I’m excited to kick off a new hybrid post we’re going to have.  Each month you can come here and get a great hybrid tutorial.  We have an extremely creative, talented hybrid team here at SM, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

I recently released some fun CD/DVD folder and envelope templates in my shop, so I put together a little tutorial demonstrating how to assemble one of these.  I’ve created these folders and envelopes by hand for a while.  Anytime I made a mix CD for a friend, or wanted to give a bunch of photos to my sister, or whatever, I like to make a fun, coordinating case to put the disc in.  I finally decided to create a template for them, and I’m glad I did.  The process is so much faster now!  I have grand ideas of getting my favorite recipes typed up and giving them on a CD (in a cute folder or envelope, of course) as gifts.  I have the packaging idea, now the problem is finding the time to type up the recipes!

Okay, on to the tutorial.  First off, if you want to follow along, I’ve put this ready-to-print folder in my shop and am offering it FREE through the weekend.  Just click on the preview image below to take you to the store where you can put it in your cart, checkout (it will come up free automatically… no coupon necessary), and download it.
**Note: This printable is no longer free, but you can still get it for a great price if you want to follow along.**

Step 1: Download the kit you want to use and clip the papers to the masks in the template (or download the already-done-for-you one above). Print each page of the template… for this project there are 3 template pages. Gather your supplies.

Step 2: Cut out all the pieces for the folder.

Quick tip: If you have a 1” or larger circle punch, use that to punch the notch of the pocket for a nice, clean cut. If you don’t have a punch, scissors will work just fine.

Step 3: Score and fold along the dashed lines on the folder and pocket.

Step 4: Cut two pieces of ribbon each approximately 10-12 inches in length.  Apply a strong adhesive to 3-4 inches of the end of each ribbon.  Adhere a ribbon to each side of the inside of the folder.  Make sure to stick the ribbon far enough over that you’ll have enough length to tie it closed when the folder is finished.

Step 5: Adhere the inside panel pieces to each side of the inside of the folder covering the ribbon.  Make sure to cover the entire panel with adhesive so the edges and corners stay down. (I use a strong glue stick for this part.)

Step 6: Apply a strong adhesive to the tabs of the pocket. (My favorite adhesive for this part is Terrifically Tacky Tape.)  Adhere the pocket to the inside of the folder.  Add any other elements you want to the inside of the folder.

Step 7: Add any additional papers or elements you want to the outside.

There you have it.  I put a lot of pictures and steps so it would be easy to follow, but it really is quite simple to put together.  Once it’s printed, it doesn’t take much time at all to assemble.  I hope you enjoy this template!  If you have any questions on this tutorial (or any of my templates), feel free to PM me or e-mail me.

Jaime (Simply J Studio)

Welcome to another week of GTL!!! While looking though our list of who has been lifted, I noticed that Denise (neeceebee) has been lifted every October for the last 2 years!  Sooooo, I thought I would keep with tradition and lift her again this year!  :loveshower: You can find her gallery  here.  I know that she has also turned some of her layouts into templates that you can find in her store if you need a jump start. So what are you waiting for??? Get liftin’!

Here is the lo I lifted:

My lift:

Liz lifted:

Hers:

Jan lifted:

Hers:

Tanya lifted:

Hers:

You can see more lifts from our fabulous CT in the GTL thread located here. Can’t wait to see what YOU create!!

Remember to show the layout you lifted.
points rewarded
1. One point for participating
2. One point for a new product
3. One point for the winner

It’s Tuesday and that means a brand new Template Challenge! I’ve made today’s template from a LO I completed earlier this month. Use it as it is or flip it around and really make it your own. No rules today – just have fun with it!

{if there is a password, it’s happy }

Here is my LO that it’s based on…

Here is some CT inspiration for you…

From Shari… using Serenity by Happy Scrap Girl Designs and

Family Matters by WM[squared] Designs and Graham Like The Cracker

From Jaime using Bits & Bots by Stolen Moments

From Cara using Everyday Wishes by JennCK and Jennifer Labre

By Cinna using Denim Days by Creations by Rachael

by Lori using Serenity by Happy Scrap Girl Designs

Just a few reminders…

* You have until the end of October to complete this challenge. Please upload it to the Tuesday Template gallery and post your layout (linked) in this thread. This gives us all a chance to leave love for you!

* You will receive TWO points for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional TWO points 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 at 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!

Have fun – I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

Hello scrappers! Hope you had a great time this past weekend making memories and photographing them along the way. I did, and it prompted this photo tip blog post.

[Disclaimer: Okay, okay, so I have to give credit to my dear friend Tanya who suggested this tip to me when I showed her a photo from this weekend. I did the PPing on the photo, though, so I'm still counting it as my tip, too. ]

My family visited the pumpkin patch this weekend, and when I got home, I was disappointed that some of the photos had turned out less than stellar because of the time of day and direct sun we’d encountered on our trip. Last time I checked, my daughter and nephew were uninterested in waiting for 20 minutes in a perfect silent pose while I got equipment set up to compensate for the harsh shadows and glare and the sun is equally uncooperative when it comes to my asking it to duck behind some clouds long enough for me to grab a few shots, so I have had to take matters into my own hands (mouse?).

As you’ll see in just one second, the following photo is quite an adorable shot of my nephew, but notice his face is in shadow. Boohiss.

For a quick fix, you can do the following in Photoshop: Duplicate your photo. Set the duplicate layer to ‘Screen.’ Create a layer mask and then paint black over the parts of the image that you DO not want to be lightened up.

That’s it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy, wasn’t it?! Check out what this simple process did to the photo of my nephew:

See the difference? Of course, you could spend a lot more time manipulating your image if you wish, but this 5 minute process was good enough for me. I also used The Pioneer Woman’s ‘Warmer’ and ‘Slight Lighten’ actions (available on her website when I downloaded them a few months ago) and a defog action to finish up the photo. I will likely crop it down to just my nephew when I get around to using it on a layout, but you get the idea.

I hope this helps someone else out like it did me. Happy scrapping!

This week we are starting with one of our amazing resident designers, Amber of Stolen Moments Designs.  Then we will move on to one of our guest designers, Geek Chic.  So grab a snack and get ready to learn more about these awesome ladies!

1. Your screen name? Your real name? sm_amber /  real name is Amber

2. What is your main job/career? SAHM and digi-designer

3. Are you married/children/pets? married for 6 years, 2 kitty-babies, 1 DS who will be 3 in Jan

4. Where is home for you? LOL, nowhere right now.. We’re in transisition.. DH just finished grad school in MO, and after changing plans about 5 million times, I’m currently living in UT with my parents while he is in NYC.. But we’re looking for work somewhere other than NY now..

5. How long have you lived in your current city? Well, I grew up where I am now – so.. about 21 years.. We were in KCMO for 3 before I came here.

6. Have you ever met a famous person, and who was it? They filmed the old TV show Touched by an Angel in my hometown quite a bit, so I’ve met Roma Downey.. Jodi Sweeten was at some convention I went to, once, so I stood in line for like 2 hours when I was 10 to get her autograph.. and I think that’s it – unless you count Stephenie Meyers’ FIL..

7. Have you ever met any other digi scrappers in person? A couple years ago some of my CT and I met for lunch over Christmas – Nicole of Digi-Designs by Nicole, Kathy aka kladle, Laurie of Scraps ‘n’ Pieces, and of course Jewelle aka jubeejewels and I went to high school together, so we’ve met a few times..   I also went to the digi-gathering hosted by Hummie a while back and met her, Deb the Scrappin Cop, and lots of other sweet ladies.. Oh yeah, and this summer I met up with emileem, Chelle of Chelle’s Creations, and Jaime of Simply J Studio … I’d love to meet so many of the ladies here, though.. Maybe one day..

9. What kind of camera do you have? Just a simple Panasonic p&s.. The quality is really great, though, so that’s nice.. A real live SLR is on my short list of things we’re saving for, though..

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use? PC all the way baby!  I primarily use CS3, but also Illustrator on occasion..

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started? It’s been 2.5 years.. I first learned about it when DH’s cousin posted about the digi-free search engine on her blog.. the rest is history..

12. What was your 1st LO about? Oh gosh – puke, lol.. It was of my dear little newborn bug … It’s not uploaded anywhere, so hopefully a pic will do..

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? Haha – um…  I used to really love to sing and play the piano, but it’s been years since I’ve had access to one – until I moved home, that is – so that’s kind of fallen by the wayside.. I also used to like to read.. and of course I love to do theatre, so.. I guess that’s all there is to me.. I’m kind of boring..

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? Honestly, allowing myself the “personal time” to scrap and not design.. Sometimes I get so caught up in schedules and deadlines – which the A-type in me craves – that I don’t give it the time it deserves.. I really need to get better at that!

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? I’ve always wanted to learn to play the violin – not sure when that will happen… And with a pastry chef for a SIL, I think cake decorating would be just awesome to learn how to do..

16. If you could go on a dream vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go, and why? Ah man, I always hate these questions, because I never know the answer, lol.. Growing up, vacations consisted of camping old school style, or going to WY to visit my mom’s family.. I guess I’ll be a sell-out and say Europe.. or maybe a cruise.. but of course with the little one now, Disney would be fun.. hmm.. so many options..

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where? Currently – usually with my feet up on the recliners in the living room.. No TV or music – too distracting.. no snacks or drinks – too distracting.. I’m hard core, dude!

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?  Well, my faves are always leaves and stitching, but I think just those two and nothing else would be kind of odd.. Might have to try that one day..

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? Again with the questions I’m not sure how to answer… a little-known fact… I’ve had my driver license suspended twice.. HOWEVER, all the infractions currently on our insurance policy are from my husband – who had a near spotless record when we got married..

20. When did you start designing? What is your favorite product that you’ve designed? I started designing 2 or 3 weeks after I started collecting freebies.. I really should have scrapped for longer – with better quality products – before entering the realm of design, so I got a bit of a slow start, but I love learning new things, so that’s been exciting.. My favorite product to date would have to be… my collab with Nikki Beaudreau – Bits & Bots..

21. How would you describe your design style? My style has really been changing these last few month, but I like where it’s going.. One of my CT recently called it sophisticated, and I’d like to agree with her on that – at least most of the time. ..

22. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation? Everywhere!  {Doesn’t everyone say that?}  But what really gets me going is color.. Once I have a swatch to work with, it’s usually pretty smooth sailing, and I can incorporate any ideas that have been floating around in my head as I go..

23. Which of your kits showcases you style the most? Since my style has been evolving so much recently, I would have to say my newest ones – Beautiful on the Inside, Bits & Bots, Aviator.. Sometimes I’m jealous of the designers who – no matter what they create – you can use it all together in a big mash-up.. But I’ve always tried to make each kit completely different from the last.. Makes my store a bit schizophrenic, I suppose, but I like the challenge..

24. What is your favorite color scheme to design with? That’s a toughie.. I love blue, and will try to work it into as much of my kits as I can, and purple is just SO fun to work with.. In real life I actually quite dislike yellow, but I find it does help pull several colors together, so that makes it into my designs quite frequently.. Gosh – pretty much everything, lol!

Thanks Amber for giving us an inside look on your life!!  It is so much fun to learn more about our designers!  Check out all her fab designs here.

-Dawn (aussiegirl)

And now a special treat.. another guest designer from this month!  Geek Chic Designs…

1. Your screen name? Your real name? My screen name is Geek Chic, but my real name is Tara Lewis- you’ll see me around digiland as ttklewis as well!

2. What is your main job/career? I am a freelance graphic designer and a work at home Mom- which I see as my main job really, the other one just pays me money

3. Are you married/children/pets? I’m married to Tim, we’ve been together about 3 years now, and we have one daughter- Kat- who will be 2 next month. We also have a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix named Freya, and 2 cats (Luna and Moxie) all of which were shelter rescues and some of the best pets ever!

4. Where is home for you? In front of my computer? LOL I live in Clarkston, Michigan- a wee town about 50 miles north of Detroit.

5. What are your 3 favorite foods? Potatoes (anything potato LOL), my Homemade Chicken Salad on my Onion Bread, and Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden.

6. PC or Mac? What program do you use? I am a PC girl- I use Photoshop CS3, and am currently saving up for an upgrade to CS5 and Illustrator.

7. What is the most challenging part of designing for you? The pace, I love to design, but I have trouble with deadlines and being pushed faster than I like to work. The constant need for a weekly release tends to kill my mojo- so I’m learning to sit back and take my time, and enjoy the process, and not give in to that overwhelming urge to ‘Go Go Go’

8. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? I’d LOVE to learn to play the accordion- have always wanted to do it- it’s such a fun instrument that you can such interesting things with.

9. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? Firefly, Sex and the City, Weeds, The Office, 30 Rock, Glee, Castle… that’s pretty much it for me TV wise, my favorite movie list is too long for this blog! LOL

10. Describe your “designing” environment. Music? TV in the background?Drinks? Snacks? Where?
I design at my desk on my PC- typically I have Pandora on the headphones- sketchbooks and snips of fabric and ribbon scattered all over the top of my desk to remind me what I had planned for the kit and what inspired me- and a big bottle of water.

11. If you only had 2 elements in a kit, what would they be? Papers…. and some stitching. You can make pretty much anything you need out of papers and some fun shape templates- flowers, borders, frames- you name it!

12. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? I’m pretty open, not sure I have any real little known facts… hmmm… I used to be able to walk on stilts as a kid

13. When did you start designing? How did you get started? That’s a long story LOL- I started designing about this time last year, but didn’t start selling until February of this year. I actually got started as part of a dare (ask me sometime and I’ll tell ya the long winded story) and started out by designing freebies that I’d give away on my blog- eventually I moved to a store and that was it!

14. How would you describe your design style? Doodly, bright, whimsical… a little bit silly

15. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation? Usually the 2 biggies for me are color combinations and music. The lyrics to music can really get my brain rolling down a path that leads to the creation of some fun things.

16. Which of your products in the ScrapMatters Store showcases your style the most? Smell My Feet- it’s bright, full of fun doodles, and weird little pieces to play with- totally my thing

17. What is your favorite color scheme to design with? I’ve been accused by my CT of using too much raspberry pink- so I’ve been trying hard to get away from using it quite as much- but I love working with Navy Blues, Pinks, and great deep greens.

18. Favorite kit you’ve designed for Scrapmatters? Thankful For You- I had so much fun making this kit, and all the little details about it just make my heart happy.

Thanks Tara for taking time out to answer our questions!  Check out Geek Chic’s awesome full store here!

-Amanda (panders77)

I absolutely LOVE this project by Tiff! How fun to count down to Halloween with the treats and activities hidden inside!! Fabulous job, Tiff!

What an awesome and inspiring project!  Head on over to the gallery or the forum and leave Tiff some love!

-Kris (photonut71)

The gallery is so full of fabulous creations this week! After having having about 20 tabs open and flipping back and forth, I finally narrowed it down to this one by kass_23! This is just beautiful!! I love the green and the blending… I find myself just gazing at the photo itself! Gorgeous!

Congrats kass_23!  Head on over to the forum or the gallery and leave her some love!!

-Kris (photonut71)

Hello there ladies

I am Lina (aka LDrag Designs)
today I would like to show you a few tips on how we to make something with your photos, esp with the ones that are not good with brightness!!
So open a photo that is not really bright. I am going to use a photo of my son that is really not beautiful without the editing!! Here it is!

The first thing you can do is use the blending mode in your layer’s pallete!
Then go and duplicate your photo in your layers pallete.

Then click the arrow on the layers pallette to show all the blending modes and set the layer to soft light. You can rename this layer to soft light so that you are not confused in the end!

Then go and duplcate the same layer and set it to screen . You can renename the layer to screen! This will make you photo quite overexposed.

So in order to lower this effect you can lower the opacity until you reach the effect you want.. I think 81% for me looks great but not quite yet!

Now you have to sharpen your photo! You go and duplicate the first layer again and set it to soft light again and then go
Filter- Other – High Pass. You can set the radius to 10. I think it looks great now. Don’t you think?

This technigue can be used a little differently too if you want to have a different effect on your photos!! After you do all the steps up until now, you can go to the background layer (your photo) and left click on it and then click on “layer from the background“.

Then name the layer to “photo” and click ok.

After that you go
Image – Adjustments – Desaturate
This will desaturate the first layer but the photo will still have colour!

I have applied all these steps on this photo of my dd.

But I want to give it a little feeling of softness, so I duplicated the soft light  layer and
I did Filter – Blur _ Guassian Blur and I chose a number around 5 that it will give a sense of softness to the photo!!

Now if you want more colours or intensity you can duplicate the soft light layer again and
go
Image – Adjustments – Photo Filter and choose any warming filter you like. I chose the (85) warming filter, which is an orange. All orange colours rae warm, while the blue ones are cooling!! But this will be in another tut!!

Finally I have lower the sreen layer to 32% cause I wanted the effect to be darker!! And here is the final photo!!!

Generally you can play a lot with blending modes  until you have the outcome you want!!!
It is a very good way to make your pics really pop!!!

Hope you enjoyed the tut!!

Here are a few pages from ScrapMatters  Team!

by Cara using LawTeeDa’s new Lil Spookies, plus Chelle’s Kick It Alpha and template by Stolen Moments Designs

and by Fiona (aka Canadianmommy)  Using Aviator by JennCK and Stolen Moments

A few rules to remember…

-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to this thread in the forum. You can receive an additional point for using new Scrap Matters products; please make a note of new products in your post.

-You have until the end of October to play along, then I’ll choose my favorite to receive an extra point.

-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!

Happy Scrapping!

Lina

Hey everyone! LuAnn here with our next It’s in the Cards challenge!  We have LOTS of inspiration from the SM team so let’s get started!

Here’s my card using Jady Day Studio’s Sweet Love o’Mine:

Download the template here

And some inspiration from the team:

From Amanda using Bloomin’ Mini by Chelle’s Creations – check out the real candles tied to the card!!!

And Cathy played along using One More Sleep – a Stolen Moments and Graham like the Cracker collab kit and Words Matter: Traditional Christmas by AndiLynn Designs:

How’s THAT for some inspiration?!?

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 gallery by the end of October – then come back here and post it in this post 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!*

I can’t wait to see what you come up with using my template!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late posting of this week’s Tuesday Challenge… but with the site’s sickies… I had to wait until we got the all clear! Hopefully, this template is worth the wait

No particular rules for this one – just use the template and have fun! Here it is:

Download here

Here is some inspiration from the ScrapMatters CT:

From Jami using Daddy, Fish and Me kit by TomaSoloma Design and Scrapmuss Designs

From Cathy using Falling by Stolen Moments

From LeeAndra using JennCK’s Delicious kit

From Fiona using using A Day at the Zoo by Lawteeda

From designer Jenn Labre using Brain Freeze by Connie Prince

From Melissa using Double, Double Toil and Trouble; and Double, Double Toil and Trouble Bonus Alpha; Simply Dated Vol 6-all from WM[squared]

From Carina using Vintage Shabby by LDrag Designs

And from Cara using *new* My Girl by Jady Day Studios
[IMG="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj205/caraobaby/its-official.jpg"]http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj205/caraobaby/its-official.jpg[/IMG]

And a few from my CT, too! This first one is from Bethie using my Autumn on the Lake collection:

And from Carrin (twinsies) also using Autumn on the Lake!

From Karen (merchi) using the Nature Girl Add-On and stitches from This Woman’s Work

From Carolyn (calliclaire) using A Boo-tiful Night collab with JennCK Designs

By Cami (camijo) using Renaissance Romance

By Amy (nicolleteknight) using Tea Time with Teddy

And one last one by Shauna (tomosia) using Every Day with You

OK, lots of inspiration for you! Now for the fine print
You have all of October to complete the layout. Upload it to the Tuesday Template gallery, and leave BOTH the image and a link as a reply to this thread.

This month only, You will receive two points for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional two points 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! I can’t wait to see what you do!