Hi- Suzanne here to present to you our Grand Theft layout today. As part of the CT we try really hard to keep an updated list of the people we have chosen for our Grand Theft Layout challenge, so we don’t repeat ourselves too much, but I just found out that the girl I chose was actually done back in January as well! So sorry for the repeat, but you gotta know that if 2 of us have picked her- her gallery’s got to be good right?? So even if you did her before, I am sure you can find another layout to have fun with.

This week we are lifting the amazing gallery of kathleena. Her gallery is full of amazing layouts and I had a hard time just picking one! I finally decided to lift her layout Happiness is a cookie

And here is what I created from her layout, using papers and elements from my kit School Days:

Wendy lifted Winter Walk

and created this beautiful layout using “Lightness of Being” by By Becca & Designs by Helly, “Explain It” by Tangie Baxter, and “Bundle – Week 1″ by Tangie Baxter

Sara lifted Daddy’s Pony Express

And here’s her layout using 10 Tiny Toes by Stolen Moments & Jessica Edwards.

Next up is Becky who lifted Puzzums

And here is her page she created using Remember Me and Memories of You from Designs by Sarah Bennett, Stitched Up CU from Chelle’s Creations, frame (altered) from SM Designer Collab March 2010 – Kids At Play.

Now it’s your turn- go check out kathleena’s gallery and find a layout that inspires you. You can lift the layout, the kit she used, a title, whatever you want. Make your page and then go post it in the gallery and in the challenge thread. And here are a few reminders:

* you get one point for completing the challenge (that includes posting your layout in the gallery AND the challenge thread in the forum)

* you can earn an extra point if you use a new release product in your layout during the week of it’s release. (You must make note of what new product you used when posting your layout in the forum.)

* I will also pick one winner at the end of the month to receive 1 more bonus point

* last but not least- since this challenge is on the last day of the month if you complete the challenge today you will receive your points for March- if not you receive your points for April.

That’s it- now go have some fun!!

-Suzanne

Hi! It’s Heather (Haynay)! I hope all of you are having an amazing week! I have no rules necessarily for this challenge today, only that it must be a 2-pager! I’ve started doing more and more 2 page layouts and thought I’d challenge you all to do the same! Here, take a look!

Here is the page I created using the template and Haynay’s Chronicling Life Collection.

And, for some inspiration from the SM CT… Amanda (abhall76) did this using Credits: Stitch Me Up: Frames by Chelle’s Creations, Sunday Best by Jeni Hopewell & Stacy’s Backdoor Designs and Get Real: Shadows by Jennifer Barrette Designs.

Becky did this one using Enjoy – Full Kit from the GG Digital Designs (a.k.a. the Golden Girls), Cardboard: Colors from Juno Designs, Foam Stamp Alpha Black from Sahlin Studios, Snip-tastic B&W Alpha from Jennifer Barrette Designs, Two-page Template from Haynay Designs

Stacy’s page is made with Sahlin Studio’s Innovation.

You can go HERE to download the template!

And, HERE is the forum where the challenge is located!

Now before you go, just a few quick reminders:

* Post your layouts to the Tuesday Template gallery, then link us up here so we can leave you lots of love !
* You will earn one point by participating in this challenge. You can receive an EXTRA point for using a product that has been released in the seven days prior to your post – be sure to make a note of this in your post so you receive proper credit!
* Your layout must be unique to this challenge – no double dipping..
* You have the rest of March to complete the layout, and all of April as well, since this challenge starts the last week of March!

Have fun and be creative!!!

This week I had the privilege of interviewing Sarah from Designs by Sarah Bennett. A few months ago we got to learn about Sarah and how she got started with scrapbooking but I wanted to know more about how she got started with designing and what inspires her beautiful kits. Take a look!

1. Your screen name? Your real name? Sarah Bennett. It used to be sarahtawisha, but I changed it once I started selling here.

2. What is your main job/career? I’ve been a SAHM since 2006

3. Are you married/children/pets? I’ve been married for 3 1/2 years and have a 2 y/o boy and 1 y/o girl. We also have a black lab.

4. Where is home for you? I live in a small town in central Indiana.

5. What are your 3 favorite foods? I could eat bing cherries, potatoes in any form or a homemade pot roast all the time.

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I don’t really care for ice cream, but I do like any fruity frozen yogurt or sorbet. I also love the frozen fruit bars.

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet? I don’t snack very often, but I probably prefer sweets.

8. Beverage of choice? Cherry Coke.

9. What’s your least favorite food? Foods that I could live without would have to be celery (especially cooked), bell peppers and italian sausage.

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use? PC. I do my designing in both CS4 and PSP12, but scrap only in PSP.

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? I’ve been digiscrapping since late 2006. I got started through a BabyCenter birth board. There was a digiscrapping thread where a few girls were just learning how to do it and I joined in. After I got the hang of it, I was instantly hooked. Several of us are still scrapping together and it has been an awesome experience learning together.

12. What was your 1st LO about? I honestly don’t remember what my first layout was about, but I’m sure it was of my son. A while ago I went through and deleted all of my early pages. They were honestly that bad.

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? I like to read, try new recipes and bargain shop to name a few.

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? Finding pictures to match the kit that I’m working with or trying to find a kit that matches the pictures I want to scrap. Maybe if I was a little more organized this wouldn’t be my most challenging? I also feel like I struggle with titles.

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? I have been really into making more wholesome meals for my family. I watched a documentary last December and it has really changed my perspective on the things we allow in our body. I’ve made it a real effort this year to cut out the majority of preservatives and processed foods from our diets and would love to learn how to get my family to eat these new things that I make now.

16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? I don’t really watch a lot of tv that isn’t animated, but I do try to catch How I Met Your Mother and will watch late night Food Network before I go to bed. Alton Brown is my idol.

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where? I usually scrap when the kids go to bed. My desk is in my living room and most of the time the TV is on Food Network or is off. I also like to listen to Pandora and always have a Cherry Coke right next to me.

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be? Right now I’d have to say flowers and some type of fastener. I wouldn’t want anything falling of my page.

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? hmmm…. I am the only right handed child in my family. My siblings are all lefties.

20. When did you start designing? What is your favorite product that you’ve designed? I played around a little with designing at the beginning of 2009, but didn’t start selling until June 2009. I love them all in different ways, but I think my favorite is Sister Sue or the Storytime collab I did with Lil’ Digi Bits by Jude and Stacy’s Backdoor Designs.

21. How would you describe your design style? Good question. I don’t know that I really have a defined style. I like to do things that are versatile enough to scrap young children and adult pages. I also love making pretty things.

22. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation? Everywhere. Mainly, my kids. The things they’re into, their clothes, the books and toys they play with. Sometimes though, I just see colors that call my name and those have been some of the best things I’ve made. I have so many ideas of things that I want to do.

23. Which of your kits showcases you style the most? They’re all different, but I think that it just shows my versatility in my designs, but I’d have to say Memories of You, Spunky Monkey and Tough Boy

24. What is your favorite color scheme to design with? I have a thing for muted colors. Bright colors make me a little nervous, but right now they’re what my kids like to look at so I try to throw some in there every now and then.

Thanks Sarah for letting us get to know you better!! Check out her awesome store here!

-Amber (jeffsamber)

Today we are going to talk about color correcting scanned photos.

Here is my original photo:

*I scan my photos at 300dpi at a minimum.
*The first thing I do is Auto Color Correction.
*Then I play around with the hues. On this photo I desaturated the yellow and red tones a little more.
*Then I play around with the brightness & contrast.
*The last thing I do is sharpen my photo.

And here is what my edited photo looks like:

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

Here’s the page I created using The Carrot Patch by Chelle’s Creations:

And here’s what the rest of the team did…
Melissa used My Honey Bunny Collection by Connie Prince:

Wendy used her “Be Inspired – Tanya” template & Bunny Foo Foo by Brittish Designs:

Becca used “Just Call Me Kim” templates by Stolen Moments and Happy Easter Bundle by WM[Squared] Designs:

Challenge reminders:
-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum, be sure to show us your before and after photos too please! You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post. And at the end of April I will choose my favorite layout for a bonus point!

-You have until the end of March to complete your layout for your points to be counted towards March points. Otherwise post your layout after the first of the month to be counted towards April points.

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

-You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

So grab a photo and get to scanning!
-Jami

Hey everyone! Deb (dbrprc) here with our next It’s in the Cards challenge!

Remember: the rules of the challenge are:
*To earn your Matter of Scrap point for the month you need to photograph and upload your card to the Hybrid Challenge – It’s In The Cards gallery by the end of April -  you get more time since it’s almost the end of March. Then post it in the challenge thread as well. Make sure to let your hostess know if you use a new product within a week of it’s release – if you do, you get an extra point! One random winner will be chosen to receive an extra point!*

Here’s our template:

Download HERE

Here’s my card using Easter Morning by Stolen Moments and Man in the Moon Designs…

And here is a card from Melissa (profiler_mar) using Sweetest Days by Erica Zane…

I hope you will play along!

Hey scrappers Jenn (jennamy82) here with a new Grand Theft layout challenge! For this challenge I have chosen one my favorite scrappers here at SM, Yolanda (y_baros) for this week.

You can check out her fabulous gallery HERE.

CT Inspiration:

Lift of Growing Up:

Layout by me-jennamy82:

Lift of Look at You Grow:

Layout by Cyndi_146:

Lift of Born 2 Rock:

Layout by alansrock:

Lift of Precious Piggies:

Layout by profiler_mar:

Lift of All I want for Christmas:

Layout by jeffsamber:

Lift of I’m the Bomb:

Layout by Stefanie:

A few reminders:

*You will receive one point for posting your layout in forum thread & in the Grand Theft Layout gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post in the forum. At the end of April I will choose one layout at random for a bonus point!

*You have until the end of April to complete your layout for your points to be counted towards April points.

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

*You don’t have to use Scrap Matters products, but we love it when you do!

Have fun!! can’t wait to see your layouts!

It’s Tuesday Template time! Wendy here with another template!  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’s *MY* LO:

Credits:  Banana Split by Gwenipoo Designs & Brittish Designs

Here is some inspiration from the ScrapMatters CT/DT:

Layout By:  becca372

Credits: Memories of You by Sarah Bennett

Layout By:  gavinsmom

Credits: Clouds Over My Head by Jenn Barrette

Layout By:  jeffsamber

Credits: Season of Giving by Sahlin Studio

Layout By:  jendavey

Credits: Gypsy Girl by WM[squared] Designs & Get Real Drop Shadows by Jenn Barrette

Layout By:  kim21673

Credits: Daisy Crazy by Trixie Scraps and Madame Wing

Layout By:  lionsimba

Credits:

Layout By:  quiltymom

Credits: Land of Fantasy by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studios

Layout By:  cursivesmile

Credits: Easter Salutations Kit, Britt-ish Designs & Studio Tangie Collab

Layout By:  yzerbear19

Credits: Memories of You by Designs by Sarah Bennett

Layout By:  scrappurple

Credits: Dare To Dream by Jenn Barrette

Feel inspired? Good! Now go download the template –>>  HERE and lemme see what ya got! I’ve included both the .psd and .png files for you!

The “Fine Print” aka the Matter of Scrap Challenge rules:

You have the rest of March 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!

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

Happy Scrapping!!

Wendy

Hello everyone. Tiffany here with a few books to help you better understand your camera.

If you have a DSLR (or even a point n shoot) & are a bit intimidated on taking it off the auto mode & using the manual mode, then these books are pretty good to start with. Now I want to make something clear. This is in no way a paid endorsement. These books are just my opinion &  I have found that they helped me a lot.

For starters Bryan Peterson has this wonderful book out called Understanding Exposure.

This book is wonderful. It is easy to read & understand. It starts you right off on simple lessons to get you out of Auto mode. It takes you step by step to understanding all the terms & understanding what each option on your camera means & how you can use it to best suit your needs.

There is also a book called Beyond Portraiture. This book shows you how to take creative photos of people.

It has some great tips on using light & shadows. A great book in helping you to take better photos of family & friends.

Also, if you are new to DSLR or if you have had one for awhile & want to understand your specific camera better there are tons of books available. I have the Nikon D90. I LOVE my camera but wanted to understand it bit better than the manual that came with it. So I bought Nikon D90 for Dummies. It has really helped me better understand my camera.

I hope these references have helped. I was so intimidated in using the manual mode on my camera. Let’s face Auto was just so much easier. I’m glad I took the lessons in the book though. It really helped me understand & it wasn’t like reading a foreign language.

You can probably finds tons of books to help you at your local library too.

It was another great week of beautiful layouts in the gallery this week.  I book marked so many when browsing through the gallery.  But I absolutely had to pick Perfectly Beautiful by Aprilisa.  The soft colors, beautiful patterned papers and fabulous element layering all just highlight her lovely photos.  And I love the double border of green papers down the left side.  What an awesome page!

Congrats Aprilisa!!  Head on over to the gallery  or the forum and leave her some love!!

- Judy (jupiter394)

I was very excited to see it was my week for the Sunday Spotlight and knew right where to go.
 1.  Your screen name? Your real name?  My diginames are kmkarayannis and mermaid913. My real name is Kim.
2.  What is your main job/career? I am 10 years into the career I started dreaming of in 8th grade, teaching high school history.
 
3.  Tell us your favorite teaching moment or story?  This is hard…because there are funny teacher stories and heartwarming teacher stories. I have been very fortunate to have past students that communicate with me about the impact they felt I have had on them and I am very grateful for that. But how about a funny story from my first year? I had students in my class make flashcards the day before a test and then pair up and work on the flashcards with each other. I knew I had an odd number of students, so I would have to pair up with one of them, and to find out who it was, I said in true bumbling new teacher fashion, “Who needs to be flashed?” oh.my.gosh.
4. Are you married/children/pets?  I have been married to my hubby for 5 years. I have 4 stepdaughters and my hubby and I have a son who will be turning 3 on March 18th!
5. Where is home for you?   I grew up in Southern CA but have been living in Northern VA for 10 years now. My hubby and I met when we both started teaching at the same school at the same time.

 6. What are 3 of your favorite books?   Just 3??? Lord of the Rings Trilogy, anything by Phillippa Gregory, or how about Pillars of the Earth? I love historical fiction.
7. What are your favorite T.V. shows or movies?   I am a Disney lover, and my family and I enjoy “Idol”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, and a few others.
8. What is your favorite color? And can we find it in your layouts?   I LOVE green, and I think it makes its way into most of my layouts!
9. What type of camera do you use?   I JUST got a new camera for Christmas, a Canon Rebel Xsi, which I am slowly starting to learn about. I love it!
10. PC or Mac? What program do you use to scrap?   I’m a PC and I use PSE 8.
11. Do you print out your pages for scrapbooks? If so, how?   I have printed pages using Costco and books using Winkflash.

12. How long have you been digiscrapping? How did you get started?  I started digiscrapping in January of 2008 when my only store with paper scrapping supplies closed. I have never looked back!
13. What was your first layout? These are pretty funny! I made them all with products from Designer Digitals (just trying to give credits to be appropriate) and I LOVED that I had made something that I thought looked so great! How about those inner shadows? Yikes! 


 
14. What is the most challenging part of digiscrapping for you?
Composition! If I can get inspired by an idea of where things could be on the page, I can take off from there!

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? Manage my time? Because I am currently working on my master’s in history, I would like to be better at writing papers that sound smart. I don’t like B’s.

16. Describe your creative environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?Anyway, anyhow I can!! I use my laptop anywhere in the house, but I get a lot more done when my little man is asleep!

17. Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?  I tend to use a lot of photos on pages, which is something I am trying to work on. I love clustering and creative title work.

18. If you could only use two elements on a layout, what would they be?  Scatters and strips!

19. Any words of wisdom for anyone just starting out with digiscrapping?  Jump into a community (like ScrapMatters!) and start participating in challenges! It completely changes my scrapping to see the inspiration in the gallery and start talking to the amazing people here.

20. How did you come to find ScrapMatters? What keeps you here?  I was looking for Disney digi-supplies and found Britt’s products, which led me here. I LOVE the community, the challenges, and the products. I recently made it onto my first CTs ever, Andilynn’s and Sarah Bennett’s, and I am SO VERY excited about that!

21. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…I promise, I won’t tell?  I am an open book, but a little known fact about me in the digiworld is that I spent a semester in Greece while I was in college and got to visit a lot of other places while I was there.

22. Are there any favorite pages that you have done?
EveryDay Magic:Object – I love this page because I thought it was pretty creative and I did it shortly after I joined ScrapMatters!

 
I do NOT….ANYMORE! – I love this one on my son because it is REAL LIFE!

 
Cameron on the move – And I was really proud of this one too. I think it just shows how I am improving.

Thank you so much Kim for letting us all get a chance to know you better.  Check out Kim’s awesome gallery here !! And Kim is also a Project 365 blogger, which is how I got to know her.  You can check out Kim’s P365 blog here !
 
 - Judy (jupiter394)

Happy Spring for those in the Northern Hemisphere!
Emilee here for your next Saturday Special.  I thought we could build on what we learned last week with Heidi (scrappurple) and talk more about stitches and shadowing our stitches.  I think stitches are a fun way to make a digital LO look ‘real’ and they add a lot of character to a LO. That being said, stitches can be tricky to shadow. Here are a few tips to remember when shadowing stitches:

**ZOOM IN…Stitches are small and you really need to zoom in close to the stitch to see exactly what you shadow looks like
**LESS IS MORE…think about what stitches look like IRL–they are very close to the paper and therefore have a subtle shadow. Decrease the opacity to lighten the shadow and increase the subtlety.
**SOFTEN the shadow a bit (using ‘Size’ in PSE). Stitches are made from a fiber and won’t cast a ‘hard’ shadow like a piece of paper, but rather a softer shadow. Of course a thicker stitch will require a different shadow than a thinner stitch.

The key is to zoom in and play around with your settings until you have a realistic shadow for your stitching. Or if you don’t want to worry about it at all, you can purchase Jenn Barrette’s Realistic Drop Shadow Styles.

When you are adding stitches to a LO pay attention to what you are ‘stitching’–two pieces of paper, pic to paper, ribbon to paper, etc. Adjust your stitches so that they look like you used your sewing machine. Get creative and duplicate stitches on top of each other to create a messy-look, create grids, use different types of stitches and HAVE FUN!

Here is an example from me, an Easter card using Man in the Moon and Stolen Moments new collab Easter Morning:

and some more examples from our talented Creative Team…

from Courtney using 5 a day by Erica Zane and Circle Stitches, Love Life, Wire Rimmed Alpha, and Film Clipping Masks by Sahlin Studio:

from Becca using Sweetest days by Erica Zane:

from Cyndi using All About Photos Template Pack 2 by Purple Tulip Designs, Stitch Me Up by Chelle’s Creations and the Everyday Grab Bag SM Designer Collab:

You only have 11 days to participate in this Saturday Special so you better get started. You’ll need to upload your LO using stitches to the Saturday Special Gallery and to this forum. You can receive ONE point for participating in the challenge and another point for using a new product from the SM store–please indicate here if you used a new product. At the end of March I’ll choose a LO to receive an additional point towards your April total.  Remember, no double-dipping and this challenge closes March 31.

Emilee (emileem)