Hi everyone- Suzanne here and I am so excited to be bringing you my very first challenge! I love template challenges- so I hope you like this one too. There are no special rules- just do whatever you like with the template and have fun.

Go HERE to download

Here’s the page I did using Happy Scrap Girl’s Kit “Flirt” that was the inspiration for the template:

And here are some wonderful examples from the wonderful CT:

First up is this lovely layout by monsu using “Life’s a Beach” kit and Snipettes by Sahlin Studio-

kimbytx also used “Life’s a Beach” kit  by Sahlin Studio for her adorable layout-

By WM [squared] Desings using her kit “My Hero” and “Simply dated V.2″ -

Here’s Juno’s using “Sunshine in my Soul” by Britt-ish Designs-

And last but not least, tgmousechick used “Easter Day” by Juno Designs to create this cute page:

And finally here’s a reminder of the Matter of Scrap rules:
Because this is posting on the last day of the month, you have until the end of JULY to complete your challenge. Once you post your layout in the gallery and link back to the challenge thread in the forum, you will receive one point.  If you are super fast and get the page done, posted and linked back by today you will get your point for June- otherwise all other points will be for July.
If you use a newly released product from the Scrap Matters store on your challenge layout, you earn an additional point- but make sure you indicate in your credits that the item you used was a new release.
Your LO must be posted before the end of the month to be counted toward that month’s point total.
At the end of the month I will choose my favorite for an extra point!
You don’t have to use SM products to participate in this challenge, but we love it when you do! Remember, no double dipping. Each LO must be created for one challenge only.

Good luck and I can’t wait to see what you all do with this template!

Size Does Matter With Elements

For this one I used smaller elements.

Here’s some inspriation from our CT, who are the best!

Christy made this LO using Erica Zane’s *Sail Away*

See how the big waves “hold” the photos in place. While the smaller size of the chair, shell, birds, etc. add to the feeling of the LO and not distract from the photos.

Monique made this beautiful LO using Grab Bag No.4, by Anna BV Designs, Designs by Tater, Dirty Feet Designs and Geeky Diva Designs.

Notice the three different sizes of the flowers. They balance, highlight and really add to the LO. The circles bring your eyes right to the photo.

Cyndi made this LO using Ohana & Date Stamped by Britt-ish Designs and Fun Times Alpha by Andilynn Designs.

Cyndi shows how you can use various sizes and use a lot of elements, yet keep the photos as the focus.

Cristina made this LO using Strips and Pieces Template and Foam Stamp Alpha White by Sahlin Studio
Girl Power by Chelle’s Creations
Font: Pea Olson

Cristina kept her elements on the smaller side as to not take away from the totally cute bunny!

Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

Remeber:
You must post to both the gallery and the forum.
You get one point for participating in the challenge.
You can get one more point for using a new release (something from the SM shop released within the last seven days). PLEASE let me know it’s NEW in the forum!
You can get one additional point for being the winner. I will pick a winner at the end of July.
No double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

And, since this challenge is posted during the last week of the month, your layout can count for this month or next. If you want it to count for this month, you must post before the end of the month, and if you want it to count for next month, then you should wait and post your layout after the 1st of the month.

Hello, all!  Tgmousechick her with this Thursday’s Hybrid feature!

When I throw a party, I tend to go a little overboard with the theme, and a trip to the Party Supply becomes an expensive endeavor.  But, I love the put-together look of having everything coordinate- the plates, the centerpiece, etc, etc.  And the favors.  Oh, I love the party favors!!!  Little trinkets that say “thanks for coming!!”  They tend to take up the largest part of that blown budget, but they are the most fun- when you can find what you want!

With hybrid, tailoring that perfect party favor becomes easy!  With thousands of digital kits out on the market, there’s a pretty good chance that you will find a kit (or a couple) that suits your theme perfectly.  Pairing that with a shape pattern or a hybrid template makes it simply to achieve custom results.

Today’s project includes a freebie template!

Download here!

I created these little “fryboat” cups to serve as treat cups, or to hold small items that you’d like to display.  They are super easy to trim and put together- essential if you’re making a bunch of these!

In my sample, I’ve used them to hold color-matched M&M candies for a baby shower theme.  I used the bright and sunny “Summer Breeze” kit, a collaborative kit by Jeni Hopewell and Andilynn Designs.

Although the cups are really cute, I think what really makes the presentation is the metal tower.  It’s a cupcake tower made by Wilton.  With cupcakes all the rage these days, it allows you to display them with style- I get wows everytime I bring in cupcakes for an event- all of my decorating work is highlighted when it’s presented in such an eye-catching fashion.  This is the first time that I’ve used it for something other than cupcakes, but it certainly won’t be the last!

Your challenge this month is to create a hybrid party favor.  You can use the freebie offered above, or use another design.  Since this challenge falls at the end of the month, you can keep creating through the month of July.  Projects posted up to the 30th count towards this month’s points, and those created in July count towards next month.

Party favors can take many shapes and varieties.  Here are some great examples made by our amazing CT!

Sylvia B. used a paper template by Mirkwood Designs paired with the Mystery Mix grab Bag #5:

And Kari had these favors in her gallery:

Just a quickie reminder of the Matter of Scrap Challenge guidelines:

Upload your layout to the gallery, and leave BOTH the image and a link in the challenge forum.

You will receive one point for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a new product from the ScrapMatters store (PLEASE indicate you have used something new when you leave us the link in the forum), and one lucky winner will receive one more point – I will be doing a random draw!)

If you post a project for this challenge, you cannot use the same project to complete another challenge.  I can’t wait to see what fills the gallery- have a great day!

Hello Ladies!!  Wendy here for your next installment of “Grand Theft Layout!”.  This time around we’re going to lift the lovely Cyndi146!  I don’t know about you, but I just love her style!!

You can find Cyndi’s gallery–> HERE

Please remember to post your inspiration LO along with your LO!

Here is my inspiration:

M&M

And *MY* LO – a little less sweet, a little more sassy:
Credits:  “Teen Grunge”  & Date Stamped V.2 by me (WM[squared] Designs)

SylviaB lifted Grandma:

Here is her verison:

Credits:  ‘Life’s a beach’ by Sahlin Studio

Krisi616 lifted “Sky High”

Here is her version:
Credits:  “Hocus Pocus” & “Lucky Girl” by WM[squared] Designs

Aren’t they great?  Ok, now it’s your turn!  Head over to Cyndi’s gallery and get to liftin’!
Here are the Matter of Scrap Challenge Rules:

You have the rest of the month to complete your layout! Upload it to the gallery and leave BOTH the image and a link in the challenge forum –>  here!

You will receive one point for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a NEW product from the SM store! (Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.) And, one lucky winner (random) will receive an ADDITIONAL point!

Remember no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge! Can’t wait to see your lifts!

Happy Scrapping!!

Hi everyone!
This is Monique with a new edition of many people’s favourite challenge!
As you probably know by now, I love clean and linear designs, so this weeks’ template is just that!

You can download it HERE

No special directions for this template.
Use it as a starting point for your own page, but feel free to add, detract or change it up in any way you’d like!

I used the You Say It’s Your Birthday ScrapMatters Collab for my layout:

And here’s some more inspiration by our fabulous CT members:

Suzanne used Honey Dew by WM [Squared] Designs for her page:

Wendy created this page with Shabby Chic and Simply Dated – V.2 by WM[squared] Designs

Natasha used Erica Zane’s Tropical Escape Kit for her layout:

And last but not least, Krisi adapted the template for her preferred format and used the Daily Download Collab called Stars & Stripes Forever:

I love these layouts, and I’m excited to see what you come up with!

These are the Matter of Scrap rules:
You have until the ned of this month to complete this challenge and once you post your LO in the gallery and link back to this thread in the forum, you will receive one point.
If you use a newly released product from the Scrap Matters store on your challenge layout, you earn an additional point!! But make sure you indicate in your credits that the item you used was a new release.
Your LO must be posted before the end of the month to be counted toward that month’s point total.
At the end of the month I will choose my favourite for an extra point!
You don’t have to use SM products to participate in this challenge, but we love it when you do! Remember, no double dipping. Each LO must be created for one challenge only.

Good luck and have fun! I can’t wait to see how this template inspires you!

Hello ScrapMatters community!!
Natasha (bcnatty) here bringing you this week’s version of the Saturday Special. My topic of the day is Clean and Simple Scrapbooking!!
When I first started scrapbooking I felt like I had to put all these different elements and…things…down on my page…and then I came across Cathy Zielske’s Clean & Simple Scrapbooking, and I felt like I had been saved!! This was definitely in my comfort zone, and totally transformed my scrapbooking style.

So, to paraphrase the inspiring Cathy Zielske, clean and simple scrapbooking is three things. First, it’s a philosophy. Spend less time, leave most of your photos on your hard drive, scrap non-chronologically. Second, simple is a style…but within that style, you can have many different styles (shabby chic, collage style…) just as easily as you can have clean, graphic layouts. Simple is just less “stuff”, it’s letting your photos and/or journaling take the center stage. Lastly, clean and simple is an overall graphic approach – fresh linear pages that tell the story as directly and clearly as possible.
Simple doesn’t necessarily mean that a layout will take less time, and it definitely does NOT mean boring!! The “less is more” approach can open up a whole new world of possibilities!!

Need some help? Here is some inspiration…

First, my LO using Tater’s Urban Boy

And here are some beautiful, simple layouts from our amazing CT!!

Here’s one from Chia

Here’s one from Cristina

And Monsu

And lastly Alamama

See how beautiful clean and simple can be?! I can’t wait to see your beautiful creations!!
Have fun and remember…simplify!!

Hey, everyone!   Sorry I’m a bit late in posting this today . . . time just got away from me this week!  We’re half way through the year . . .how are your calendars coming? Isn’t it going to feel nice come December and we’ll have a gift already made and ready to go?

Here is my page for the month:

I’m printing mine three at a time, so now I’m ready to print the last three months:

Here’s some inspiration from our team:
Cristina is having her calendar printed from Artscow at the end of the year, so she is creating the page toppers. I think her theme is perfect for June:

I love Kim’s (tgmousechick) idea of creating a gift for a teacher with inspirational quotes.  I may just have to start working on a second calendar . . . what a great teacher gift!

Sylvia is on the ball!  Hers is printed and punched, all ready to be bound when the other pages are finished.  I love how she further embellished her page, too . . . the details are awesome!

For this month, to receive a point for the “I’ll Pencil You In” challenge, just post at least one month of your calendar in the gallery under Hybrid Challenges and in this challenge thread.  If you’re new to this challenge, it might be helpful to check out the introductory post here.

As always, here are the guidelines for the challenges at Scrap Matters:
- entries must be posted in the appropriate challenge gallery, and in the corresponding thread in the forum
- entries must be posted before the end of the month (June 30) to be counted toward that month’s point total
- you’ll get 1 point for completing a month of your calendar and posting it. Plus, I’ll select one entry at random for a bonus challenge point.

Hi guys! It’s Kathleen here to bring you another round of scraplifting! Since we already lifted princess.erica this month, I decided to keep it in the family and lift her sister, melanie3boys. She has an AMAZING gallery, which you can find here, so you shouldn’t have any problems finding inspiration! Here is what the CT and I came up with….

Monsu chose this LO to lift

and here is her version.

Cristina was inspired by this LO

to create this one.

Krisi616 took this LO

and put her own spin on it.

princess.erica was inspired by this LO

and created this one.

And finally, I chose this LO to lift

and this is my version.

To quickly recap the Matter of Scrap Challenge rules:
You have all month to complete your layout! Upload it to the Grand Theft Layout gallery and leave BOTH the image and a link in our specific thread in the challenge forum (found here)! You will receive one point for completing this challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a NEW product from the SM store. (Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.) At the end of the month one lucky RANDOM winner will receive one ADDITIONAL point! Remember there’s no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge!

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Good morning, everyone! Linz here with this week’s template challenge.  I’ve based this template on a layout I made this past week. Hope you like it! I decided to keep the template simple this time. So the element placement (or lack of elements, if you wish) is completely up to you! Also, there is no set theme this week. So just let your creativity lead you!

link to download .psd file: http://www.box.net/shared/lbj250p10o

link to download .PNG files: http://www.box.net/shared/tbzap47cpp

Here is my layout on which this template is based, featuring Totally Buggin’ by Britt-ish Designs and Mira Designs.

Now here’s some more inspiration from our fantastic site CT!!

Melanie used Let’s Camp S’more by Chelle’s Creations.

Cyndi used A Stone’s Throw by Haynay Designs along with dirt splats from The Boys of Summer by Britt-ish Designs.

Erica created this layout with Tracie Stroud’s Spring Cottage.

Finally, Suzanne used Wiggle Worm by GG Digital Designs.

I’m excited to see your layouts! You have all month to complete this challenge. Please upload your LO to the Tuesday Template Challenge gallery, as well as linking it up in the forum to get your point. You can also earn an additional point by using any product released in the past 7 days in the SM shop. Just make sure you mention which new product you used when uploading your page. At the end of the challenge, I’ll be choosing one random winner who will earn an extra point towards their July total as well!

You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products to participate in this challenge, but we love it when you do! Remember, no double dipping. Each LO must be created for one challenge only. Can’t wait to see your pages!

Good morning from Cyndi and the rest of your ScrapMatters Family.  Typically, every other Monday, you’ll see a cool photography tip posted here. 

This morning though, the Hybrid CT has a very exciting announcement that I know you’re waiting to hear.  So I’ll make this short and sweet.  It has to do with focus.  In the Matter of Snap June Challenge, Henriette talks about using manual focus to change focal points and add interest to your photos.  Go check it out HERE. 

Another really fun trick that I use in automatic focus is to press my shutter half way down with my focal point on what I want clear.  Keeping it halfway pressed I move the camera so that my focal point (clear part of the picture) is not in the center.  The result is a fun take on what would have been just an ordinary picture.  Try moving that camera around a little with your shutter halfway pressed.  You might just like what you see.

Now, stay tuned for the announcement from the Hybrid CT!!