This is my first Saturday Special so please feel free to let me know if it makes absolutely no sense at all. If you want a free template to do this tutorial, click on the image to grab it. This template is not required to finish this Challenge. You may use any template you like.

Make sure that you have your template open in Photoshop. Also make sure that you have your layers pallette open. If you don’t have that up and don’t know where to find it, here you go. In your toolbar click Windows>Layers. You will then be able to see the layers to the template. Here is a shot of what you should see.

Step one and the most important step. File>save as> Use A DIFFERENT NAME. I don’t know how many times I accidentally saved the original file with everything on it…Flattened. Ruined template and sometimes lost money.

Now, choose the photo or photos you want to use as well as the basics you would like to have on your layout. ie. other papers, elements. Load them to Photoshop as well so you have them ready to use.
Are you ready?

Here we go…

I like to start with the photo/s. Click on the layer that you would put your photo on. Drag and drop your photo to template. It will be on a layer above the photo layer in the template. (If you hold down the shift key when you drop it in, the photo will be directly in the center of your your page.) If it is not in the right layer, you can drag your layer in the layers pallete till it is in the right position. Make sure your photo layer is the active layer. For PSE click CTRL G (or Edit > Group with Previous) to clip it to the layer below. From there you can either Ctrl+E (or right click > Merge Down) so you have fewer layers. For PSCS 2 and 3 click CTRL+ALT+G to clip. Remember this because this is how you will do any clipping the easy way.

Resize your photo to fit in the template layer the way you would like. Right click the photo and click merge down in the menu that comes up. OR Right click the template layer and click Merge Clipping Mask. Both ways will work. In PSCS 3 you can click CTRL E to merge. I am not sure it will work in PSE. I never tried it when I was using that program. Repeat the above steps for any other photos you have. Also repeat for the paper blocks/ strips that you may have on the template. Click on the background layer next. Drag and Drop the paper you chose for the background. You can right click and merge that layer down or leave it as is.

Add any other elements you would like above or under the layers you still have by clicking the layer that would be under the element. Rearrange and re size till you are satisfied with the result. Add in your journaling, word-art and alpha the same way. Some templates have drop shadows already added, some do not. Add or adjust the shadows to your liking and save it. Don’t forget to flatten your image before saving. Here is the finished layout with my layers showing.
Click the image for credit.

Your challenge then is to use a template. Remember that any template will be fine. Load your finished layout to the Saturday Special gallery and then link it HERE. You have till February 31st to finish this Challenge.

Here is a another layout using this template for inspiration.
{littlehiccup} Morning Comics

Happy Thursday!  Since we are lucky enough to have a 5th Thursday this month I get to take the reigns on the blog and give you a “blogger’s choice” post with a hybrid angle. The first thing I want to spotlight is our fabulous ScrapMatters monthly newsletter.  If you are not currently subscribed make sure you click on the link in the left hand column of the blog to get added to the mailing list.  There were some “technical difficulties” with sign-ups a few weeks back but the link was recently added to the blog to make finding it easy.  Don’t forget to tell your friends, too!  It is an amazing resource!!  Each month you will find highlights of kits that are new to the shop, interviews with featured designers and community members, announcements of upcoming challenges and events, tips & tricks, a hybrid tutorial, featured layouts, quotes, and more.  To top it all off there is also a *FREE* kit designed especially for the newsletter each month!!  You don’t want to miss out on these amazing designs.  We are lucky to have such amazingly talented designers here at ScrapMatters!  Check out what Designs by Tater and Digi Keepsakes by Monica shared with us this month … isn’t it great?!?!

Now for the hybrid part …. I love to create something unique out of somthing that might be seen as ordinary.  I often look at things and “see” them as something other than intended.  I’m sure many of you reading have a tendency to do the same thing   Don’t be afraid to go outside the box!!  It is so fun to give a gift and hear “I never would have thought of that!!”  Here are a few examples of things I’ve come up with recently (some were previously posted in my gallery):

This is a drink holder from Sonic Drive-In all dressed up as a caramel apple kit … perfect for delivering to neighbors in the fall!  I also made a different one for my daughter’s teacher on the first day of school with her favorite drink (Diet Coke) and snack (Peanut M&M’s).  Credits: Fall Splendor Kit & Pumpkin add-on from Haynay Designs

Here I took a container of Jiffy Pop created to deliver for Secret Santa gifts over the holidays.  I’ve also done these and attached a gift card to a video store.  Credits:  A Cherry on Top Kit from Erica Zane

I took an inexpensive photo brag book and rather than putting pictures in it I created a recipe book to include in the goodie bags at my daughter’s birthday party (it had a baking theme).  I included some of the guest’s favorite recipes along with blank cards so they could add to their recipe collection!  Credits:  You Say it’s Your Birthday from ScrapMatters Design Team, Brag Book page for cover by Sya’s Blueprints (with a few “extras” from me)

Last but not least I’ve got a fun idea for Valentine’s Day!  I took water bottles (I used the 16.9 oz. bottles from Costco – Kirkland Signature), created a label for them, and tied on a “punch” packet!  My kids *LOVE* to mix these up so I thought it would be something fun and different than the usual sucker or piece of candy.  I used the “Owl Luv U” kit from the newsletter this month and wrote “Owl be ‘pleased as punch’ if you’ll be my valentine”

Wanna make some of these water bottles for yourself?  You got it!!  Tater and Monica graciously allowed me to share my label with all of you   Just click on the image below to download!

Thanks for stopping by … I hope you have a thrilling Thursday!!

Hey everyone!  This is Michelle of Mickey B Designs to bring you the next Word Up challenge!  My family are big music lovers!  Between me and my hubby we have about 500 CD’s and even more music in ITunes!
So for this challenge I want to focus on the title and lyrics in a song that have a significance to you or to someone you know and want to scrap about!  It can be sappy, silly, touching, whatever you feel you want to create!  Maybe just a song with a little story behind it!

Your Challenge is to include part of the song in your title and some of the lyrics from the song on your layout!

My son, since the first day he heard Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows, has asked for it to be played everytime we are in the car.  A version with Vanessa Carlton has the words “Um Bop, Bop, Bop” in it, so he will ask me to play “Um Bop Bop, Bop”.  Once is never enough!  We listen to it at least 3 times each trip!  It is so cute!  Well, my layout is based on that!  The lyrics are important to me since I agree with trying to preserve land and keep things simple and natural.  My son just likes the “Um, Bop, Bop, Bop” part!

Here’s a layout by me:

Credits to Jeni Hopewell’s Benjamin kit available at Scrap Matters.

Here are some other awesome layouts to help with your inspiration!

By Chia:

Credits to Sya’s Learning Curve and Round off

By Cyndi:

Credits: Alma ScrapHabit’s Living Loved kit available at Scrap Matters.

By Sharon Dale:

Credits to: A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER and MAKE A TAG by Simply Sweet Designs available at Scrap Matters.

By Stefanie:

Credits to: GG digitals “School Days New”, Britt’s Monstrocity alpha and Sya’s Learning curve alpha all available at Scrap Matters

*You’ll receive 1 point for completing this challenge if you post it in the “Word Up” gallery, as well as linking it back up in this forum.
*You have until the end of February to post your layout.
*You can receive 1 bonus point for using a new release (within 1 week of release) from SM in your LO. If you use a new release, make sure to say so in your post and credits so we don’t miss your bonus point.
*At the end of the February, I’ll be choosing my favorite entry and that scrapper will get 1 bonus point on their March tally!
*Your LO must be a NEW LO specifically created for this challenge. And you may not combine this challenge with any other SM challenge or speed scrap.

I can’t wait to see what you create!  Have fun!

Hello Everyone!  It’s Tgmousechick Kim here with today’s Tuesday Template.  This week, I’m going to set you up with a template for a lot of photos!  This will be a nice addition for those of you doing Project 365.  Without any further ado, here it is!

And the Link is here

There is no theme for this week’s template challenge- I think it may be enough of a challenge to find seven photos to fit in here!  However, some of my lovely CT colleagues were up to it!  Here’s a layout by Christy (The Werners) using Learning Curve by Sya’s Blueprints:

And here’s one from Mary (littlehiccup).  She used a new kit from Jeni Hopewell Designs, Always Kiss me Goodnight:

Here are a couple that I did.

The first one features Hustle and Bustle by Britt-ish Designs:

And another using a couple of kits by Scrap It Designs by Brianna Cox: Pretty Grungy and About a Girl:

As always, here’s the fine print for challenges here at Scrap Matters:

No double dipping on challenges
Post your entry in the gallery and in the challenge thread so we know you’re playing
If you use a new release from the ScrapMatters store and mention it in your post, you get an extra point

Somehow, I always sign myself up for a challenge at the end of the month, so I always have to type this option.  This is the last week of the month, so you have the opportunity to have a little flexibility of when you apply your challenge points.  Post your template layout before Saturday night at midnight PST (January 31st) to have it count for January Points Tracking.  Alternatively, you can post your layout in February to have it count towards February tracking.

Enjoy the template!  I can’t wait to see what you do with it!!

Good morning and Happy Chinese New Year too!

I wanted to talk a little about dates today.  What dates are important to you?  Most would say: birthdays, holidays, anniversary’s…you know those big marked events.  I think we are all pretty good at scrapping those… we mark them on our calendars and look forward to that special day with anticipation.  Now those days are great…but so is every day really, right?

I went through my scrapbook just last week because I was getting ready to print my book. I was reviewing the pages and doing spell checks, and pixel checks, etc.  Then came time to arrange them in chronological order.  I noticed so many of my typical day LO’s were missing dates.  I couldn’t believe that I would forget something so simple and yet so important.  In the Webster dictionary one of the definitions of “date” is:  “A particular point or period of time at which something happened or existed, or is expected to happen.”  Something happens every day!  We exist, we spend time with our friends and family, we create, we think, we breath, we love… we take pictures and then we preserve them.  Besides the photo and journaling, the date should be an important and crucial inclusion on our layouts.  We want to remember, that is why we do this.  Okay, so am I getting to deep now?  I think I was just pondering the fact that I think those special, big days are highlights in my scrapbooks, which is fine too, but I also really treasure those simple moments too.

We have seen many project 365 layouts out there.  I love this idea; I started my family’s just last week (I know I am behind), but what a great way to remember and record each day and its importance in your life.  There are some fabulous products in our store for dating your layouts (some of my personal favorites are below) but there are a ton…fast, easy, simple and just what you need to complete a page.  So, my challenge to you today and everyday:  Don’t forget the date!  It matters…it matters now and it will matter 100 years from now when your children’s children are looking through your scrapbooks appreciating that simple and profound detail.

(Images are clickable)

Have a fantastic day!

Kim

Hi there!  Christine (inHisgrip) here for this week’s Sunday Spotlight and my first ever SM blog post! I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Aussiegirl through the Scraps Matter Gang. I’m sure you’ve seen her fabulous layouts and precious little girls in the gallery, so I wanted her to share a bit about herself with you all.

1. Your screen name? Your real name?

My screen name is Aussiegirl, my real name is Dawn.

2. What is your main job/career?

I am a SAHM or in other words, a teacher, nurse, cook, referee, accountant, entertainer, and any other job you want to throw in there!

3. Are you married/children/pets?

I have been married for 11 1/2 years, we have 4 girls: Sarah 7, Tamara 6, Kailey 4, and Hannah 2. We tell people, at least the dog is a boy, he is a black lab mix and his name is Max.

4. Where is home for you?

Michigan. And believe it or not, I’ve never been to Australia. I dream of going there one day though!

5. What are your 3 favorite foods?

Tacos, Chinese, and Lobster

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Moose Tracks

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet?

I like both, and sometimes mixed together (Chicago Style popcorn).

8. Beverage of choice?

Juice or Cherry Coke.

9. What’s your least favorite food?

Fish. Even though I like Lobster, Shrimp, and Crab…I can’t stand just fish in general.  Even the smell bugs me!

10. Do you wear makeup? If so, what 2 essential makeup items would you take with you to a deserted island?

I do wear makeup, but if I was on a deserted island, I’d opt out of the make up and bring Sunscreen (I burn easy), and Chapstick.

11. PC or Mac? And what program do you use?

PC. I use Photoshop 7.0

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

I have been digi scrapping for 1 1/2 years. I had gotten interested in CM’s digital Photobooks around that same time. But at the time, I didn’t like how limited you were to what you could do. Neverland Scraps sent me a copy of a layout she did. I asked her how she did it (it looked so real, like you could actually touch the ribbons, and staples etc.). I asked her how she did it. She sent me links to tutorials, and “introduced” me to someone who knew my program and could help me out! I’ve been hooked since!

13. What was your 1st LO about?

It was the 4th of July 2006

Credits

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

I love photography, reading, camping, and travel.

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

Shadowing. I still struggle with it at times.

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

use the different settings on my camera better, I’m chicken to play around with them and mess something up!

17. What are your favorite movies/TV shows?

I Love Little House on the Prairie, LOST and the Amazing Race.

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

My “office” is in the only unfinished room in the house, it also happens to be in the basement. So it’s very cold in the winter. I don’t usually have any music or the TV on. Sometimes I’ll have a glass or water or a snack, but that’s usually later at night.

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

Flowers and ribbon.

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

I can’t smell Skunks. I’ve never been able to. I’m afraid to tell a doctor, because I don’t want them to “fix” it. I can smell everything else though, so I’m happy!

21. Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?

I don’t think I have a style. I just try to make a layout that I am happy with, regardless of the style.

22. Favorite LOs that you have done?

Credits

23. What is your favorite part of being a member of the Scraps Matter Gang?

I love being inspired daily by the amazing layouts I see in the gallery. I’ve also made some wonderful friends! It’s a great bunch of ladies, and I’m honored to be a part of it.

Thanks Dawn for letting us get to know you. We love having you here at Scrap Matters!

Hello Ladies!  Kelly (kkklatt) here with the Saturday Special.  Cropping photos is one of the easiest ways to make a good layout become a GREAT layout.   Let’s face it-not every picture we take is perfect.  Thank goodness for photoshop!  I used to be a paper scrapper, and believe me, cropping my butt out of pictures with my trusty zig-zag scissors was no easy task!  But I digress…
For the Saturday special, I challenge you to change the look and feel of your pictures-simply by cropping.  You could try focusing on a body part (eyes, a smile, feet).  Perhaps you could crop the picture into an interesting shape like a narrow rectangle or a small square (the easiest way is to use your shape tool to create the exact shape you want, then clip your photo onto it).  Another popular technique is to use the same picture several times, once zoomed in tight on part of the subject, once showing the ‘whole picture’.

Here are my pictures before cropping:

Here’s my layout using ‘itty bitty’ the brand new colab from Erica Zane and Britt-ish Designs

Here are some more layouts from the fab CT’s…

Kimbtyx (Kim)

Credits: Simply Sweet ‘Blissful Romance’ and Britt’s Plastickle alpha

Here was her original picture

Monsu (Monique)

Credits: ‘Fall Splendor’ by HayNay Designs (floral edgers are by Katie Pertiet).

Here was her original picture

Alamama

Sahlink (Krista)

Credits-Dragonfly Delight by Erica Zane and some elements by Kasia Designs

Well, what are you waiting for…get cropping!  I can’t wait to see your layouts!

Hello, all!!  Tgmousechick Kim here to bring you this month’s Designer Showcase.  There has been an explosion of Valentine/love themed kits by our fabulous ScrapMatters designers, and I wanted to make sure you knew about them.  What’s the theme for today’s hybrid goodie?  Valentines!

Valentines are a wonderful project!  They are a low-risk project to experiment with hybrid, and they are kid-friendly- which is welcome for cold, snowy days in the northern hemisphere!  You can design and print, and your children can add the fun embellishments.  They’ll have the best-dressed valentines on the block.

Enabler alert!!  You can find all of the latest valentine’s kit that have been uploaded to the Scrap Matters store here.

Goodness, where to start?  How about a set of valentines using the awesome daily download going on right now- Girls Rock?  This is a collaborative kit between Happy Scrap Girl, Jeni Hopewell, and Brenda Smith.  Bright, funky colors, and a music theme.  They made designing fun cards so easy:

These were such an easy printable project, but it was also fun to “kick them up a notch” with glitter glue and brads.

Next up, is the kit “Blissful Romance” by Simply Sweet Designs:

And then there’s the adorable “Always Kiss Me Goodnight” by Jeni Hopewell:

These 2 projects show a more traditional “paper” approach- the digital aspect involved resizing the papers to make them smaller, so you can enjoy the argyle pattern or the word art on a smaller scale.  The papers were printed as unlayered squares, I trimmed them to the sizes I needed with my paper trimmer, and I did the layering by hand.  With the “Goodnight Sweetheart” paper, I tore the edges and inked them with chalk ink before I added it to the background paper.

Here are a couple of ideas using two kits by Britt-ish Designs: “Hustle and Bustle” (the reds and pinks allow this Christmas kit to do double duty!!) and “Decadence”:

There’s also the kit “So In Love” by Designs by Tater- don’t you love the soft blue?  Oh, I so love my glitter glue to accentuate the digital glitter effects:

Finally, here’s an option that’s a little more boy-friendly- Lil Love Bug by GG Digital Designs:

These valentines span the continuum of the possibilities of hybrid- from the concept of the printable project as demonstrated with Lil Love Bug, to printing with the addition of “real” embellishments, to printing out shapes of digital paper and layering them by hand (as shown in the “Always Kiss Me Goodnight” projects).   Can you find a place along the continuum?

If you like the layout designs, be sure to check out “Love In The Library” Hybrid Valentine Templates- I had so much fun playing with everyone else’s kit, that I needed to make a template kit to use with them.

And now, how about a freebie?  January’s Daily Download team of Happy, Jeni, and Brenda let me offer you the Girls Rock Valentines as a printable sheet!  Thank you, Ladies!  I had way too much fun putting these together:

http://www.4shared.com/file/81543033/21b40890/sm_geekyd_GRPV.html

I’d love to see how you alter these to fit your style and hybrid comfort level!

That’s all for me this week- have fun with your latest hybrid mission!

Hey all! Haynay (heather) here to bring you this week’s Roadmap to Scrap!

1. Choose a template–but, you have to rotate or flip it from its original position.
2. Choose pictures–enough to fit your template. I need ONE photo to be up close!
3. Must use black, white, or brown as your background paper.
4. Use as many solid and/or patterned papers as you want, but they MUST be monochromatic!
5. Use circles and add stitching of some sort to at least one of them.
6. Add some glitter on something.
7. Work on some fabulous shadows!
8. Use word art at your title…and date/journal! (you don’t have to journal if you don’t want to!)

In order to reach our final destination, we MUST have all 8 things in our layout. You can of course do more than these 8 things…and the rules are open to interpretation. Be creative, for example, if you use something that meeting more than one requirement, lucky you!

You will have ALL month to scrap your layout, and when you complete it, you MUST post it to the “RoadMap to Scrap” Challenge Gallery 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 products release – and remember, you MUST indicate in your post here in the forum that you used a new release).

Credits: Blissful Romance by Simply Sweet Designs and a swirl from Say it With Bling

Jaime’s LO:

Credits: Pink papers – ScrapMatters Birthday Collab Kit; Stitched Circle (recolored) – Andilynn Designs Holly Jolly; Crown – Simply Sweet Designs Blissful Romance; Glitter butterflies – Happy Scrap Girl Designs Girls Rock; Glittery stars and circle trails – Britt-ish Designs Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust; Journaling Frame – Erica Zane Dragonfly Delight; White paper – Jeni Hopewell Always Kiss Me Goodnight Add-on Freebie; Fonts – CK Fun, CK Simple, Ma Sexy; Template (rotated) – Sya’s Blueprints Mix and Match (set one)

Christine’s LO:

Credits: Britt-ish Design’s Monstrosity, template

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

So excited to see what everyone’s LOs look like! Happy travels!

Hi everyone!  Stefanie here to bring you a new template challenge.  I’m so excited because I decided to make the template for this week’s challenge and I love how it turned out AND it’s my first ever template!

Download it here

http://www.4shared.com/file/79985231/b1a893bf/Tuesday_Template_by_Stefanie.html

There are no rules this week.  Can’t wait to see what you create!  Look at what the wonderful CT has done with it.

By me using Britt-ish Design’s Monstosity Kit

by Christine using Tater-Batter’s up, Britt-used & Abused paper, Let’s Kick It, Motor Mania Add-on, Artistic License, A Kid Again (alpha), Leave the World Behind, & BBalls

by Melanie using Britt-ish Designs Monstrosity Kit

by Kim using Tater’s So In Love

By Sharon using Mickey B’s Little Leonard and Britt-ish Designs Date Stamps

Can’t wait to see what you create!  Have fun!!