Happy Sunday morning! I’m Judy (chigirl) from the SMG here to bring you another Sunday Spotlight. Today we are going to meet FiveBales, aka Judy (just a coincidence, really!!!!), and she’s a newbie to our wonderful little community. So grab your latte, your tea or whatever and get to know FiveBales.

And here are some from the ScrapMatters gallery that Judy likes:

By Nonnie:

by kilt

by southern mother

by KattyZak

by sassypixie

22. How long have you been a member at ScrapMatters?

I have been lucky enough to have and joined this great site on July 15th, 2008. Not that long, but it feels like home here….

23. Do you have any suggestions for kits you’d like to see in the SM store?

I like the new trend in elements like the ones that nonnie used on her page. Don’t know what they are called, but they are colorful and a bit cartoony.

Check out Judy’s gallery here

Hello everyone!

Lina here with another Saturday Special challenge!!!

This week we are going to cook something up! And since every food has it’s recipe, this Saturday we will have our own recipe!!!

So, your recipe for today’s challenge is this!

YOU NEED:

1. only one photo,

2. something bling (a jewel, glitter, etc),

3.  no less than 3 papers,

4. a binder (clip, stapes, etc)

5. at least 3 flowers and

6.  you must use an alpha!

Ok this is your recipe and you must include all the above ingredients if you want to participate in the challenge!  Of course you can add your own touch by adding whatever else you want to but you must remember to include all the above mentioned ingredients!

Here is an example by me!

I have used the Daily Download kit that you can find in this thread in the forums if you want to get it!!! And you don’t want to miss it, for sure!!!

Remember that you must link your Lo to this thread if you want us to leave you some love and in order to get the participation prize!

Oh, Do you think that I have forgotten about your participation prize? Of course not!!You participation prize is a full alpha that coordinates perfectly with my mini kit Sweet Summer Days, the participation prize that Heather is giving to anyone who participates in her Tuesday Template challenge this week!

So here is the preview of your praticipation prize!

So, if you want to have the complete mini kit you must do both challenges!! Don’t worry, you have another three days to make an LO for Heather’s challenge, if you haven’t done already! And for my challenge you have one week  to submit an LO as this challenge ends Friday 5 September at midnight!!

Ok Here are some examples that our fantastic team has made:

This from Erica using About A Girl kit by Scrap’ It Designs by Bree

This one is from Katie aka ktkadoo using Serenity now by Erica Zane

This one is from Kate aka Kateypie using Fluttter Me By kit by Scrap’ It Designs by Bree and Black Bead Alpha by Britt-ish Designs

This one is fron Heather aka Haynay using Toy Sheriff, Leave the World Behind and Fairchild kit by Britt-ish Designs.

and this one by Brittney using the new kit  Hot August Night by Andilynn Designs

Ok  I think you got a lot inspired by our fantastic team! Now I am waiting for your recipes and remember that you have only until this Friday 5th September to submit it!!!

I know, a little cheesy, but SOOOOO true!  Haven’t you every gotten lost in your spouse’s eyes or seen that mischievous glint in your child’s?  I know I have -  I see that glint EVERYDAY in my oldest son!  LOL!  Have you ever wanted to capture that “window to the soul light” in a photo only to have your hopes smashed to smithereens after seeing the final picture?  Me too!  Well, here’s a little tip I learned from Jessica Sprague (aka The Photoshop Queen, in my opinion!) with a little addition of my own.

This technique works best on a photo where the catchlights.  What are catchlights you ask?  Well, a catchlight is simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye. This highlight adds depth and dimension to the eye, and gives the eyes life in a portrait or snapshot.  So now that we know what it is here is how we give them a little boost and really show off those “windows.”

1.  Find a photo that shows that catchlights fairly well.  Duplicate your photo so that you’re not working on the original.  I chose this photo I took of my daughter on her 7th birthday.  She wanted to have a supermodel photo shoot!  Is she gorgeous, or is it just me?  I guess I could be a little biased, but I’m definitely proud of my contribution to this little cutie! ; )

It’s a pretty good photo, but I want her eyes to show more of what I see in them all the time.

2.  Find your dodge tool in PS or PSE.  It’s in the same spot as your burn and sponge tool in your toolbar.  It looks like a stick with a round thing on top of it.  The burn tool looks like a hand and the sponge tool looks like a sponge (how clever!)  If you can’t find the dodge tool right click on the hand or the sponge, whichever one is shown in your toolbar and the dodge tool should show up in the fly out menu.  Okay, now that we’ve all found our dodge tool. . . .

3.  Zoom WAAAAAYYYY in on your photo – so you have a good view of the catchlights in the eyes.  Set your dodge tool to “Highlight” and 100%.  Choose a small round brush – mine was set to 7.  Click a FEW times directly on the catchlights and you should see them brighten.  DO NOT click all over them.  Just do it in the lightest spots of the catchlights and you only need to click a FEW times – I probably did it 4-5 times.

4.  Zoom back to see what it looks like.  If you need to, add some more.  You might try lowering the exposure to 50% and seeing what effect that gives you.  Play around!  That’s why you are working on a duplicate of your original – you CAN’T mess it up!  See how much brighter the catchlights are now?  Gorgeous. . . but I think we could do a couple more things.

5.  Grab your elliptical marquee tool and select just the irises of the the eyes. If you hold down the shift button while you are selecting you can add to the selection.  It was pretty easy to select just the irises but if you need to make more than one circle to do it just hold down the shift key (add to selection) until everything you want is selected.  Now do the other eye too, while holding down the shift key.  Hint:  If you make a mistake and want to deselect a portion use the Alt button instead of the shift key.  With the selection active (ants marching) I hit Ctrl+J to make my selection a new layer of it’s own.

6.  Now with your new layer active in the layers palette click on Filter> Sharpen> Unsharp mask.  In the new window Jessica Sprague recommends entering:  Amount 85%, Radius 1, Threshold 4, but that really didn’t look too different to me so I entered:  Amount 85%, Radius 9.8, Threshold 4.  Just play around with the sliders and see what looks best.  Don’t go overboard though – you don’t want it too sharp! I really just wanted to bring out the different colors in her irises.  See the difference?  It’s subtle, but it’s there.

7.  Merge the two layers back into one layer.  That’s as far as Jessica’s tutorial takes us, but I like to do one more little thing.  Grab your elliptical marquee tool again and this time select the entire eyeball (whites and irises).  Try not to get get the eyelids and eyelashes but it doesn’t have to be perfect.  I just kept making little circle and oval selections (while holding down the shift key) until the entire eye was selected.  Then I did the same thing with the other eye (still holding the shift key.)  With the selection active hit Ctrl+J again to make a new layer.

8.  Ctrl+click on the thumbnail of your new entire eye layer.  Ants should be marching around the eyes now, and click on the half-black/half-white circle in your layers palette to create a new adjustment layer.  From the fly out menu choose brightness/contrast.  Another window will open.  Adjust the brightness slider until you get that “window to the soul” look you want on your photo.  Mine was about +15.  Again, don’t go crazy here.  A little goes a long way – you don’t want alien eyes!!  Click OK and merge the layers back into one again if you’re satisfied with the final outcome.

It doesn’t look like a HUGE change but it definitely makes a difference in the whiteness of the whites.  Look at my before and after shots side by side.

Such a difference when you look at them all together, huh?  *patting myself on the back*  Now it’s your turn!  Go and practice so we can all see those gorgeous eyes and catchlights in your next LO’s!  Have a great weekend–Jeni!

Hi, Kate here filling in for Linz.

I’ve decided to do a 2 or 3 part post, bringing you some hybrid tips from some of our talented forum members who have been wowing us lately in the gallery with their hybrid projects. I’ve personally not attempted a hybrid project yet, even though I’m very keen, so these posts are a sneaky way of getting tips for myself!  Don’t tell my family, but almost everyone is going to be getting something hybrid-ish for christmas!  Shhh.

Today I’m going to be sharing tips from member Laura M:

Welcome to the world of Hybrid Scrapping. Hybrid is an awesome way to combine traditional scrapping with digital scrapping. I have made 3 chipboard word albums and was asked to share some of my experiences with creating a hybrid chipboard album. So I decided to write about some of my lessons learned:

1. If you can get a template to create your digital layout for your word album, then do so. If not, I use regular scrap paper and then cut out the design with an exact-o knife.
2. Design most of your page before you attach it to the chipboard. If you are using brads, sewing, or if you want to lace ribbon on to one particular side, then you will want to do this on the paper before you attach it to the chipboard.
3. I use glue sticks and glue dots to affix my paper to the chipboard. Spray on adhesive did not work well for me.
4. After everything is attached to the chipboard, then the real fun for me is adorning the pages. I love to add chipboard letters, cutouts, jewels, ribbon at the top and a whole lot of everything. I also love glitter glue as it really makes stuff pop better.
5. Patience — I expected to do an album in a day. Did not happen — kids, phone, work, husbands and life happens. So organize the stuff you plan to use in a cardboard box and leave it sitting on top of your printer so that you remember to come back to it.
6. Involve the kids. My twins are 4 years old and they have had a hand in decorating the albums that I make. At first, I was all about saying no, it’s mommy’s stuff. But then I decided to give in and let them help and my all time favorite album now is the beach album because it was not just about me, it was a collaborative effort with 2 little kids who had a great time with Mommy. Priceless in my opinion — because its a part of us forever.

Now I’m sure you want to check out her projects.. here is her beach album:

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Isn’t that fantastic?  What a great project to do with your kids with a gorgeous result!

Thanks so much for sharing your tips Laura.  Make sure you leave her some love in the gallery by following the links above!

See you again soon with more hybrid tips..

Hi everyone! Ellie here again with Words for Wednesday! I struggle so much with the journaling on my layouts, so recently I decided to take up a different kind of scrapping project, one where I would still need to be creative, just not so much in the things that I write! I’m working on scrapping myself a couple of cookbooks! It’s the perfect project for me because I get to combine my love of food with my love of scrapping, and the recipes are already set, so I don’t have to think too hard about what to write! lol

I wish I had some photos to post, but I’m still collecting and testing (and tasting!) recipes right now. I am taking photos of my finished dishes as I go and when I’m finished will scrap them alongside the recipes and have them printed in a photobook. Fun, right?

So as I was planning my cookbook I thought it might be cute to have little quotes scattered here and there throughout. And of course I want to share some of them with you! They can be used for all kinds of layouts, too, not just cookbooks or the food related sort! I hope you enjoy using them.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Thanks for stopping by, and happy scrapping!

::Winner of the Birthday Rolodex::
Heather (hedderlee) here! Thanks to all of you who left comments on my birthday post! It was interesting how many of you shared the same desires in terms of hybrid projects. I will have fun incorporating all the great ideas you came up with in the coming months.

Random.org helped me choose the winner of the birthday rolodex, pictured here:

And the winner is post 21:

Cindy, congratulations! Here is her original post:

Please PM or email me your address, and we’ll get the Rolodex out to you shortly.

::Winners of the 8.2.08 Saturday Special::
*Cough, cough*
In all the amazing excitement of our Grand Reopening, I didn’t announce the winners of the 8.2.08 Saturday Special! Forgive me, please! The entries were somewhere in the old and new forums/galleries, so it made for a very interesting twist on our usual challenge.

Here is the original layout I based the challenge on:

And the winners are… drum roll please…

My pick-
Judy (fivebales)’s Perfect Summer Day:

Random pick-
Margaret’s Anatomy of a Boy on Vacation:

Thanks for playing everyone, and congrats to Judy and Margaret. I will PM you today with your prize!

And now, onto today’s Template Tuesday fun-

Hi! Brittney, busting into Heather’s post to announce last week’s “Tilted Template Challenge” winner! I am so glad I got to randomly draw a winner! There were far too many wonderful entries!! Our lucky winner was . . .

“4th Anniversary” by katg1006.

Congrats katg! Ok – Heather – take it away . . .
___________________________________________

Heather (hedderlee) here for another exciting challenge! Today we’ll play with this design:
I used the Tiny Cowgirl kit by Britt-ish Designs.

Template is no longer available – thanks!

Your challenge is to intersperse paper with photos.

Look what the SM creative/design team gals came up with:

Lina (ldrag2004)’s Wildlife is Not Actually Wild:

Credits
When Nature Calls by Fluffy Bunny Feet Designs
Stitched paper bag alpha by Matahati Designs

Krista (norton94)’s Chicken Swim:

Credits
Shabby Cottage kit by Matahati Designs

Kate (kateypie)’s Loves Red:

Credits
Touch of Cherry kit by Erica Zane
Staples by Britt-ish Designs

Lisa (ckmom12673)’s Reach for the Sky:

Credits
Everything from Britt-ish Designs: Toy Sheriff, You Can Quote Me, Date Stamped

Katie (ktkadoo)’s Ups a Daisy:

Credits
Magical Escape kit by Erica Zane

Wendy (kissncontrol)’s Girls Just Wanna Have Fun:

Credits
Background Paper – “Forever In Love – Summer” GG Digi Designs
Red Striped & Polka Dotted Blocks – “A Touch Of Cherry” by Erica Zane
Red Starburst Blocks – “Bursting With Joy” by Britt-ish Designs
White Grid Blocks – “Grid Locked Paper” by Britt-ish Designs
Black Polka Dot Blocks – “Just Married” by Britt-ish Designs
Black Frames – “Forever In Love – Summer” GG Digi Designs
Date Strip – “Got A Date” – by Britt-ish Designs
Bead Alpha: “Black Bead Alpha” – by Britt-ish Designs
“Fun” Alpha: “A Kid Again Alpha” – by Britt-ish Designs
White Flowers: “Leave The World Behind” by Britt-ish Designs
Sequin (recolored): “Leave The World Behind” by Britt-ish Designs
Font: Traveling Typewriter

Heather (haynay)’s Swim Lessons:

Credits
Hayfever Happens by Erica Zane
staples from the Just Married kit by Britt-ish Designs

Stacey (shutch)’s Piles of Smiles:

Credits
Country Stars kit by Ellie Lash Designs
alpha by Matahati Designs
date stamp by Britt-ish Designs

Brittney (designerbrittney)’s Grammy Turns 81:

Credits
“What’s Hanging’ Journal and Tags” by Andilynn Designs
“All American Kid” by Jeni Hopewell
“Grocery Bag Alpha” by Jeni Hopewell
“Clear Date Buttons” by Jeni Hopewell
“Hand Stamped Alpha” by Michelle Coleman

and Denise (neeceebee)’s How Do You Like Them Apples:

Credits
Fairchild kit and Fairchild add-on (posted on Britt’s blog) by Britt-ish Designs

All who participate will receive the gorgeous Sweet Summer Days mini kit by Lina of LDrag Designs:

Looking forward to your artistry! Be sure to post your layout in the 8.26.08 thread.

I began my quest of scrapbooking way back…first as a memory book in grade school with cards, programs, notes, etc.  By high school I incorporated magazine clippings and my favorite music into my book.  Then by college I was an official paper scrapbooker (but far more basic than paper scrapping today LOL!). 

Eventually with a busy life and better computer skills I turned digi, so to say.  But the common thread all along was the story! 

My goal was to document for myself and my family what was happening during this life of ours.  This interest began as a child going to visit my Grammy.  She had a stack of scrapbooks like nothing I’d ever seen.  (**read:  She did not have magnetic cling pages)  She had paper albums with black or while paper pages and pictures, some with fancy edges, some with photo corners.  She had journaling!  

She had news clippings, sketches, and notes. 

Every visit I would pour over these books of hers and her mother’s (my great-grandmother – an artist) asking questions about what life was like then, who was who, etc.  I have two of those books today – they are my prized possessions to tell the truth. 

The stories are precious glimpses into a time gone by, and they made me realize I had more in common with my grandmother than I thought, despite our age difference.  These books show the basis of who I am, my family heritage. 

I encourage you to tell the story.  The daily life too, not just milestones.  How much do things cost today?  What stages are you or the kids going through?  What is important to you?  What was said?  Interview your kids, your parents, or your best friends. 

For those nervous journalers out there…a picture tells a thousand words!  Take pictures of where you work, where you live.  Don’t extract every picture, sometimes the backgrounds tell so much of the story.  That old furniture in your den will be nostalgic to your kids when they are 40!  The cereal box will be “old” looking some day.  Relish the story!

Remember the basics of storytelling from school?  Who, what, when, where, and why? 

Go ahead… have fun being artistic, better yourself by learning new techniques, but don’t get too caught up in the technique du jour, that you forget to eventually get to the story too.  Now of course, not everyone may have the same goal…but this is what matters to me:)

Hi all! Lisa here from the Scraps Matter Gang!! I have the honor of interviewing the amazingly talented Zakirah of Matahati Designs today! If you haven’t seen her work, you can go here to the shop and check her out! Here’s what we learned about Z!

1. Your screen name? Your real name? Which do you prefer we use in the interview?

- My screen name is zakirahzakaria. My real name is Zakirah Zakaria. I prefer if you just call me Z throughout the interview

2. What is your main job/career?

- I’m a college student, doing a Graphic Designs degree at a local university. I’m in the 2nd year of my degree study.

3. Are you married/children/pets?

- Nope. Too young to get married, ROFL!! I’m not married, I don’t have children, and I don’t have pets too

4. Where is home for you?

- My hometown is in Besut, Terengganu, Malaysia. I’m now staying in Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia. I visit my hometown pretty often, around 2-3 times a year.

5. What are your 3 favorite foods?

- I love everything that I cook, LOL!! Ok, ok. Serious answer is this Love Letter biscuits by Julie’s. I especially love the chocolate variety. Can’t live without it! I also love Ayam Masak Merah. It’s something we eat here with rice. It’s spicy. And I also love cakes. Chocolate cakes, especially.

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

- I love vanilla the best. I can’t eat too much chocolates, lol. I’ll get headaches if I do!

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet?

- Salty!

8. Beverage of choice?

- Moroccan mint tea. I love the minty taste. Very refreshing and perfect when I have headaches!

9. What’s your least favorite food?

- Honestly I don’t have any coz I love to eat. But if I have to pick, it’s got to be…hm…the durian fruit?

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use?

- PC all the way!

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started?

- 9 months. Since December 2007. I discovered it earlier though, in August the same year. I was doing some research on subculture back then when I stumbled upon digi scrapping. But I didn’t do anything with it till the semester break comes, which is in December.

Can you believe the talent on this lady for only 9 months!! Amazing!!!

12. What was your 1st LO about?

- My younger sister’s African-American barbie doll. I had no idea what to scrap about, and that’s one of the pics that I had in my HD that time, so I scrapped it, haha

Credits here

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)?

- Recently I started to love baking. It works like a therapy for me. I’ve always thought that baking is the hardest thing to do, so being able to actually made a chocolate cake myself is a personal achievement like no other. Besides, I didn’t learn from baking schools or whatsoever, just tried out a recipe from the internet, so it’s a very sweet personal achievement for me, lol!!

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?

- Deciding on which paper to use for the background. That’s difficult! I’m always indecisive anyway, even in real life.

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?

- Sewing! I’d love to make my own clothes, that’d be really, REALLY cool!! Then I don’t have to worry about clothes that I love but are too tight so I can’t buy them, coz I can make my own so they’ll always fit me!!

16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows?

- I love Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly OddParents, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, That’s So Raven, Mythbusters. Yeah, I love cartoons and everything for the kids! For movies, hm, I think I love Mulan and all the Disney movies. I grow up watching them.

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?

- I love listening to good music while scrapping. My playlist varies from time to time, depending on my mood. Sometimes it’s 90′s, sometimes it’s the current hit songs. I usually scrap in my room, on my bed, with my laptop. I don’t snack coz I hate to have cockroaches or ants in my room, lol!! But sometimes I didn’t listen to anything. It’s just good to focus on scrapping itself and have no music to disturb me, lol!

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?

- Flowers & strings. Repeat.

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?

- I’m a shy girl in real life (honest!). Haha.

20. When did you start designing? What is your favorite product that you’ve designed?

- I started designing in mid June this year. My fave product? Hm…..this is a toughie. Probably the Hang ‘Em Fancy elements!

21. How would you describe your design style?

- I don’t know, lol! It varies. And it’s hard to tell since I’ve just started and still looking for ‘the’ style that fits me as a designer. Even as a scrapper, I love to be flexible and changes according to the kit that I love. But basically I love real elements a lot. But I also love shabby chic (though I could never pull it off successfully). Maybe in 6 months if I get the same question, I’d be able to give a solid answer, lol!!

22. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation?

- Surroundings. Music. Nature. Love. Almost everything around me sparks some ideas to me. It’s just a matter of me applying them to my designs, lol!
Motivation; I get my motivation when I’m inspired. But I have to give credits to my boyfriend coz he’s my biggest motivator. He could make me laugh when I’m crying. Serious!!

23. Which of your kits showcases you style the most?

- I think Ever After showcases my style the most. I love soft, romantic colors, dreamy stuff, and Ever After has it all. It’s like a dream come true to me, hehe.

24. What is your favorite color scheme to design with?

- Pastels. I love pastels so much. My bedsheets are all pastels. If I’m rich, I’d buy a pastel-coloured laptop and gadgets, lol! I also love rich, traditional colors. In Malaysia we consist of many different races and traditions, so colour inspirations are everywhere. I’m blessed to be born and live here!

25. Favorite kit you’ve designed?

- Ever After. I love it so much. And I love all the layouts I see with it!

Here is that gorgeous kit! It is so full of awesome!! Click image to go get it!!

Here are some of my Favortie LO’s of Z’s. Click image for credits.

Check out her gallery here and her beautiful blog here.

Thanks so much for letting us get to know you better, Z!

Hi Everyone.

Denise here to bring you my first Saturday Special, and I am so excited.

Today we are going to focus on titles, and not just any old titles, but fun and clever titles.

Your challenge this week is to scrap a layout, about anything you want, but it must include a title (in an alpha, a font, a combination, whatever you want), and your title has to be clever.

Now, what do I mean by clever?

Well, everyone’s definition is going to be different, but mine is a play on words, a twist on a well known phrase, or just something that looks like it might mean one thing, but in the context of your layout, means something else.

Here’s my example:

Sometimes, when you love a child, it can stink. LOL!

And here is what the fabulous design and creative team came up with:

This is from Lina (ldrag2004):

This is from Brittney (Britt-ish Designs):

And this one is from Stacey (shutch):

So, there it is.

You have until Midnight Friday, August 29 to post in the Saturday Special gallery, and link back to the forum here, so I will know you are playing along.

If you get stuck and you just can’t think of a title, don’t worry.  Just leave a little message in the forum and we will put our heads together to come up with something great!

Everyone who participates will receive this AWESOME paper pack from DigiKeepsakes by Monica .

I look forward to seeing your creations.

Hugs!