Alamama, here with the latest GTL!!  For this Grand Theft Layout, I am really excited to be lifting Mary of Plum Dumpling Designs (aka littlehiccup)! She not only has an awesome gallery, she also has some great hybrids too! Her style is very fun!

Here’s the LO I choice to lift:

Mine:

From our AWESOME CT: (I only put the first few, due to space.  You can see the rest in the forum.)

Mary’s:

Jillyfish’s:

Mary’s:

Cindy’s:

Okay,now the important information.

- You will have until the end of October to complete this challenge. Please upload it to the GTL gallery and leave your LO image and Mary’s LO image (both linked) here in the GTL 9/30/09 thread.

- 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.)

- I will choose one lucky winner who will receive an ADDITIONAL point!

- You don’t have to use SM products in this challenge, but we LOVE it when you do!

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

Thank you so much in advance!

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

Hi everyone- it’s me Suzanne and I am so happy to be able to host one of my favorite challenges- the template challenge!! There are some really beautiful 1-picture layouts out there- but sometimes I just need to get lots of photos on a page, so I am always on the lookout for a good multi-photo layout. Hopefully this template will help you out with that. Of course, you can always get creative and make it whatever you want.

So here’s the template:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

And here’s what the wonderful CT ladies have done with it:

(jillyfish) using “Where The Heart Blooms” by Erica Zane and “Alphabetical” by Britt-ish Designs.

(panders77)

(bcnatty)

A quick reminder of the rules:

- You will receive one point for completing this challenge and posting your layout in both the gallery AND the forum thread. You will receive 1 extra point if you use a new release product within the week it was released. You must make note of this in your post in the forum to get the point.

-Because this is posting the last week of the month you have until the end of OCTOBER to complete the challenge. You will receive your point based on the month you post your layout in the forum.

- No double-dipping, your layout must be unique to this challenge only.

- FYI: you don’t have to use ScrapMatters products to complete this challenge- we just like it when you do!

That’s it- go download and have fun!!

Hey everyone!  Jen W. here (aka abcmomof4) with my first Scrap Matters blog post!!! I am so excited to share with you something that matters to me…the details. We take pictures to capture moments in our lives and scrap to tell those stories. Sometimes, when photographing that moment or event there are little things that might go unnoticed; something small that is a really great part of the story or memory. Today, I wanted to write about those details and capturing photos of them.

Here are a few examples of what I mean by capturing the details in your photos:

On our trip to the beach last spring, my daughter had a blast collecting sea shells and rocks. Not only did I photograph her from afar collecting those seashells and rocks, I captured the detail of the rocks, the shells, and the grains of sand on her hands.

Olivia wanted a princess pony party for her third birthday. I wanted a picture of her blowing out her candles, but I also wanted to remember the decorations on her cake.

At Christmas time, I love taking pictures of decorations. I take pictures of our house lit up, the tree with it’s twinkling lights, and those special Christmas tree ornaments. To me, these details of Christmas are so important to the mood and spirit we feel and I want to remember that.

So with our favorite fall and winter holidays approaching, I thought I would leave you with a few ideas of details you could capture with your camera in telling your story:

*For Halloween, photograph pumpkin guts as you carve those jack-o-lanterns, the candy bucket your child Trick-or-Treats with, or your child’s hands covered with melted chocolate from the candy they just devoured.
*On Thanksgiving, capture the table settings, your family’s favorite dish, or the stack of dirty dishes.
*At Christmas, take pictures of keepsakes, cookies left for Santa, or the pile of wrapping paper that was left behind on Christmas Morning.  

Photographing those details is also a great opportunity to explore macro mode on your point and shoot or use a really low aperture on your dslr to get a fantastic depth of field.

Happy Scrapping!

Hi everyone–it’s Melissa (yzerbear19) with this week’s Saturday Special.  This week is going to focus on journaling. One of the aspects I get complimented on a lot is my journaling. The journaling on a layout is just as important as the photos. The layouts we create serve as a reminder to us and future generations of who we were and what we did, so it is important to include the story. One of the things I often do with my journaling is use information I gathered from an additional source. This information can enhance the story and provide additional interest. There are a lot of different types of additional sources to use.

Books – Books are an obvious and great source of information for poems, quotes, factual information, etc. There are millions and millions of books out there. For my Civil War books I often use books for factual information and quotes. I often will look for books that I can use for my scrapbooking layouts.

By a comrade’s grave – This is one of the Civil War layouts I’ve done where I used a book for the information and then paraphrased it in my own words.

When lilacs last bloom’d - The journaling for this one is actually a poem that I found in a book of poetry. Though it can also be found on the web.

The Internet – one of the easiest places to obtain information is the internet. There is tons of information on the web, but you should be careful because not all sites provide reputable and factual information. When working on a layout one of the first sites I look at is the official website. In this day in age almost every business, museum, amusement park, restaurant, etc has an official site and can often be a good source of information. If I still need information I will do a search on the web. A great item to include on a layout is a quote or poem. There are lots of sites on the web dedicated to quotes.

Cinderella Castle - For this layout I used information I found on a Disney site about Cinderella Castle. Both images are linked.

Sunflower - For this one I did a search for the quote which also doubles as the title. I found the quote on a site dedicated to quotes.

Capturing U-505 – I got the information for this layout from the official website of the Museum of Science and Industry. They have an entire site with information abotu the U-505. I used the information on the pages and condensed it in my own words for the journaling. Both images are linked.

Brochures or postcards – One of the things I always look for when I go somewhere that I want to scrap later is to look for a brochure or postcard. These can often be a great source of information to include on layout as well a great item to include on the layout. Postcards are also a great way to get photos for those places that don’t allow photography. Many postcards also include information on the back, which can be used.

Antietam National Battlefield – For this one I did use the information from the official park brochure and made sure to credit the source on the layout. I also scanned the brochure to use on the layout. Both images are linked.

United - For this layout I also incorporated information from the brochure into the journaling. The title is the slogan from the brochure.

These are just three ways to obtain information to include in your journaling. And you can of course combine different types. The most important thing to remember is that after you have gathered your information to put it into your own words or to paraphrase. You will want to avoid plagiarism.

Amanda (panders77) did this really beautiful layout by looking up lyrics from Cinderella

Your challenge is to use some of the tips I provided and create a layout using information you obtain from a secondary source. This can be a poem, quote, or facts. When posting your layout, be sure to include where you got your information. There are lots of ways to include different sources into your journaling.

Some important reminders:
-When posting your layout, be sure to let me know where you found your information
-You have until the end of October to post your entry. Be sure to post it to the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum. If you post it by the end of September, you will get your point for September.
-No double-dipping! This challenge CANNOT be combined with any other ScrapMatters challenge or Speed Scrap. Your layout must be unique to this challenge.
-You can earn an extra point for using any new ScrapMatters product during the first week of its release. Be sure to note the new product in your layout description and your post in the thread on the forum. In order to get your bonus point, it does need to be noted on your forum post.
-At the end of October I will select my favorite layout and the scrapper will get a bonus point for their next month’s total.
-You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we like it when you do.

Good luck!

Hello everyone, I’m here to bring you a tutorial on how to make a hybrid mini album from scratch!

I started making albums a few months ago, and since I couldn’t find the chipboard albums in the stores I started making them myself out of cereal boxes. (of course, now you can find many great albums here at ScrapMatters, but if there’s a shape you cannot find, or if you just want to give hybrid a try and you don’t want to risk wasting a chipboard album for your first try, you can always cut an album out of cereal boxes too!).

Don’t get overwhelmed by the length of this tutorial: I get verbose when I describe my projects and wanted to cover all the basics, but it really isn’t as daunting as it seems and you ought to give it a try!

1. Designing the digital pages
First off, there’s the digital part of the process. Pick the products you want to use and your pictures. I chose the gorgeous Gretchen mini kit, the Date Stamped elements and the Minnie Alpha by Britt-ish Designs. At this point you also need to choose the format of the pages for your album.
In August my husband and I celebrated our 10th dating anniversary and I decided to create a little album, with one photo for every year together. I picked a basic square shape, with rounded corners, and created all the pages quite small, so that they would all fit on a single sheet of paper when I printed them out.
You need to prepare an even number of pages (including cover/back cover).

2. Printing out the pages
You have mainly 2 options here: printing at home, or outsourcing. Personally, I print my projects at home – I find it much simpler and faster. (if you’re outsourcing, check what sizes you can print before you start designing your pages)
I printed out this project, as most of my hybrid projects, on Epson matte presentation paper. It does make a big difference and the colors are much brighter compared to normal paper. I personally do not use glossy paper much because I hate the fingerprint marks on glossy paper – but really, it’s up to your taste what paper you want to use.
I also recommend you learn how to make your printer print borderless (I always try to make the most of my paper, and print many things on one sheet of paper!).
Once your pages are printed, you can gather your supplies, because it’s time to put the album together:

3. Creating the template and the pages
I used the chipboard of a frozen pizza box for my album – I’m sure you all have something at home that would work. Cereal boxes are sometimes thinner, but they can work too. I usually peel the printed part off of the chipboard so I can glue my pages to a rougher surface and don’t have to worry about the printed cereal box showing through. 
Once your pages are printed out, cut them and use one as a template to draw the pages out of cereal boxes, by simply tracing the border with a pencil.

Cut all the pages out and check that they match the printed pages before you glue them – you’ll probably need to cut a bit more than the markings you made with the pencil but you’ll get the hang of it pretty fast.
You need half the number of digital pages you created (since you’re gluing 2 printed pages to every chipboard page).

*optional*: you can paint the chipboard at this point, if you want a color to show at the edge of the pages, instead of chipboard. I’m fine with the chipboard showing so I skipped this step.

4. Gluing
My adhesive of choice is Mod Podge, so that’s what I used to stick the printed pages to my album. I know of hybrid scrappers who use double sided tape instead; I simply used Mod Podge for my first project and then I kept using it because it works well for me, but you can use whatever you feel more comfortable with.
Applying Mod Podge is pretty straightforward if you’re used to it, but it’s not easy if you’ve never done it before – so if it’s your first time using it, I recommend you try with some scrap paper and chipboard first.
My main advice is to use Mod Podge sparingly: a thin coat of it really goes a long way. I use a foam brush to apply it.
I don’t have pictures because my hands were busy , but this is how I do it. I line up the paper with the chipboard. I lift up one side of the paper to expose the chipboard beneath, holding the rest of the paper firmly down on the chipboard, and I start brushing some Mod Podge on the chipboard. I adhere the page to that part (so now the page is fixed and won’t move anymore, and I know it’s nicely lined up because I positioned it carefully), and can now move to brush the rest of the chipboard and finish adhering the page.
Pay special attention to cover the edges properly, so the page will adhere properly without air gaps.

5. Punching holes
Now that the pages are ready, you need to put the album together. I decided to use a ring to hold the pages so I needed to punch holes in the pages.
I now own a Crop-a-dile that makes punching very easy; but if you don’t own any fancy scrapbooking tool to punch holes, you can use what I used for my first project: a school page puncher will work just as well (even though it’s more tricky to make the holes aligned).

6. Adding eyelets
If you punch a hole, you have to use eyelets. They make the page look so much better! I used my Crop-a-dile to put the eyelets on.

Now that’s it, the album is ready!

7. Embellishments
It’s always fun to embellish the album with some ribbon.

I hope I’ve inspired you to go out and try a hybrid album, if you’ve never dared before. It doesn’t have to turn out perfect, but you’ll love having something made by you for a special memory.  If you have any question, head over to this thread in the Hybrid is Hot section of the forum!
I also created a matching card to accompany the album:

Hi everyone! Courtney (cnscrap) here to host this weeks Grand Theft Layout challenge. I’m super excited to say this is my FIRST time hosting a SM challenge! Whoo hooo!

So let’s get started! I have chosen  Fiona’s (canadianmommy) gallery to lift…another new SM Creative Team member! You can check out her gallery here…there are PLENTY of fabulous layouts to choose from!

I was inspired by her layout “Imagine”. I love her photo treatments and the yellow background paper she chose. It really makes her layout pop!

Here’s her layout:

And mine:

And now some amazing layouts done by our CT Team!

Christine (alamama) picked Fiona’s First Pumpkin:

And she created Tape King:

Jami (alansrock) picked Fiona’s Learning to Read:

And she created this FAB LO:

Li (Lil14) picked Fiona’s Love this Face:

And she created this CUTE LO:

Stefanie picked Fiona’s Fairy Godmother:

And she created this FUN LO:

A few quick SM guidelines:

- You will have until the end of September to complete this challenge. Please upload it to the GTL gallery and leave your LO image and Fiona’s LO image (both linked) here in the GTL 9/23/09 thread.

- 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.)

- I will choose one lucky winner (random) who will receive an ADDITIONAL point!

- You don’t have to use SM products in this challenge, but we LOVE it when you do!

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

Looking forward to seeing which layout by Fiona inspired you!

Hello all! Jenn here thrilled to be hosting (for my first time! yay!) this weeks Tuesday Template Challenge for Sept 22.

There are no specific requirements this week, do what you wish. Flip it, rotate it, modify it, make it your own!!

Here is the template.

DOWNLOAD HERE!
(Includes PSD, PNG and TIFF Files)

Here is a layout I made with my template using GG Digital Designs kit Daydream Believer.

Ready for some fabulous CT Inspiration!!

From Maria (Muss)

From NeeNee (neetdesigner)

From Jen W. (abcmomof4)

And from Krisi616
A cute hybrid project

And a few little reminders:

-You have until the end of September to post your entry. Be sure to post it to the “Tuesday Template” gallery and link it back to this thread in the forum.
-No double-dipping! This challenge CANNOT be combined with any other Scrap Matters challenge or Speed Scrap. Your layout must be unique to this challenge.
-You can earn an extra point for using any new Scrap Matters product during the first week of its release. Be sure to note the new product in your layout description and your post in the thread on the forum.
-At the end of the month I will randomly select a layout and the winning scrapper will receive a bonus point for their next month’s total.
-You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we sure like it when you do.

I cannot wait to see what you all create, happy scrapping!!

Hi everyone!  Jeni here with a quick and easy photo tip.  I don’t know about you but I often end up with a few photos that are overexposed.  Here is a super quick and easy way to save those photos!

First, here’s my straight out of the camera shot –

This is a picture of my daughter when she was about 4 at my sister’s wedding.  I love her bright smile, but you can see how her face is blown out a little.  It was a very bright sunshiny day!  So here’s what we’ll do to fix it up.  (I’m using PSCS3 but these directions should work in any PS version and Elements.  I’m sure you can adapt it to most other programs as well.)  First, do your basic editing of the photo like removing noise or defogging (Unsharp mask filter set to Amount – 20%; Radius – 60 pixels; Threshold – 0.  I do this for every photo!) 

Next, make a duplicate layer of your photo by dragging your first layer to the little square in your layers palette that says "Create a new layer."  Now change the new layer’s blending mode to "Multiply."  Voila!!  My photo is much better now.  You can repeat these steps if you need some more fixing.  I actually knocked the opacity down to about 80% on my "Multiply" layer because I thought it was a bit much.  Here’s my after photo:

See how easy this technique is?  An quick too, so give it a try!

D is for Dog by WM[squared] Designs:

“Hang ‘Em High Templates” by Britt-ish Designs

Autumn Time by GG Digital Designs

Woodland Fantasy by Erica Zane

Frames Provided! by Sya’s BlueprintsHappy, Happy Birthday by Jeni Hopewell

Kelly’s Apple Farm by Happy Scrap Girl Designs

Everyday Elegance by Stolen Moments

Hi All!  MickeyB here to bring you the next Saturday Special!  Now I am no expert on curves or photo enhancing, but I can tell you that a little tweeking of your photos can go a long way to making your pictures and layouts really sparkle!  So for this Saturday Special we are going to play a little with some adjustment options.  I use CS3, so my instructions go along with that program, but I am sure most programs should give you the options too.  You will need to use some adjustments in your layout and show your before and after shots so we can all see the improvements!

Below is a before and after example of the photo I am going to use as an example.  As you can see, some subtle changes can really improve the look of your photo.

Here is what I did:
First open your photo in PS.  Go to Image-adjustments-curves.  In the example below you will see the box for adjusting your curves.  You will use the + (your cursor) to move the line you see in the box.  Make sure to have the preview option checked so you can see what changes you are making!  

I tend to slide my line up on the right side a bit to do some lightening and then I slide the line down a tad on the left to darken (you will see that the entire photo doesn’t darken, just certain parts of it).

If you slide too much you might get an odd look to your photo or if you want a real fairytale feel you can sometimes achieve that look by over adjusting the curves some.  In the example below you can see that the photo just doesn’t look as nice as the example above.

Now, after you are happy with your curves adjustment, you can either stop there or adjust your Hue/Saturation some.  In my example, I have adjusted the Saturation level a little to get some red out.  You will go to Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation.  On the top of the box you can access a drop down menu and pick what color channel you would like to change.  You can adjust the hue/saturation of all colors or pick a color.  For my example I chose red since I wanted to tone down a little redness I saw in my son’s face.  Move the slider a little until you like the results and your done!

Here is my layout using my adjusted photo!

Credits to AnnaBV Designs kit Good Night Moon and Jeni Hopewell’s MickeyB’s Font

Here are some more examples for you from the ScrapMatters CT!

By Kimbytx using Caribbean Wedding by MickeyB Designs

By Jendavey using Galactic Alliance by Brittish Designs

Before pics:

After:

 And from Loribear using Pressed Petals kit Falling for Autumn and Jeni’s Hopewell’s MickeyB’s Font

 You have till the end of September to finish this challenge.  Make sure you post your layout in the 9/19 Saturday Special forum thread with your link and to the Saturday Special Gallery for credit.  You will receive and extra point for using any NEW ScrapMatters designs so make sure to also mention that when posting!  I will pick a winner at the end of the month!  Have fun!