ScrapMatters is EXCITED to announce our Holiday Card Contest!

Here are the details:

1. Holiday cards must be:
–one of the following sizes(inches): 4×6, 4×8, 5×5, 5×7, or 6×8 (either horizontal or vertical)
–made entirely of products currently for sale in the ScrapMatters store including blog freebies from designers currently selling at ScrapMatters. No pre-made quickpages allowed.
–posted in the Holiday Card Contest 2010 gallery before midnight PST on December 3rd. Credited correctly.
–photos are not required, but definitely allowed.

2. Winner Selection: Finalists will be chosen by SM staff, and a poll set up by midnight on Dec 6th. Voting will continue through midnight on Dec 9th. Winners will be notified on Dec 10th.
–SM staff are not allowed to compete. (Admin, DT, CT, SMG, & newsletter staff)

3. Prizes:
– One grand prize winner will receive 50 cards with envelopes printed by Persnickety Prints AND 60 personalized US postage stamps printed by PictureItPostage.
– Second and third prize winners will each receive 25 cards with envelopes printed by Persnickety Prints

We can’t wait to see your holiday cards!

If you have questions, please post them in the Holiday Card Contest Question Thread.

Black Friday is going to be so much fun at ScrapMatters this year. We hope you will join us in the festivities.
Here is what is going on:

We will have a progressive sale:
· Friday 40% off PU/30% CU
· Saturday 40% PU/25%CU
· Sunday 30%PU/20%CU
· “Cyber Monday” 25% off PU/15% CU

Grab bags, designer services, clearance and sweet deals will be excluded from this sale.
We’ll also be having these events:

* Spend $25 in any category and receive a FREE SM Mega Collab of your choice up to $10 in value. Add the kit of your choice to your cart from the category SM Mega Collabs and it will be deducted from your total automatically.
* We will be having our first ever Christmas Card Contest with some great prizes. Find out more about this here.
* We will also have a charity promotion, Kits for Kids. All proceeds after paypal fees will be donated to charity.
* Cyber Monday the designers will be participating in a “coupon” blog train, with extra coupons to their store to supplement the Cyber Monday sale.
* Relax and kick your feet back at our Black Friday Chat, share your best deals digital and IRL. Hosted by Shari, time 1:30 pm, PST There will be prizes!
* Black Friday Speed Scrap hosted by Fiona (Canadian mommy). Friday evening at 6 pm EST. More info here.
* A Cyber Monday chat hosted by Andilynn at 1 pm PST There will be prizes here too!

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to host my very first It’s in the Cards challenge!

Here’s the Template:

Grab it: [url=http://www.4shared.com/file/Pk0579Uy/IITC_11-25.html] Here [/url]

I used Sew Crafty by Erica Zane and Chelle’s Creations to create my card:

Cristina used All I Want for Christmas by Connie Prince while the snowflakes were from Dear Santa by Lawteeda Designs. She created this wonderful card with tons of dimension and glitter:

Rebecca used Shabby Chic by WM[squared] and altered the template for her beautiful card:

Carina made this amazing card using Hazy Shade of Winter by GeniaBeana Scraps. I love how she added the rectangle to the quilt design:

I can’t wait to see what eveyone comes up with!!

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 November. Then into the forum and post it there as well. Make sure to let me 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 as well!

There are no rules this time other than to use the template
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 is your post so you receive proper credit
* Your layout must be unique to this challenge – no double dipping..
* You have until the end of the month to complete the challenge
* At the end of the month, I’ll choose one random winner to receive an EXTRA point

Here is a little inspiration to get you started!

by scrappurple

by cinna

by jendavey

by jennv

by cursivesmile

I can’t wait to see the incredible layouts that you create! :loveshower::clap:

Happy Monday before Thanksgiving!  It’s Kat {ktanker} here with your Monday Home Matters post.  This post is a newer feature on the ScrapMatters blog.  Our goal is to give you new ideas on how to incorporate your scrapbooking talents into your home.  Of course, you can always print and frame your layouts.  I would guess that is the most common why to bring your scrapbooking into your home, but let’s explore some other ideas too!

Ornaments are a really unique way to bring scrapbooking style into your home.  Each year, I look for something I can add to my Christmas tree or use as a nice display around the house to remind me of the season.  Traditional ornaments are sometimes too expensive, too similar, or too “insert your line here”.  For me, they are usually too glittery.  I love a bit of sparkle but I hate picking up an ornament and getting covered in glitter flakes and the flakes stick like glue to my tile floors.  As a child, my mom made a lot of ornaments.  Those have now been retired and live in a nice box of older Christmas decorations but the photos and memories last forever.  They are also some of my best Christmas memories.  Take some time with your kids and make a few ornaments for your tree.  It’s a great way to spend time with the family.  Here’s an ornament template that would be easy to use.

What I love about this template is that while it is not a traditional project for hybrid crafting, it is a simple way to make and print an ornament.  To use this template, all you need to do is open the file, add your papers and text, then drag the ornament to an 8.5×11 page.  Once on the page, you can re-size and print.  Just cut out the ornament, add some ribbon to hang it or some other embellishments or a dab of glitter glue here and there.  Write on the ornament (front or back) the date and who made it so years down the line when you pull it out of your ornament box, you can remember that special time making ornaments together.

Here’s another great idea!  Next time you visit your local craft store, pick up some clear ornament balls.  They usually come in a package of 6 or 12.  Print out a few different sheets of your favorite scrapbook paper and tear it into strips.  Roll the strips around a pencil and put them inside the ornament.  Add anything you’d like to spruce it up.  I chose a different type of hook, added a ribbon around the top and tied a snowflake embellishment to hang off the side.

There is a great Hybrid challenge for creating ornaments in the forum.  Be sure and check it out and show us how you (and your family) made your own ornaments .

Kat

When I saw this project in the gallery I just thought, “Now what girl wouldn’t want to have that?” This fabulous purse by SandyPie is just so much fun! I love the idea of a “scrapped” purse and this one is just stunning. I love the black handle with the red body and the red buttons holding the handle on! The front cluster is stunning and that cityscape on the back adds so much interest!

Congrats Sandy! Be sure to stop by the gallery and forum to leave her some love for this awesome project!

A trend I have been seeing a lot of lately is layouts with no photos. I have also heard a lot of people say that photoless layouts are scary and they aren’t quite sure what to do. I love doing a photoless layout and so for this Saturday Special I’m going to help you with your layouts with no photos.

Some Tips:

Story is key. A lot of scrappers don’t journal on their pages. They let the pictures tell the story. In a photoless layout, you can’t do that because there are no pictures. You are going to have to tell the story through your journaling, title and embellishments. Some of the best stories for this kind of layout are the kind where you don’t have any pictures to begin with or where a photo is inappropriate or impossible. I have seen photoless layouts about depression, miscarriage, trips where they forgot the camera, or where the scrapper is just getting some feelings out.

Embellish, Embellish, Embellish. Without a photo or two, there is a lot of white space to fill up and your journaling most likely won’t take up all of it. So you will have to embellish to fill the space. Often themed embellishments can take the place to a certain extent of your photos. For example, if you are scrapping about carving pumpkins and you forgot your camera, some pumpkins and jack o’lanterns can help the story. I love to pile on the embellishments to fill the space but a few well placed elements and a lot of white space can make a great impact.

Consider lists. A very common type of photoless layout is a list, usually a top ten list. Think of some of your favorites and make a layout about them. As scrappers, we are often behind the camera so there are not photos of us; use a photoless layout to do an All About Me page. Remember to scrap your memories too.

Templates can help. Stuck on how to get started. Go find one of your favorite templates. Either delete the photo spots or clip papers to them. Voila! You now have the perfect base. Don’t be afraid to flip, rotate, shrink, and modify the template to suit the story.

Just go for it! The best way to tackle a photoless layout is just to jump in and have fun with it. I often start with just browsing my stash and looking for a fun patterned paper to use. Sometimes I know exactly the story I want to tell and I’m just looking for the right embellishments to go with it. But have don’t be afraid of no photos, this is the time to tell your story.

Your challenge is to create a layout with no photos whatsoever That means no stock photos or screen captures too. Here is my layout:

Using Jady Day Studio’s Winter in Hooville and Beautiful, Plum Dumpling Design’s Page Frames, and Stolen Moments’ Page Mats v. 1

And the CT girls made these beauties:

By Becca, using Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs Fuss-Free Leaving You In Stitches template, Chelle’s Stitch Me Up: Grids and the SM Designer Collab Many Thanks

By Bonnie using Everyday Wishes by Jennifer Labre & JennCK Collab

By Lori using This is My Kid by Mye DeLeon

By Jan using I used Storm and Alpha Bits by Plum Dumpling Designs and It’s Only Words 2 Templates by Band Geek Designs

By Heather using Pearly Whites and Doodles: Frame and Mat It, both by Chelle’s Creations

The Nitty Gritty:

You have until November 30 to complete your layout and upload to the Saturday Special gallery and link it up in this thread. If you do so, you will receive 1 Matter of Scrap challenge point. You don’t have to use ScrapMatters products but we love it when you do. If you use a new ScrapMatters product (released that week), please note in both the gallery and in your post in this thread your new product and you will receive an additional point. At the end of the month, I will randomly pick a layout as the winner who will receive a point for next month’s challenges. Have fun!

Hi everyone!  With Thanksgiving around the corner here in the USA, I wanted to make a little something to hang around the house.  I wanted to let my family know that I think of them all the time and that I am so thankful for them.  Of course after I started making these a few ideas popped in my head so I will let you know all about it at the end.

Are you feeling like you are running out of time already for the holiday?  I feel like I am always catching up and of course then I don’t have time for the little things, those things that my husband and daughter really appreciate.  The solution for me was Clusters and Word Arts.

Why Clusters and Word Arts?  Well, they have been put together by fabulous designers or expert creative members that specialize in making them look just PERFECT.  Most of the time I see these pre-packaged add-ons and can’t believe that they come from the kits, because they are so well put together and professional and because I know my clusters don’t look that good…. EVER!

I feel very strongly that we shouldn’t re-invent the wheel if we are short in time. Let me show you what I mean.

These are just two of some amazing cluster work, the same is true for word art.  Plus Word Art kits are a savior for card makers that are short in time.

Let me show you what I picked for my project, all the add-ons I used started with this amazing kit by Mye De Leon Guest Designer for ScrapMatters for the month of November.

These are what we would be making.  I put magnets on the back and I will be placing them in the refrigerator, in my daughter’s magnetic blackboard and in the inside of our mud room door.  Just little reminders to my family that I love them so much!

They are really easy to make and in less than 5 steps you will have these done.

Your final step is to cut out and add any 3D effects, like ribbons or jewels and add magnets.  You see easy peasy.

Other uses for these WA/Cluster goodies is for memory card games, you could also make pairs and give them on Thanksgiving or Xmas and at dinner time get people with matching pairs say why they are thankful of each other.

Remember it is the little things that become the big things in life!  I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial and idea… and have fun with Hybrid!