Hi everyone! For those that have not “met” me yet, I’m Casey Krause and I am one of the new Scrap Matters hybrid creative team members. OMG, I love this place, don’t you? I am happy to bring you this month’s I’ll Pencil You In challenge. I love the whole concept of creating one calendar page each month until we have a complete calendar! I am new to the challenge so let me share with you my January page. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

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 (July 31) 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.

Ack!!  I blew it!  I was supposed to post this morning before work and I totally forgot!  So, you’re getting me after work instead

It’s Cyndi, and it’s time for another round of Grand Theft Layout. This week we’ll be lifting Heidi (aka: Scrappurple). And Wendy has made it so easy for us with her new Be Inspired – Heidi Template pack.  Go check them out!

You can find Heidi’s gallery HERE.  She has a lot of 2 pagers in her gallery, so if you’re feeling real ambitious, try one out. Can’t wait to see what you do!

Here’s a little inspiration to get you started

I lifted Dude2

Here’s mine

Using Patriotic Pride by Trixie Scraps, Back to Basics: Bold Alpha by Denise Beatty Originals and Foam Stamp Alpha by Sahlin Studio

Kim lifted

And came up with this

She used Everday Memories by Chelle’s Creations and Juno Designs and In Stitches Basic and My Ribbon Jar by Britt-ish Designs

Suzanne lifted this

And here’s her version

using Game for Anything ScrapMatter’s Collab

And Erica lifted this LO

and made this LO

Check them out in the gallery soon. And just a reminder of the Matter of Scrap Challenge Rules: You have the rest of this 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, released within the last week! (Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.) And, one lucky winner (random) will receive one ADDITIONAL point!

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

Have fun!

Hi everyone!  I’m here with another SM Template for ya.  So without further ado here it is:

Click on the image to grab it or click here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/116590050/4c4e8670/jhopewell_smtt071409.html

There are no rules for this challenge except have fun and use the template!  Pretty easy huh?  Here is the LO that I based this template on:

credits:  {Life’s A Beach}; {Snippettes: Life’s a Beach}; {Modern Words: Summer} all by Sahlin Studio

And here’s what our fabulous CT cooked up with this template.

By Wendy (WM[Squared]) credits: All elements (unless otherwise noted):  "Everyday Memories" by Juno Designs and Chelle’s Creations; White BG Paper:  "Shabby Chic" by WM[squared] Designs; Black Frame:  "Shabby Chic" by WM[squared] Designs

By Suzanne (iisuzieii)

By Tracy (Trixie Scraps)

credits: Glam-o-rama Gradients – Britt-ish Designs; Dreaming of Summer – WM Squared; Deeper Conversation – Sya’s Blueprints; Foam Stamp Alpha-Sorbet – Sahlin Studio; Stamped, Dated, Stated – Trixie Scraps; What’s Hangin’ Journals and Tags – Andilynn Designs

By Sya (syapotter)

By Sylvia (SylviaB)

credits:  {Benjamin} by Jeni Hopewell

Well, there’s plenty of inspiration there for you so here are the rest of the details:

You have the rest of this month (until July 31st) to complete the layout. Upload it to the gallery, and leave BOTH the image and a link as a reply to my post in the 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.) 

Have fun scrapping!

Hi everyone, it’s Suzanne here and I am so excited to bring you this Saturday Special. One of my favorite things about digital scrapbooking is being able to manipulate the supplies to do what I want them to do. It gives me so many more options of what I can do with a kit. One of the easiest ways to do this is by changing the colors. Today I am going to show you how you can change the color of an element when the element has more than one color. I used CS3 to create this tutorial but I am told that the process works the same in most programs.

Here’s my page that I started with (using June’s daily download kit):

Here I red star buttons. Now the red buttons work fine, but I want them to be blue. Since the stars have a metal ring to them I can’t just simply go the HUE/SATURATION menu to change the color because it will tint the metal and this is what I would end up with:

So here’s what you do. First select your eye dropper tool and select the color you want to change your element too.
Next click on the black arrows above the color swatches and switch your colors so your new color is now the background color (the back square).  Then use the eye dropper to select the color on the element you want to replace. Leave that color as the foreground color. (The one that is on top.)

Make sure you have your element selected and go to IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS> REPLACE COLOR and this window should appear.

Click on the bottom color box and the color picker box will pop up. Now go over to your color swatches and choose the background color.  (The color you want the element to be.) And click okay. Now you can adjust the top Fuzziness slider to adjust how much of the color it replaces. You can also adjust the bottom sliders to tweak your color further. Once it is how you want it, click okay.

Now with my example it replaced the red mostly, but in the white parts there are still tints of red that I want to replace.

So I select my eye dropper tool and this time I click in those slightly off white areas. Then go back to IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>REPLACE COLOR and this time all I have to do is slide the saturation slider down to remove the red color. And now I have removed the red tint from the white.

And here is my finished page with my blue buttons. *Note I changed the color of one of the buttons first and then I copied my new blue button.

And here’s what kim did using Anna BV Designs Flower Power and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Denise Beatty Originals Circles of Love- the kit only had a blue button so she recolored it pink:

So here’s your challenge- I want you to pick at least one element and recolor it and then use it in a LO.  Post your layout in the gallery and in the forum and let us know which element you recolored. Remember you don’t have to use ScrapMatter products to participate but you ‘ll get an extra point if you use a SM new release (within 7 days of the products release). Everyone that posts a layout in both the forum AND the gallery will receive a point, and then I will pick one more to receive an extra point. Also there’s no double dipping.

Have fun!

Hello, Everyone!  It’s time for July’s ReNEWit challenge, and this month, we’ll focus on ways you can involve your kids in your repurposing efforts.

Here is your printable freebie for this month’s challenge:

This printable is extremely simple- as you can see, it has a large space for pictures, and below it is a space for writing.  This is a great tool for elementary school children to practice their writing and story-writing skills.  Here is one of my daughter’s pages:

Here’s where the repurposing comes in.  You can certainly print these onto new, clean sheets of paper, and I certainly encourage you to do so.  However, I plan to use another source of paper.

These are the separator sheets that accompany my print jobs at work.  I have a stack of them that is easily 2 inches thick.  While I could turn this feature off, there are enough print jobs that come through this printer on a daily basis, and not everyone thinks enough to look through their pick-ups to see if anyone else’s stuff got mixed in.  Many of these sheets end up in the Shred-It bins next to the printer, designed to secure sensitive print jobs in accordance to HIPPA and patient privacy guidelines.  Wow!  That service is expensive, and it’s not really recycling.  I’ve since decided to save my sheets and do something else with them.

My daughter is currently on summer vacation, and her teachers have encouraged us to keep working on her reading and writing over the summer.  As expected, this can be easier said than done.  How can I encourage her to write, when she’d rather be outside?  I remembered the books that she brought home over the course of the year.  Her elementary school has a Publishing Shop, and she was allowed to take the stories she had written and have them bound into books using chipboard, fabric, and duct tape.  Here’s one that she made me for Mother’s Day:

She is amazingly proud of these books, and they will be a great keepsake for me.  Probably just as important as the multitude of pages that I create about her.  So, I made a deal with my daughter- she writes me stories, and I will bind them for her into books.

I created the printable sheet to resemble the pages that she used at school, and I am printing them as she needs them from the stack of print job separators.  At the end of the summer, I will take her collected works and bind them together using my Bind-It-All machine.

I realize that there are many of you out there with no children, or grown children.  No worries- this printable can be used by you, too!  Print two of these on a single sheet and fold the sheet in half- you now have two pages to draw page sketches, jot down scraplift ideas, or other scrapping ideas!

Do you have a stack of paper that still has one usable side?  Then you can get in on this challenge!  Your challenge this month is use the printable to give new life to a sheet of scrap paper. Use it for a writing project for your child, have your child create their own scrapbook page (put pictures in the drawing space and journal at the bottom), sketch a new page, write your shopping list or take measurements to buy new curtains for the living room.   The beauty of this hybrid challenge is you can participate even if you have a printer that doesn’t do the best job at color recreation.  If you can print black and white, you’re in business!   When you post your “completed” printable sheet in the challenge thread and the gallery, let me know what you used- it will help inspire others!

Here are the reminders for the Matter of Scrap Challenges:

- This challenge runs until July 31st

- Any layout you make for this challenge for points cannot be used for another challenge (no “Double Dipping”)

-If you include a new ScrapMatters product (released within a week of you posting your project), and indicate likewise in the thread and the gallery, you earn a bonus point

- One random entry will be selected at the end of the month for another bonus point

I’m looking forward to see what you can do!

Hey all! Heather (haynay) here for another Grand Theft Layout! I love looking at another Heather’s layouts…you might know her as Tuttle. I think you will be able to find many LOs that will inspire you! Here is Tuttle’s gallery!

Here is the LO I lifted:

Here is the LO I created:

credits: Erica Zane/MKC “Tropical Escapes”; Happy Scrap Girl “Worn Overlays”; Brittish Designs “Dreams Do Come True” “Mermaid Lagoon”; Haynay Designs “Diamond All Stars” “Angel Baby Combo” “School’s Out for Summer”

And, get ready for the awesome LOs our CT created from Tuttle’s gallery!

Christine scraplifted this

And came up with this:

Credits: using Jeni Hopewell’s *How Does Your Garden Grow* Font-Worstveld Sling!

Wendy lifted

She created:

Credits:  “Happy Happy Birthday” by Jeni Hopewell; Glitter Splat (recolored):  “Sunshine in my Soul” by Britt-ish Designs; Font:  PeaSoLovely

Cyndi scrapliften this LO:

She made this fun LO!

credits: Haynay’s Diamond All-Stars and Brittish Design’s Pirate Princess elements

Sylvia liften this:

She created:

Credits: ‘Benjamin’ by Jeni Hopewell

Aren’t all of these fantastic! 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 winner (random) will receive one ADDITIONAL point!

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

And here is some inspiration from the SM CT:

This one is by Kim, using my Patriotic Pride kit and a few odds-n-ends from Britt-ish Designs:

Then, this is one is by Tgmousechick, using Tropical Escape by Erica Zane and Mari Koegelenberg:

Here’s one by Christy using Old Glory by GG Digitals:

And finally, here’s one from Natasha using Imperial Girl by Britt-ish Designs:

Aren’t those CT layouts awesome??
I hope you will enjoy working with this template and I can’t wait to see all your gorgeous layouts, too! 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 as a reply to this post!

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!!

Hello Henriëtte here for the Matter Of Snap challenge.
This month we are going to things a little bit different.
Because of the summer holidays, no difficult techniques are requiered, no tips are given either, just a sort of treasurehunt for the fun of it!
Here is how it goes and the posting rules.

Make a picture for each word on the following list:

• a rock
• purple
• luxurious
• candlelight

The picture has to have a connection with the word, for example purple could be a flower, or a dress or a ribbon or anything else you can find in that color, just as long as it has something to do with the given word, and please be creative.

When you have a picture for each of the words, 4 all together, please put them in the following template: http://www.4shared.com/file/116002645/d6660445/Matter_Of_Snap_10__July_2009_.html so you will only have to upload once and it will be so much easier for me to judge the entries.

If you would like to make a LO, it is ok to use just one of the pictures, no need to use all four, only if you want to.
Please put your pictures and LO in the appropiate gallery and link them back to the a Matter Of Snap July tread

Have fun and be creative!

Rules for posting:

1. Upload your photo (and LO if you have one) to the appropriate gallery, then please link it back to the challenge in the forum
2. Just one entry per person will be eligible for a point, one extra point can be earned for doing a LO with one of the pictures and if you win the challenge you also gain one extra point
3. The pictures must be especially made for this months challenge
4. No double dipping with other challenges please

Thanks!

Here is Moniques (monsu) beautiful entry and I love that she managed to get all her pictures at one place, in her own backyard!

Credits: Paper from Pure by Dirty Feet Designs and font is Mom’s Typewriter

I love all of the little tools that come with Photoshop/Elements.  This week I wanted to focus on the healing brush.  I think the healing brush is one of my most used tools.  I wonder how many wrinkles, snotty noses, chocolate covered mouths and crumbs I have removed from my photos??!! Removing them isn’t always necessary, but sometimes these messes can be quite distracting from an otherwise gorgeous photo.

For example, my kids always seem to have a spot of food somewhere on their face and clothes.  Now the #1 solution would be that they use a napkin (or simply keep the food in their mouth), but some days I think this is asking too much!   So, instead, I use my handy, dandy healing brush or spot healing brush.  And in a few clicks, no more distracting food around the mouth!

Check out the Before and After…

GG Digital Designs Old Glory and Denise Beatty Originals ChaChaCha Chia templates

Photoshop (and Google) has lots of great tutorials and has been my “go to” when learning how to use their tools.

Here are some great tutorials:
Photoshop Elements Video Tutorial — Healing Brush
Healing Brush Tool vs. Clone Stamp Tool
Miracle Tools: Photoshop’s Healing Brush

Kim is a pro with the healing brush!  I love how she healed her photo…

Sya’s Blueprints Somewhat Centered set 2 and the Daily Download kit Stars N Stripes Forever by WM Squared Designs, Designs by Tater and Chelle’s Creations

Look at the difference in Krisi’s photo…

Sya’s Take me to the Movies and Denise’s Cha Cha Cha Chia

So your challenge if fairly simple.  Use the Healing Brush on your photo and make a layout.  When you post your credits, let us know what you “healed” so we can all be amazed at your editing skills!

Post your layout in the Saturday Special Healing Brush (o7.04) forum.  You have until the end of the month to complete the challenge.  Remember, no double dipping with the Matter of Scrap Challenges.  You will receive 1 point for finishing and posting your layout (don’t forget to mention what you healed), 1 point for using a newly released product and 1 amazing healing job will receive a bonus point!!

Happy healing!

Have you taken a peek around the shop today?  Notice any changes?  Well, it’s a big day for the hybrid lovers around here … ScrapMatters is now carrying Kaisercraft Albums!!  Andrea made the big announcement yesterday and we have been working overtime to get things ready!!  While it may take a while to get everything set up and running smoothly in the shop, I am here to tell you that we will soon be bursting with hybrid goodies.  We’ve got 5 hybrid designers in the shop now (keep an eye on Geeky Diva Designs, Simply J Studio, Snippets, Inc., iKari Designs, and Digital Creations by Sharon Dale for your hybrid fix) and have just introduced our new hybrid creative team!!  Everyone on the team will be busy helping to make ScrapMatters THE place on the web to come for hybrid inspiration and designs   There are also new browsing categories for printables and digital hybrid products to make your shopping even easier.

Aside from all things hybrid in the shop today our hybrid gallery is FULL of great new projects!!!  I hope you’re taking time to stop in and check out all of the hard work   Here is just a small sample of what you will find:

These firecrackers by Jaime (ocmath) are the perfect treat for the kids at any 4th of July celebration (in the U.S., of course)

This album by Sharon (skyezak) is GORGEOUS!!!  Best of all?  The entire set of quick pages is available in her new shop!!

Isn’t this fun?  Kristie (kcherrie) printed this on inkjet canvas cloth … can’t wait to try that!

This set is perfect for the many babies I have being born around me right now   Debra (dbrprc) did a fabulous job on this one!!

Wouldn’t these be perfect in that paint can?  Happy Scrap Girl will make some new mama VERY happy with these!

I could go on and on … why not hop over to the hybrid gallery and have a peek for yourself?  All of the images used here are linked so you can click over and leave these girls some love   We hope you enjoy all of the exciting hybrid happenings around here – keep an eye on the shop for more new items throughout the coming weeks!!

*I will get shop links and such added in when the shop isn’t giving me fits … it has something against me right now