Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be here with all of you for this week’s What Matters Monday! As today is Memorial Day here in the States, I thought we’d talk a little about honoring the people that we love in our scrapbooks.  It can be so easy to get so caught up in getting your events and special moments scrapped that we forget about ensuring that we’re honoring those around us in our pages! As a mom of 3, I tend to scrapbook fairly consistently about my children and our day to day lives. What I’m not as good about is creating pages about all of the people in our lives – family, friends, co-workers, etc. – who make our lives so rich! They are such a huge part of our lives and yet we often forget to honor them in our pages! It’s people that matter the most! It’s people that bring us the human connectedness that is essential for our growth as people and that contributes to our quality of life .

I thought we could all use a gentle reminder that we need to be more mindful of ensuring that we include everyone we care about in our scrapbooks, particularly if we want to create personal, meaningful scrapbooks!  In an effort to give you some inspiration as you think of how to include those you love into your own scrapbook pages, here are a few pages that I’ve created which focus on the people that I love and how much they mean to me.

Credits:
A Beautiful Day Bundle by The Design Girl
My One and Only by Jenn Barrette and Fizzy Pop Designs

Credits:
Where The Heart Blooms by Erica Zane
Template by Ali Edwards

Credits:
Memories of You by Sarah Bennett

Credits:
Happy Go Lucky by Jennifer Barrette
“Be inspired – Bexy” templates by WM[squared] Designs

Credits:
Taste of Provence by By Becca
Strips n’ Pieces Templates Vol 2 by Sahlin Studio
Get Real – Realistic Drop Shadow Styles by Jennifer Barrette

Thanks for spending a bit of your Monday with me … I hope you found this post a helpful reminder to include the people you care about in your scrapbook pages! Have a great Monday!

My pick this week is this fabulous layout by tanyarank. Just look at that picture! It is just awesome and I love where she put the name cluster and the quote used. Great job!!

Congrats!!  The image is linked so head on over to the gallery or the forum and leave her some love!

-Tanya (TanyaH666)

This week I got to interview Erica Zane!  I love her designs and she is so much fun!  I loved learning about her in real life!

1. Your screen name? Your real name? erica zane for both, I’m very imaginative with my usernames….lol!

2. What is your main job/career? I can sum it all up in one word – MOM (oh, and I design on the side!)

3. Are you married/children/pets? Married with 4 kids (2 boys, 2 girls) and 1 lizard

4. Where is home for you?  Virginia – 30 miles or so outside of Washington, DC

5. How long have you lived in your city? I’ve been in this general area for about 11 years now I think

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  We just had the yummiest stuff yesterday, I think it’s my new fave – vanilla with real caramel in it (not the thin stuff – but real semi-hardened stuff, sooooo good!!)

7. Beverage of choice? usually water (but every now and then I crave Stewart’s orange cream soda)

8. What is your favorite childhood memory and have you scrapped it?  I don’t have specific one that jumps to mind, but I loved growing up in my super small hometown with my grandparents next door and my great grandparents down the street.  We had a huge yard and a creek behind our house, it was awesome!
 
9. What kind of camera do you have? canon rebel xt

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use? PC with Photoshop CS

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? I think it’s going on 4 years now but I’ve been addicted to Photoshop since 1994!  I stumbled across some digital kits while checking out paper scrapbook supplies online – it was love at first sight!

12. What was your 1st LO about?  Oh my goodness, I can’t even remember…I never posted my early LOs and I deleted them all off my computer years ago, lol!  But here is one of my oldest ones that I still have in an online gallery

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? I like baking sometimes…really I just like the eating part… I used to like to do craft projects but haven’t done much off my computer in a loooong time!  I did make my kids some aprons a few months ago, that was fun!

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? Time!  Where does it all go and why don’t I have any extra?  If I get interrupted too many times during a LO I just lose all mojo and have to start over later.

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? Does photography count – or is that too closely related? hehe!  I used to be way better with a camera, but since I had kids I’ve gotten lazy, lol!

16. What is one thing you tend not to use on layouts? A lot of layering…try as I might, I just can’t seem to pull it off!  I put everything from a kit on a page determined to layer…I move things around for ages & slowly remove one element at a time until I have a simple LO again, lol!

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?Usually fairly quiet…unless my hubby is playing a video game, hehe!  Sometimes if he’s not in his computer I’ll watch/listen to shows on Hulu while I scrap/design.  I always have water and lately lots of swiss rolls!  (I was trying to quit and that crazy Denise Beatty brought me 5 – yes FIVE – boxes of them…sadly I’m down to only 1 box – ack!!  Ok – after typing that I went to the fridge and grabbed a handful of baby carrots, I now feel much healthier…sort of…)

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?  A frame and wordart

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? I love green!!  On wait – everyone knows that already….and now my swiss roll addiction has been noted.  How about…   I hate heights.  Roller coasters freak me out, I won’t ride them.  I’m allergic to cats.

20. When did you start designing? What is your favorite product that you’ve designed? 3 Years ago I think…time keeps rushing by, it’s hard to keep track!  I’ve been having fun coming up with date sets lately but I always like my new kits the best!

21. How would you describe your design style? Realistic & fun

22. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation? My motivation comes mainly from colors…if I don’t care for the colors I’m working with, I just can’t pull anything together.  Usually if I start with a different swatch that I DO like, it all falls together!  I get inspiration from everywhere – clothes, stores, magazines, fashion and especially from nature!  I was looking through my cell phone photos the other day & saw a photo of a random house I pass on the way to pick my son up from school…I was trying to remember why I took it & then noticed the colors – I thought the colors of the flowers in the yard against the house shutters was a fab combo, lol!

23. Which of your kits showcases your style the most? Hmmm, maybe “Forest Friends” or “Cute Lil’ Kaylee”…?

24. What is your favorite color scheme to design with? Anything with green.  Seriously. I think I have a problem…

25. Favorite kit you’ve designed?  One of my current faves is “What Say?” but I also love the feel of “EZ Breezy”

Thanks Erica for letting us get to know you better!! And I know that these kits have you hankering for more so check out Erica’s full store here!

-Dawn (Aussiegirl)

Hello everyone!! This is Kathleen, here to bring you another Sat Special challenge. This time we’ll be focusing on balancing our layouts. I recently read an AMAZING article by Debbie Hodges over at The Daily Digi (you can find the full article here). She talks a lot about how to make our pages much more pleasing to look at and, thus, tell our story well in an interesting way. Debbie talks about using horizontal, vertical, or radial balance to give your elements (photos, papers, elements, etc.) a certain weight on the page. She also explains symmetrical vs. asymmetrical balance, which also helps draw visual interest into our layouts. Your challenge this time around is to use these design principles to create a well-balanced, visually-pleasing page. So I would encourage you to read through the article and start applying those principles in your scrapping!! Again, Debbie’s informative article can be found here.

And here are a few examples from the CT and me….

canadianmommy used Vibrant Memories by Pri Rocha for this page –

becca1976 created this layout, using Dandelion Wishes by Jennifer Barrette –

hoo-rah used Whimsy by Purple Tulip Designs, Growth Spurt by Jennifer Barrette (wordart), and My Buddy by Sarah Bennett (kraft paper) to create this page –

and I lifted one of the LOs in Debbie’s article, using Focus – The Kit, a collab by Page Frocks, Sweet Tomato Designs, and Heather Hess; Stitched Borders by Page Frocks; Date Stamped by Britt-ish Designs; and Scratched Notes by Sahlin Studio –

Now for the nitty-gritties:
-Since this challenge takes place during the last week of the month, you actually have till the end of JUNE to complete and post your entry. Be sure to post it to the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum.
-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 June I will randomly select one layout to 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.

It’s time for the next It’s in the Cards Challenge!

Come to the Scrap Matters Challenge Forum and join us! Download the template and let’s get crafty!

Here’s our template:

I used the kit Spring Blush by, Page Frocks

Here are some examples from our wonderful team!

This one by LuAnn is soo Fun! Love it!

Uses Golden Girls’ Party On! kit and Party On Construction Papers

Look at this pretty one by Melissa

Using EricaZane’s EZ Elegance and Krisi’s Kreations’ Write It Out Sentiments

Isn’t this so cute by, Cristina

Kiss That Frog by Britt-ish Designs and DeCrow Designs

So, lets see those cards! Post away! I can’t wait to see!

Julie

For this week’s GTL, I’ve chosen gonewiththewind.. Cheryl always has the most gorgeous clusters and photo treatments around – and her overall composition is just fabulous, too! Check out her gallery HERE, and pick a page to lift – I know you’ll have a hard time narrowing it down, lol… I’d also like to challenge you to do something special to your photo(s), the same way Cheryl does – run an action, do some selective coloring, anything that speaks to you and helps enhance the page.

Here’s the original I lifted…

…and my take on it…

{uses Waterpark, Life’s a Beach, and Enjoy the Moment – all by Sahlin Studio}

And now some fabulous inspiration pages from our SO AWESOME team…

WM[Squared] chose this one…

and turned it into this…

{uses Fresh Squeezed by Jennifer Barrette}

misfitinmn lifted…

…and created

{uses Woodland Fantasy by Erica Zane; DJB Poppyseed}

cursivesmile took this one…

and magic’d it into this…

{using Good Times All Around; All About Dating; Opposites Attract; & On The Edge Photo Borders V.2, by Haynay Designs}

iisuzieii chose this one…

and created this…

{uses Let’s Go Bowling by Andilynn Designs and Boy’s and Their Toys by GG Digital Designs}

profiler_mar picked this beauty…

and worked it into this…

{using Ephemeral Soul, from By Becca and Designs by Helly}

kimbytx was inspired by this one…

and took a more colorful approach…

{uses Everyday by Sahlin Studio, Up the Ante: Candy Color by MyFourHens}

Now – after all that eye candy, I’m sure you’re dying to play along, too!    All you need to do is head on over to the forum to get going.. Can’t wait to see you there! 

Hello gals!  Wendy here with the last Tuesday Template of May.  Can you believe it?  In a few days it’ll be June!  Wow!!  Half of the year is gone!!  Weird.  lol.   Ok, enough of that!  Lets get on with it, shall we?  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:  Vintage Summer:  Bundle, Simply Dated V.9 both by me, WM[squared] Designs

Here is some inspiration from the ScrapMatters CT/DT:

Layout By: Amy

Credits: Love Everyday by Designs by Tater & Happy Scrap Girl, Doodle Alpha by Designs by Tater

Layout By: Annisa

Credits: Fresh N’ Funky and Sunshine Alpha by The Golden Girls and Happiness Is by LawTeeDa

Layout By: Becca

Credits: Passport Required from Creations By Rachael

Layout By: Bonnie

Credits: Family Fun, Family Fun Word Art, & The Longest Date by Plum Dumpling Designs; Plastics by Sahlin Studio; In Stitches: Basics by Britt-ish Designs; & Kari by Jeni Hopewell

Layout By:  Cristina

Credits: Shopaholic mini and add-on by Plum Dumpling Designs, Kraft paper from Background Essentials by Jennifer Barrette, Stitches from Stitch Me Up: Combo by Chelle’s Creations, Photo actions by Pioneer Woman and Totally Rad Font: CK mini

Layout By:  Lori

Credits: Enjoy by Golden Girls Design, Happy Place by Golden Girls Design

Layout By:  Sara

Credits: Denim Days by Creations by Rachael; Big Stamp Alpha by Jennifer 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 May *AND* all of June 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

Today is my husband’s birthday (happy birthday my love)!

It got me thinking about how we don’t take many photos together. This photo of us was taken around our 9th wedding anniversary in 2007.

Seriously, it’s been over 2 years since we took a photo together? Now, I don’t know about you but I think that is too long! I document the lives of our children with numerous photos, scrap pages and yearly calendars. And we have taken tons of family photos of the four of us…but what about those “Just Us” photos? Since 2007, I have lost 45lbs and I look better now than I have in years, so why do I not have a more recent photo with my husband? I don’t have an answer that doesn’t sound like an excuse so can I just say that I am on a mission to get a recent photo taken with my hubby and I mean SOON! The moments that matter are the ones shared with your loved ones, so don’t let those precious moments pass with your significant other, take the time to be photographed with them! I encourage you to take the time to get a photo with your beloved; sooner rather than later!

Happy Monday!
Hugs,
Jami (alansrock)

My pick this week was a little layout by charmedeebob called Love Forever. I picked it because I’m a sucker for white space and I love the clustering she did. And maybe because of the sweet baby photo that steals the spotlight on the page. I adore this page – you did a fantastic job Charmaine!

Congrats!! Please head over to the gallery or the forum to leave her some much deserved love!!

-Melanie (scrappymelly)

1. Your screen name? Your real name? My screen name is JillyFish.  My real name is….surprise….Jill!

2. What is your main job/career? I’m a SAHM of three.

3. Are you married/children/pets?  I’ve been married to my husband Mike for 16 1/2 years.  We have three kids….Sam is 11, Noah is 10, and Grace is 9.  We also have a dog named Sugar.
 
4. Where is home for you? Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

5. What are your 3 favorite foods?  Pizza, chocolate, and pretty much anything Mexican.

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate Moose Tracks

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet? Mostly sweet….but if I eat to many sweets I need to compensate with a little salty.  It’s a vicious cycle!

8. Beverage of choice? Hmmm…..don’t think I have a favorite, but I drink a lot of hot beverages.

9. What’s your least favorite food? Asparagus and macaroni and cheese from a box.

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use? PC. I scrap with PSE6.

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? I’ve been digi-scrapping for almost two years. (I had paper scrapped for several years.) I had seen some layouts online and wanted to give it a try since paper scrapping had become so cumbersome. So my husband bought me some scrapbooking software for Mother’s Day. I got hooked, eventually switched to PSE, and the rest is history.

12. What was your 1st LO about? I don’t remember for sure what my first layout was about. But my daughter and I had just been on a mother/daughter trip to Disney World shortly before I started digi-scrapping so a lot of my first layouts were about that.
 
 
13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)?  I wish I had time for more hobbies but I do enjoy reading, decorating my home, and traveling.

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? I really like my layouts to look like a real paper layout as much as possible, so I guess the most challenging part is getting the shadows just right.

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? I wish now that I had continued to take piano lessons as a child and could play better.  Maybe someday.
16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? I like reality TV……Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, Celebrity Apprentice. My husband and I have recently starting watching The Office and are trying to get caught up on old episodes.

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where? I scrap at my computer desk in our living room, usually with the TV on in the background. Sometimes I snack or have a hot drink, but not always.

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be? Ooh, that’s hard!  Probably a staple and a string.

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? Well, I don’t know if it’s a little known fact anymore, but all three of my children were adopted from India and I have made two trips there.

20. Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?  I don’t really think I have a scrapping style. I think the kit I use usually dictates the style of the page and I like to try a lot of different things.

21. Favorite LOs that you have done? 

 
Gosh, it sure is hard to narrow it down!!

Thanks so much for letting us get to know you better Jill!! Check out her full gallery here!

-Lisa (kelsyll)

-

Hey Melissa (Yzerbear19) here with a very useful and handy technique that I am sure you will want to use over and over again.

One of my favorite things is blocking. A really easy way to get a fabulous blocked layout is to use the grid. Below is a example of what it looks like with the grid turned on:

To turn on the grid – Depending on which version you use, these steps might be a bit different. These were written with Photoshop 7.0

In Photoshop

1. Select VIEW

2. Then select SHOW

3. Choose GRID

OR

Hit CTRL + “

In Photoshop Elements – This is done using PSE 7

1. Select VIEW

2. Select GRID

OR

Hit CTRL + ‘

Here’s how to use the grid in SBC+ 3.0 – Instructions by Jan (QuiltyMom) Thanks Jan!

Bring up an empty page. Go to the >View tab and click on >Grid.

You’ll then see a box with instructions. You will want to check the two boxes in the >Grid section to have the lines show up on your page, and to have the elements all line up to the gridlines as you move them. The ruler is nice if you want everything to be at one line. (I always have these boxes checked.) Then make sure the grid spacing is as you’d like it. I like the 1/4″ grid spaces, but you can change them as you desire.

When you click “ok” you will see the grid on your page. Add empty photo frames, unlock the aspect ratio, then begin to size and move as desired. I always start with empty photo frames because it’s easy to flatten them later if I want.

Once you have the grid turned on, use it to draw a square or rectangle. I use the shape tool and then rasterize it.

You can duplicate the shape and use the grid to line up your squares/rectangles. The grid is also helpful in spacing objects evenly as shown in the photo below.

Once you have your layout as you want, you can link your items and move them around on the page.

Here is the layout I did with the example above. I created the three rectangles and positioned them how I wanted. I decided that I wanted the one photo to be staggered a bit. Then I duplicated it once more for the fourth photo. I used the grid to align the photos. I then shrunk them a bit to fit better on the page.

Pick a Pearl

Credits: “I’m Yours” by Britt-ish Designs and DeCrow Designs, “Alice” by Britt-ish Designs, “Imperial Girl” by Britt-ish Designs, “Taste of Asia” by Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studios, “Around the world” alpha by Sahlin Studio, and “Stamp my ABCs” by Britt-ish Designs

Here are some of the layouts I’ve done using this technique.

Magic Carpet Ride – For this layout I created the shape for the photos and overlapped some of them. I also used the grid to create the shapes for the paper pieces.

Kilimanjaro Safaris - For this one I use the grid to create the pattern, alternating shape sizes.

IHOP: Come Hungry, Leave Happy – For this one I used the grid to create the shapes, but then put them a bit askew for a more haphazard look.

Your challenge: Is to create a blocked layout using the grid.

***** This is VERY important: Please do not use any premade templates for this challenge.*****
The intent of this challenge is to use the grid to create your own blocking. I would consider the use of any kind of template for this challenge cheating.

Here is some inspiration from the fabulous SM creative team:

by TanyaH666:

Credits: the Makin’ Me Happy kit and Makin’ Me Happy: Happiness Add-on from Stolen Moments Designs

By Becca1976

Credits: Boys and their toys by GG Digital Designs

By QuiltyMom

Credits: Bon Appetit by Britt-ish Designs and SuzyQ Scraps, and Flair Dates by Britt-ish Designs.

by ktanker:

Credits: Batter up by Chelle’s Creations

Aren’t those layouts incredible? You will find that using the grid is very EASY! And once you try it, I am sure you will use it over and over again.

Some important reminders:

-You have until the end of May to post your entry. Be sure to post it to the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum.

-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 May I will select one layout to receive a bonus point for their next month’s total.

-You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products, but we like it when you do.

Hi, everyone!  I’m here to bring you the hybrid highlights for May.  The hybrid gallery is overflowing with so many amazing projects.  If I could list them all I probably would have!  So, make sure to check out the entire Hybrid Layouts and Projects  gallery when you have a minute.  But for now I’ll share some of my favorites here.

I am always up for a cute bookmark, so I had to include these by Juliemomof4. 

I LOVE this card purse by tiffanydimples.  Isn’t it tweet?

Check out these bottle cap magnets by scrappymelly.  What a great idea . . . I definitely want to add these to my ever-growing list of things to make!

Are you still on the hunt for that perfect gift for your child’s teacher?  The hybrid gallery here has tons of inspiration.  I LOVE this joke book by scrappin5kids . . . what a clever idea!

Or this super cute pencil holder by Fran98765:

I think the packaging of a gift makes all the difference.  The ScrapMatters store is filled with so many different templates.  Use your favorite school kit to customize one for a teacher like Debra did here:

I hope you enjoyed this month’s hybrid highlights.  All of the images are linked, so feel free to take a closer look and leave some love while you’re there.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Jaime