Full-Time Hybrid CT:
Guest CT Members:
A big welcome to all of you, we are so excited to have you on our team!
June 13, 2009
Hello everyone!
I love using journaling elements! Especially making them look like I wrote right on the lines. This Saturday special is about LEADING. Leading means the space between the lines in your journaling. Like “double spaced” or “single spaced” in word processing. It’s what makes
THIS Look like THIS:
Here’s how you do it in PSE:
Start by creating a text box on a layer above your journaling element, the size of the lines. To create a text box, select the Text tool. Click down in the upper corner of your lines (but don’t let go) and drag the cursor down to the lower right corner of your lines. Like this:
Either type your journaling or cut and paste from a word processing document (I use this option because I can’t spell). Edit your journaling so it has the same number of lines of text as there are lines on your element. In my example, my element has 9 lines and so does my journaling. Now make sure the TOP line of your journaling is lined up with the top line of the element (use the move tool…the big arrow)
Now it’s time to set the leading. First with the text tool selected, highlight ALL the text (Ctrl-A). The leading drop down box is on the top menu bar on the right side.
First I tried 24 but it was too short. Then I tried 30 but it was too tall:
Be a little goldilocks and experiment. You don’t have to only use numbers from the drop down menu, you can just type in whatever numbers you need. I ended up with 27.5 being the correct amount. It will be different depending on the font you use. If you like justified text, highlight all and hit CTRL-Shift-J (it works in PSE, but it’s not a preset–it only works with the keystrokes.) And that’s it!
For circular journaling elements, I do NEARLY the same thing, only I center the text adn adjust teh leading before I’m done editing. Then add returns in the correct place to make each text line the correct length. It takes a little more trial and error.
For this challenge you need to create a layout that has a lined journaling element and line up your text as if it was written on the lines. I made a freebie journal element sampler for you:
{image is linked}
You are not required to use those elements. You may use whatever lined journaling elements you wish. Here’s a few from the store:
Here’s a few examples from the CT:
from Stacy using Chelle’s Let’s Camp S’more:
From Andrea using Wiggle Worm by GGDigital Designs and Just a Moment Journaling Tags by Chelle’s Creations
And from Liz using Let’s Camp S’more by Chelle’s Creations and the Freebie Journaling Tags:
And, a few housekeeping details:
There’s no double dipping. Your layout must be unique to this challenge.
Everyone who completes the challenge will get a point in the Matter of Scrap Challenge System.
You do not need to use ScrapMatters products, however, if you use something new from the ScrapMatters store (within the first seven days of a product’s release), you get an extra point.
And, I will choose my favorite layout to get one more point at the end of the challenge.
Don’t forget to upload to the Saturday Gallery here , and link back to this thread with your layout image and link.
You have until the end of June to complete this challenge.
Happy scrapping!
Welcome to another Project reNEWit Challenge!! I love to look at the way things are packaged … part of the hybrid lover in me 
I am finding more and more unique packaging in the aisles of the grocery store that inspire me to save the cans, containers, and tubes so that I can give them a second life. One quick and easy way to get a big *WOW* is to reuse a pop-top can. I started with a good ol’ can of peaches.
The important part to salvaging the “pop-top mechanism” is to open the can from the bottom. This way the top stays intact!! I like to use a smooth edge or safety edge can opener to keep my edges neat and easy to reseal. Once you empty out your can, clean and dry it completely.
I created a label to cover the outside of the can and printed it out. Once you are ready to assemble, adhere your label, stuff your goodies inside, and replace the bottom of the can using a small amount of glue (I use MonoMulti). Add your extra details and you have a “surprise” package that is sure to get a GREAT reaction!!
Credits: School’s Out for Summer Kit and Alpha by Haynay Designs
Think of all the fun things you could stuff in there!! I want to do one for a baby shower with a custom onesie Small toys for kids would be a huge hit, too, and I think any woman would love to find a piece of jewelry inside!
While pop-top cans are fun, you don’t have to stop there …try ANY type of can, jars, soda bottles – glass and plastic, chip containers (think Pringle’s), powdered drink tubes (like Crystal Lite), baby formula cans and food jars. All of these are perfect for reusing.
Your Project reNEWit Challenge for June is to create a project reusing some type of packaging from FOOD!!
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 the month’s point total
- You’ll get 1 point for completing your project and posting it. Plus, I’ll select one entry at random for a bonus challenge point.
To give you just a little more inspiration I’m including a few projects that Jaime (ocmath) has posted in the gallery … both are fantastic examples of reusing food packaging 
Have fun with this … I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!
Hi everyone! Stefanie here with another edition of Grand Theft Layout. This week I picked Picklejuice_7 a.k.a. Brynn for our gallery of choice. I have seen so many layouts of hers that I just love so it was a perfect choice. You can take a look at her gallery here.
I lifted Happy
and here is my layout using Leafy Treetops by Erica Zane
and some layouts from the CT:
Suzanne lifted Little Sleepy Head
and Suzanne’s layout
Christine lifted Chubby Bunny
and Christine’s layout
Kathleen lifted Happy Birthday ’07
and Kathleen’s layout
Here are the Matter of Scrap Challenge Rules:
You have all month to complete your layout! Upload it 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 SM store! (Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.) And, one lucky RANDOM winner will receive one ADDITIONAL point!
Remember no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge!
Can’t wait to see what you create!
Hello all, Wendy here for another edition of the Tuesday Template!! Yep, ANOTHER ONE! I LOVE templates, if you hadn’t noticed! 
There is no specific theme or set of rules for today’s template, just have fun!! Use the template as is, or switch it up…it’s all up to you!!
Here is the template:
Here is *MY* Layout!
Here is some inspiration from the ScrapMatters CT/DT:
Layout By: Tracy
Layout By: kimbytx
Layout By: Melanie3boys
Layout By: britt – she brought the 3 paper strips and used them for photos! How cool is that?
Download the template –> HERE!
I’ve included both the .psd and .png files for you!
And a recap of the Matter of Scrap Challenge rules:
You have all month to complete the 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 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!
Happy Scrapping!!
Hi Everyone.
Denise here to bring you another Saturday Special….and I am excited to be talking to you about white space (or negative space or empty space).
I LOVE white space. I think one element of my personal scrap style is the use of white space…and I love it because of what it can do for you layouts.
White space is the portion of your layout that you leave empty. It includes the space between your photos, margins, edges, etc. The white space on your layout is an important design element and key to good composition.
If you don’t have enough white space on your layout it will appear busy or cluttered…and if you have too much your layout it will appear unfinished.
White space…gives your photos space…to be featured, to be admired…and adds style to any layout. But, your layout doesn’t have to be ALL white space to fit into this category…you just need to have some.
If you don’t normally have a lot of white space in your layouts I know you are thinking…oh no I have to do a layout with just one photo and almost no elements. And, believe me, those kind of layouts work and are so beautiful, but you can have white space in a layout with five photos and 20 or 30 elements.
Don’t believe me?
Well, here’s my layout…showing off white space.
There are many things that you can do to utilize and maximize the white space on a multiple photo layout. You can pull your photos off to one side, leaving the other side free. The way that my photos and my elements are grouped adds drama and style to my layout…but still plenty of room.
Here are some other examples of using white space with multiple photos from the creative team.
Stacy grouped her photos together and pulled them off to the sides. She took advantage of two sides of her layout and still left plenty of space in the middle for breath and flow. I love how her white space really creates a fun movement across the page…and you feel like you are actually in the trees with her daughter.
Christy grouped all her photos and elements together and pulled them into the middle. This cluster is dramatic and interesting without being overcrowded or busy. Her use of the cluster and the added white apace really conveys a sense of fun and highlights her beautiful daughter.
Krista used the same techinique as Christy…but she took one of her elements all the way across the page…so that her white space is above and blow her cluster, rather than surrounding it. And since her layout is open relaxing and openess…her theme is reflected not only in her photos and her journaling…but in the actual composition of her layout.
Melanie choose the center cluster, but she also used the space on the side of her layout for journaling. ..and the journaling becomes its own element…but again…lots of space to add drama and focus to her layout.
Finally, Christine choose to group her photos and use paper to really anchor her layout down. But, rather than being heavy…the added white space creates interest and focus and on her amazing photos.
So, your challenge is to create a layout using white space and multiple photos.
If you are new to using white space…start small. I would suggest grouping your photos and your elements together to create a cluster…and place it in the center or on the side of your layout. If you are used to using really big photos…try making them a little smaller and giving yourself a little room.
And, a few housekeeping details:
There’s no double dipping. Your layout must be unique to this challenge.
Everyone who completes the challenge will get a point in the Matter of Scrap Challenge System.
You do not need to use ScrapMatters products, however, if you use something new from the ScrapMatters store (within the first seven days of a product’s release), you get an extra point.
And, I will choose my favorite layout to get one more point at the end of the challenge.
Don’t forget to upload to the Saturday Gallery here , and link back to this thread with your layout image and link.
You have until the end of June to complete this challenge.
Happy scrapping!
I’m here today with a HUGE announcement! Many of you may know that Scrap Matters has been running a month long challenge to find the “Queen of Scrap” and the “Princess of Scrap”. This is our second year running the contest and we are amazed at how much it has grown!
This year we had an amazing 107 fantastic women enter the challenge and complete at least one layout. I am certain that they are all very anxious to read about the big winners. These women were amazing – they completely blew me and the rest of the ScrapMatters.com Team away! Not only are they fantastic scrappers, but they are quick! I am in awe at the number of layouts that they completed. Collectively, they scrapped 4,705 pages during the month of May. That is a LOT of pages!
They scrapped about their kids, and their families, their vacations and celebrations, their joys and their sorrows. They truly poured their hearts and souls into their creations, gave us windows into their lives and showed off their artistic talents.
Each and every one of these princesses should be very proud at what they accomplished. Most of them scrapped significantly more layouts than they normally do during a month. Now, their families may not have been too excited about this, as I heard lots of chatter about dirty house & extremely supportive spouses! We even had a few scrap related injuries this year! Don’t worry though – everyone is on the mend now that they can rest their “scrapping arms”
Our competition had two parts to it. First, we were looking to find the person who could scrap the most pages during the month of May. Each of the participants could receive prizes at 4 different levels. We had 95 people complete at least 5 pages to reach level 1. 80 of those reached level 2 and scrapped at least 20 layouts for the month. Level 3 was to scrap 35 pages, and 45 women reached this level! Level 4 was to complete 50 pages – we had 33 people reach this level. We couldn’t believe how many scrapped more than 100 pages for the month – 13 people! We even had 2 people scrap over 250 layouts for the month – isn’t that AMAZING!!!
The person that scrapped the most pages for the month is to be awarded a $50.00 gift card to the ScrapMatters.com shop. That amazing and very talented scrapper scrapped an astounding 260 pages during the month of May! WOW!!! That speedy scrapper is Becky (photomom1216)!!!! Congratulations Becky!
Now I mentioned that our challenge had a second part to it… one of these lucky ladies is going to be crowned ScrapMatters Queen of Scrap! Two lucky ladies will also be named the “Princess of Scrap”. The princesses will receive a one month guest spot on our CT. The Queen is to win a three month guest spot on our CT. To qualify for this part of the competition, the participants had to be in the top 10 posters with the most layouts created for May. These women worked hard to get into those top 10 spots. Each of them created over 100 layouts each! Each of these princesses should take a bow – I’m sure many scrappers struggle to make that many pages in a year! You can truly tell that they are very passionate about this craft and the subjects of their layouts.
Well, it would have been way too hard for one person to pick a winner, so we put the fantastic ScrapMatters Creative & Design team members to work! We poured over their galleries and each of us voted on who we thought should be the winners. It was such a difficult choice to make but…
We actually had a 3 way tie for the “Princess” spots and have decided to give each of them a one month guest CT spot!
These lucky ladies are:
Cristina (cristina)
Krisi (krisi616)
Jan (QuiltyMom)
They all worked SO hard – be sure to stop by their galleries to check out their hard work. You can click on their user names above.
Get your curtsy ready readers …..
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….. here’s the part where we announce the Queen…
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The Queen of Scrap is Erica (princess.erica)!!! Congratulations – the team at ScrapMatters.com is so very excited to have you join us!!! We would love to have you take on a guest CT spot on our team – allowing you access to our shop to scrap your heart out!
Not only is Erica a fast scrapper (she entered an amazing 140 pages!) but, she is very talented with her page designs and is an all around sweet gal with a great sense of humor!
Here are a few of our favorite pages that she has created. Click on the pics for credits:
Congratulations to Erica, the Princesses and everyone who participated!
Hello Henriëtte here with this months photo challenge.
This time the topic is: 5 Situations When Manual Focus is Better than Auto Focus
From an article by Darren Rowse (editor and founder of Digital Photography School)
When is Manual Focus Better than Auto Focus?
Let me start by saying there is no right or wrong time to use either manual or auto focusing – both can produce great results in almost all circumstances – however there are a few times when you might find it easier to switch to manual focusing:
Situation #1: Macro Work
When doing macro photography I almost exclusively switch to manual focusing.
The narrow depth of field in these shots mean that you need to be incredibly precise with focusing and being just a smidgeon out or having your camera choose to focus on the wrong part of your subject can completely ruin a shot.
To use it you’ll also probably want to use a tripod to eliminate any movement of the camera which can make focusing either in manual or auto mode frustrating.
Manual focusing puts the control completely in your hands when shooting in this very precise setting.
Situation #2: Low Light
Shooting in dimly lit environments can be difficult for some cameras and lenses when it comes to focusing.
You’ll know when your camera is struggling in Auto mode when every time you go to take a shot the lens will whirl from one end of it’s focusing options to the other and back again before deciding on where to focus.
This can really lengthen your shooting process and make taking quick candid shots quite frustrating.
Switch to manual mode and you can quickly find your focusing point and get the shot you’re after.
Situation #3: Portraits
When shooting portraits focus needs to be precise.
The majority of your shots of people will need to have their eyes in perfect focus and so switching to manual focus will give you complete control to enable this to save you from having to line up the focusing points on your camera on the eyes, press halfway down and then frame your shot.
Manual focusing in portrait work helps to ensure the viewer of the image is drawn to the part of the face that you want them to notice.
Situation #4: Shooting Through Glass/Wire Fences
If you’ve ever shot through anything like a window or a mess/wire fence you’ll know how cameras will often get confused on where to focus your shot.
Whether it’s shooting out of a plane window, taking a shot of an image at a museum or photographing animals through fences at the zoo – you might find your camera is confused.
Manual focusing will avoid this completely and allow you to get things just right – focusing upon the subject behind that glass or fence. If you do this in conjunction with a large aperture (which decreases depth of field) and get in close to the fence or glass you might well eliminate it completely from being noticeable in your shot.
Situation #5: Action Photography
Shooting fast moving subjects (like racing cars, planes, bikes, running animals etc) can be a frustrating experience when shooting with auto focus.
Even the continuous focusing modes can get left behind or confusing if you’re not panning with your subject smoothly.
One way to overcome this is to switch to manual focusing and pre focus on a point that the subject will move through – and shooting at that point. You need to get your timing just right – but you’ll find that it’ll often give better results than relying upon auto focus modes (particularly if you shoot in continuous shooting/burst mode).
Shooting in manual focus mode is a skill that you need to learn and practice. While you will have more time to get it right when shooting still objects – it can become more difficult when shooting moving subjects – so practice. While your practice session might not produce great results the skill that you learn will be useful to have.
Can’t wait to see your photos!
Henriëtte
Happy hybrid Thursday!! I am excited to get to write this post this month because there are so many amazing projects appearing in our hybrid gallery. Here are a few of my recent faves:
I think this card by Cristina is SO cute. I love the little butterflies and the dimension they add!
Look at these gifts! I’m sure whoever was on the receiving end loved them!
This one is by davsar:
And this one is by wildblueeyez:
This little badge book by Chels? SOOOO adorable! I have been wanting to make a badge book, and this one is so inspiring. Go check out the gallery to see a few more pictures.
This post wouldn’t be complete without including this awesome gift basket from one of our very own hybrid queens, Kari (karistamps). I love how well everything coordinates! She used Andilynn’s kit Alvean’s Beauty Parlor, and I think it works perfectly!
Please keep posting your hybrid projects . . . we love to see them!! Oh, and did you hear? We are looking for a new Hybrid Creative Team! Interested? Here are the details! We’d love you to apply!
Today’s scrapliftee is princess.erica! During the Queen of Scrap competition this gals gallery grew and grew and continued to amaze me. The crown has not yet been awarded and the competition is steep, but her gallery is definitely worthy of scraplifting! Check it out here and see for yourself.
I lifted LaFonda.
Here’s my lift using Leafy Treetops by Erica Zane…
Kim lifted Sweet Child of Mine.
She used So This is Love by Sahlin Studio and Word Circles by Britt-ish Designs…
Denise lifted What You Might Have Missed.
She used Underwater Escape by Erica Zane for her lift…
Melanie lifted Orange Plaid Cap.
She used Teen Grunge by [WM]Squared Designs.
Happy lifting!
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