitches: BasicPicture

#8- Scraplift from Working from Home Layout by Britt-ish Designs; Fairy Trails by Ellie Lash; Zig-Zag stitch by Britt-ish Designs: “In Stitches”; Flower Fastener by Scrappy Blue Stones; All the rest of the elements and paper from Flower Girl kit by GG Digital Designs

Hey everyone! Brittney here, hosting this week’s template challenge! Before we get to the challenge, I want to announce Tami’s winners from last week!!

The random drawing winner was: ngneer98 with this awesome springy LO -

And Tami’s pick was: carsmom53‘s awesome entry -

Congrats girls! I’ll PM you your gift certificates right away!

Ok – I’m excited to announce that from now on Tuesday will officially be “The Tuesday Template Challenge“! Each Tuesday we’ll bring you a fun new template to play with! And on Saturdays we will be trying out all kinds of new and different challenges!

It feels like I haven’t hosted a challenge in so long! I’m really excited to host!! I scrapped a LO a few weeks back that got a lot of attention for some reason. I was even spotlighted on the Gallery Standouts site!! Someone suggested I make it into a template and I knew just the place to do it! The ScrapMatters Tuesday Template Challenge!

This was my original LO (scrapped with a kit by Mira Designs called “Summer Fun”).

This LO was inspired by a paper LO by Jennifer Johner called “Say Cheese”. When I scrapped my original LO, I tried something completely new! I had never used my lasso tool to cut out a messy shape before, but the result of my TRY was a success!! So . . . in addition to just using the template this week, I want you to TRY something new. That’s why the title this week is “The ‘Try It Out’ Template Challenge”! Anything you want to TRY, now is the time!

Here’s the template!

I even left the shadow layers in for easy scrapping. If you like the shadows, leave them in. If you want to make your own or don’t like them, just delete the layer.

Snag the template HERE.   The template comes in both .psd file format as well as separated PNG files.

Here is some inspiration to get you going from our amazing Creative Team:

Teresa:

Sya:

Shari:

Sarah:

Katie:

Henriette:

Kate:

Jeni:

Linz:

Stacy:

Krista:

Wow! Are you inspired? I sure am! I might even have to use the template again!!

So, to re-cap:

1) Use the template any way you want! Ditch the messy circles if you want, flip the template, alter the number of photos, or use it exactly as is. Whatever you want! You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we always love it when you do!
2) TRY something new in your LO.
3) Post a link to your LO in the FORUM THREAD and tell us what new thing you tried!

That’s it! Post your entries before midnight on Monday April 28th (Pacific Time). I will chose 1 favorite and 1 randomly drawn LO to win a $5 gift certificate to the SM shop!

Happy Scrapping!!!

xoxo,

Welcome to What Matters Monday. Melanie(SassyPixie) here and I am so excited to be bringing you our post today. I know most of us after we have completed a page try to decide if we will print that page. If so , on our printer, send it to Walmart or Costco or use a company to print out our layouts that we work so hard on. Then we have to decide if we will put our pages in a standard album or if we will turn our pages into a beautiful hard bound book that we can display on our table.

Well, I wanted to take it one step further. What about displaying your layouts in your home where all can see your hard work. We love uploading our layouts into the gallery and see what comments everyone leaves for us. If you were to display your layouts in your home, how many people would be amazed by your talents?

There are a number of ways to display your pages, there is no right or wrong way to do it. I just wanted to share with you a few ideas that I and a couple of other ScrapMatters girls have done in our homes.

First of all, I got a Digital Photo Frame for Christmas and I leave it on all day as it scrolls through all my layouts. This is a fun way for people to see all your pages without looking in all your albums that you may have.

I also have a grouping in my formal living/dining area that we have turned into a salon. I have displayed each of my kids on canvas with the word LOVE hanging from the canvas. I bought them at a Scrapbook store about 3 years ago and I update them now and then. It’s called Scrapbooking on the Wall and you can find more information and pricing here.

I promised my 13 year old that I would update his page before I posted this. I guess his last page was just not cool enough. LOL.

Here is a tile that Brittney has displayed in her home. She gave the tutorial on this a couple of months ago. You can check it out here.

So cute! I still need to do one of these. Jeni Hopewell used digital scrapbooking elements to create beautiful pictures throughout her home. I love the picture on her entry way table, I had never even thought of doing this.

These are some pictures in her bathroom…

And then here is one in her daughters room, I love this…

I have one picture in my family room that is just a picture with the words to ‘I Hope You Dance’ in it. This is my favorite song because I love the positive message. I guess I’m hoping it will rub off on my kids if they look at it enough.

And then my final and latest project was my daughter poster that I hung in her new princess room. I used a template and then uploaded it to Costco and they shipped it to me. The size of the picture is 12×24 and Costco does not print to that size. I matted the poster with a 20×30 size and then uploaded it that way. I just cut off the matting part because I had a 12×24 frame already. One hint for this(because it took me 2 days to figure out) when you upload a poster size of enlargement picture and you click the button that says Upload, when the new window comes up that you can search your computer for you pictures at the very bottom it will say Upload 5x faster or Enlargements at the very bottom. The default is 5x faster and you have to click on Enlargement or they will compress your resolution down to where you cannot print that big of a size. Does that make sense? If not send me a message and I will try to explain it better. This should save you multiple trips and phone calls with the Costco Photo Center girl. LOL

So here a just a few ways to display your many talents and to personalize your home decor! Hope you enjoyed your stay and have a great day!

Melanie