Hold on to your hats folks!! We have three interviews coming up today with our FABULOUS guest designers, Eva Kipler, Laurie Ann Anderson and Kate Hatfield!!  I am so excited to learn more about them.  So it isn’t too overwhelming I am going to post one interview at a time.  First up is Eva Kipler!

1. Your screen name? Your real name? Eva Kipler (both screen name and real name) In many forums I am known as EvaK.

2. What is your main job/career? Digital Designing is my full time job

3. Are you married/children/pets? I have been married for 19 years and have three kids (ages 19, 16, and 12)

4. Where is home for you? We live in beautiful Virginia Beach, Virginia

5. What are your 3 favorite foods? Spaghetti, Enchiladas, and Coconut Shrimp

6. PC or Mac? What program do you use? PC
I use PSCS5, Illustrator CS5, and PSPX2

7. What is the most challenging part of designing for you? Believe or not — deciding on a theme or an idea that can “carry” a kit.

8. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? I would like to be a better fisherman than my husband (or at least catch a bigger fish). We love to go bass fishing.

9. What are your favorite movies/TV shows? True Blood (HBO Series), House, CSI, and NCIS
My taste in movies is very eclectic and it wouldn’t make any sense to anyone but me.

10. Describe your “designing” environment. Music? TV in the background?Drinks? Snacks? Where?
I design sitting in the recliner on our sofa sectional in our living room. I like quiet (no noise, TV, music, etc.) but with 3 kids that is nearly impossible. I am usually drinking coffee (hot coffee in the morning and iced coffee for the rest of the day until about 7pm — when I switch to water). I don’t really snack while I design. I am not coordinated enough. LOL

11. If you only had 2 elements in a kit, what would they be? Sequin Spill and a Frame

12. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…? I used to be active duty Navy and have three tattoos (although I am not going to tell you where they all are).

13. When did you start designing? How did you get started? This coming August will be my 6th anniversary of designing. In June of 2005 we went on a family vacation to Washington DC. When we returned I knew I wanted to make a scrapbook of our photos — but I am REALLY not a very crafty person. I searched online and discovered digital scrapbooking! I was in love! I downloaded loads of freebies (still have some of Shabby Princess’ freebies on my external hard drive). I was already very familiar with Paint Shop Pro… so when I couldn’t find a free element or paper I wanted for a layout I made my own. I started selling my designs just a few months later in August of 2005 at a store called “Digital Freebies” (which is no longer open). After a year or so I purchased PSCS2 and taught myself the program. I have since upgraded to PSCS5, but I still do use PSP on a regular basis. I use it to make seamless patterns and I do all of my previews in PSP.

14. How would you describe your design style? My style is considered “traditional” which means that it mimics paper scrapping.

15. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation? Everyday life — there isn’t much that doesn’t inspire or motivate me!

16. Which of your products in the ScrapMatters Store showcases your style the most? Well… I don’t have much in the store right now, but I do love my kit, Little Moments. I especially love the colors in it.

17. What is your favorite color scheme to design with? I like bright clear colors the best. They don’t have to be super bright — I just don’t like muted colors or pastels very much.

18. Favorite kit you’ve designed for ScrapMatters?
Little Moments

Thanks Eva for letting us know some more about you!! Be sure to check out her full store here!

-Amanda (panders77)

Hello ladies

my name is Lina (aka LDrag Designs) and today we are going to talk about extractions.

Extractions are generally my favourite thing and it had been the first thing I tried to do as a scrapper!! It requires some skill but using the pen tool things can be a  lot easier especially for a new scrapper!!
Ok, first of all I must tell you that I use CS2 so this tutorial is basically for
photoshop users!!
Many people tell me to use the polygonal laso tool to extract but
due to the fact that if you make a mistake and accidentally press another button  or a pop up comes in your page then you lose it all,  I had decided to use the pen tool  which actually makes the same job if not better!!!. So what is the pen tool?
The pen has many uses, the basic tool is used to create actually a mask on top of your layer! So this is what we are going to do too!!
Here is a pic of my son!! He is a cutie isn’t he?

Well I want to extract this pic and put it in a layout!! He looks as if he is standing behind a window doesn’t he? well that is the idea to put him in the window!!

So I am starting to press the tool exactly as the polygonal laso tool works and I create this mask on top of my photo!

But there comes a point that I can no longer see what I extract! So in order to be able to move the mask behind the pic I have to right click on the layer of the pic and click on the “layer from background” and now I can move my mask below the pic so that I can see where I select!

Now this cannot be done with the polygonal laso tool! Meaning that you cannot stop and start again! But with the pen tool you can! You just click on the last point of your mask that you had selected and the mask will be activated again!
Then you continue until you select all the points around the object you are extracting!!

In order to extract this part only you can just click on the mask and have marching ants running around it and copy paste it on the page!! But I want to do a few things more with it!!
So I go click on the mask and I select it and then
I go SELECT – INVERSE and this way I will cut everything around the selected object!
You must always remember to have you layer from background clear otherwise you will not have a transparent background around the object!

No what I want to do is to smooth some lines along the extracted object!
The purple you see is a another layer I have created below my object in order to see better any imperfections that exist so that I can correct them! See here on his fingers the edges are a little pointy so in order to lose this I use a quite big round eraser brush to smooth them!!

Now look at his curly hair!! They look so pointy!! And so unnatural!! In order to lose this you can use the smudge tool!! And in the place of the hair use a brush of around 30-40!!

Now play a little with the smudge tool and try to move along the direction of the hair to make it look nice!
But I won’t stop using the smudge tool here! I will continue now with a much smaller size brush of about 15 to smudge a little all the edges around my extraction so that it will not look so sharp like it;s been cut off with scissors. This way the outcome will look a little blurry on the edge but on the page it will be great as the shadows will look mush nicer!!

After you finish this you just add the extracted layer in your page and use it as you wish!!
Here is my final page girls !! Hope my tut was really helpful!!

I have used Twitter Me Happy {the kit} and the {wordart} by LDrag Designs!

And here is some amazing pages the girls have made using this tut!

by Chel using GeniaBeana’s Designs Verdant Slendor

by Andrea using Lil’ Explorer by WM[Squared]

by Kim using the NEW Fairytale from The Design Girl and her It’s a Beautiful Day kit

and by Karen using EZ Breezy by Erica Zane

Thank you girls!!! Amazing work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting in The Saturday Special thread  HERE  & in the The Saturday Special gallery. 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 the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or layout must be unique to this challenge.

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

Can’t wait to see what you create! Have FUN!!

For this month’s Getting Hybrid challenge, let’s tackle mini books! Whether they’re chipboard books, badge albums, or something entirely unique, let’s create a sweet collection of pages in a small size.

Here’s the mini book I made. Our beloved neighbors recently moved, so I collected photographs of us together over the years and gifted this to them after we’d helped them load their moving truck.

Creating this 6″x6″ book was really easy. Let me show you how!

STEP ONE – Design Your Pages
I wanted to include a lot of photos in my book, but I also wanted to keep the pages clean and simple so they didn’t feel too cluttered with elements. To make it really easy, I used the “Create Photo Collage” feature in Picasa. I simply selected the photos I wanted on each page and clicked the “create” button. A minute later, Picasa spit out a .jpeg file with my photos arranged neatly. Once my collage pages were done, I opened those .jpeg files in Photoshop and layered on a select few digital elements. On a few pages, I just used one large photo. I also designed a front and back cover – a total of 20 sides. You could have more or less in your book, but remember to create an even number of pages.

I used All Hallow’s Eve by Chelles Creations, Jack’s Track by Erica Zane, and Cupcakes and Candles by the ScrapMatters Design Team on the pages you see here.

STEP TWO – Print Your Pages
You can print your pages right at home if you like, but I prefer to have mine printed by a photo lab. The lab I was using didn’t make 6′x6′ prints, so I put four of my page designs onto one 12″x12″ canvas and trimmed them down myself. With a trip to the local scrapbooking store to grab a package of 6″x6″ page protectors, I had everything I needed to begin assembling my book.

STEP THREE – Assemble Your Book
Insert your pages into the page protectors (I also cut two 6″x6″ pieces of chipboard and slipped them behind the front and back covers for some extra stability), then staple the left edge of your page protectors together. Be sure your pages are all lined up neatly, and that your staples don’t overlap the holes.

STEP FOUR – Create a Spine
Cut a strip of coordinating cardstock to be 6.5″ x 2.5″. Score it 1″ from each edge on the long side, then fold in along those scored lines.

STEP FIVE – Tie It All Together
Line up your cardstock spine and mark where the holes from your page protectors will line up. Now punch holes in your cardstock, right where your marks are.

(and now you know I’m a lefty!)

Slip a length of ribbon through the holes, and finish it off with a bow.

Hooray! Your’re done!!

I used Get A Move On by the ScrapMatters Design Team for my book’s cover.

Here’s some inspiration from the Hybrid team…

Tamara followed my tutorial and created this super cute mini using the Quentin and Emma: The Quentin Quick Page Album from Graham Like The Cracker.

Karen created this yummy little meander mini book using Cotton Candy Christmas by Stolen Moments Designs. Meander albums are made by cutting and folding just one sheet of 12×12 paper. Here’s a great video tutorial that will walk you through the steps.

Ami made this cute album with the Matchbook Template by Krisi’s Kreations and Play All Day by Stolen Moments and Girl Boy Girl Designs:

Tiff used School Days by WM[squared] to make this adorable mini. She laminated photos of all the cousins back to back, then cut out the heads of all the cousins and laminated them separately. Now her little guy can mix/match all of the heads with Velcro, So clever!

Krisi made this matchbook album using products from Chelle’s Creations:

And finally, take a look at this amazing board book from Amanda, using Just My Luck by Jady Day Studio.

I love that there are so many different kinds of mini albums you can craft to house your memories! Now it’s your turn – go plug in your glue gun and get those scissors warmed up. I can’t wait to see what you create!

Here are the ScrapMatters challenge guidelines:
- Entries must be posted in the Getting Hybrid challenge gallery HERE and also linked up in the comments section of this post.
- You will have until the end of April to complete your project
- You’ll get 1 point for designing, printing and putting together your project, and then posting the photo of it in the gallery. You will get a bonus point if you use a new release within one week of it’s release to complete your project. You must mention that you used a new product in the comment section of this post to get the bonus point!

-Sarah (sporte91)

Hello friends! Jenn here bringing you a new Grand Theft Layout Challenge this week. I have chosen Lisa_mommy2two’s gorgeous gallery and you can find here layouts HERE. I am a big fan of Lisa’s layouts and she has lots to chose from. Your challenge is to chose one for her pages and scraplift your own page.

I have chosen this layout gorgeous layout to scrap!

Here is my layout using Jady Day Studio’s Spring into Easter Kit:

And some fabulous inspiration from the Creative Team:

Lori lifted:

and came up with this:

Credits: For the Love of Boys by Stolen Moments and Jady Day Studio

Tanya lifted:

and came up with this:

Credits: April Grace by Laurie Ann

Melissa lifted this:

and came up with this:

Credits: Be by Amy Stoffel

Challenge Reminders:

-You will receive one point for posting in this 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. And at the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!

-You have until the end of April to complete this challenge to earn MOS points.

-Remember no double dipping…your photo and/or 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 what you will create! xo

Hello digiscrappers!! I am so happy to bring you this week’s edition of Tuesday Template!

I have a template for you that I hope you will like and have loads of fun using. It’s available in PSD, TIFF, and PNG.

Download here

Here’s the layout I made with it using my collab with the fantastic KimB Designs “What Matters Most”:

And here’s some gorgeous inspiration from the SM Creative Team:

By Fonnetta:

By Kairyn:

By Becca:

Aren’t they all so gorgeous?! Love them all!

Now here are the rules!
* You will receive one point for posting in this thread & in the Tuesday Template gallery. You can receive an additional point for using new ScrapMatters products but, please add a note in your post here to say that you used a new product to ensure you receive the extra point. At the end of the month you’ll be entered into a random drawing that could earn you some bonus points!
* You have the entire month of March to complete this challenge for April MOS 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!

Ready? Show me watcha got. Can’t wait to see how you use this template. Hugs!

It is time for a SCRAPMATTERS GIRL CALL!!! WOOHOO!
This call closes on 4/10 so get those apps in!

Here are the requirements:

*Leave 10 meaningful comments a day in the gallery
*Monitor the gallery postings and report layouts that are violating forum rules
*Periodically conduct interviews for the Sunday Spotlight Blog
*Periodically choose Layouts and Projects of the week
*Select layout and project of the month
*Be active in the ScrapMatters Girls Forum
*The opportunity to post on the ScrapMatters Gallery Stand Out Blog (not required)

And (what you all want to know) Here are the rewards!
*One full kit from selected designers each month
*The opportunity to earn up to 30 dollars more in gift codes by leaving more
comments than required
*All site SM designer collab kits
*Monthly designer collabs after enabling
*The Scrapmatters Stack exchange kit
*The newsletter kit before it is available to the public

The winner this week is Pencil Box by loucee!  I thought this was such a cute project and great use of this kit!

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

-Vicki (longhorn)

This weeks winner is Be Beautiful by Roxxygirlie!  I loved her amazing cluster work, the bright yellow and green and what a gorgeous photo! I can’t stop staring at all the details!

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

-Vicki (longhorn)

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? There are other hobbies? I enjoy playing Sims 3, reading, and spending time with my niece. I also love to watch tv and movies. A lot of time, I just play DVDs throughout the day even if I don’t actually sit and watch them.

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you? Photos, for sure. I feel like my husband and I lead a pretty basic life. We have our dogs and cats, we spend time on the college campus, we attend all the home baseball and football games (Go Hogs) and that’s about it. We live about an hour from all our family so we see them just once a month (give or take) and I don’t see my niece nearly often enough. So my pictures get repetitive and boring. Sometimes I scrap the same pictures in a different way several times.

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking? Photography, well, I guess that’s kind of related. I also want to play the guitar and learn to cook better.

Disney in the Rain shows my more recent style of clustering until the cows come home. It also represents much of our first trip to Disney World in May 2009 (aka lots of rain) and really gives me a good, happy feeling when I see it.

With The Stars is a simple yet powerful layout and reflects my favorite layout style of white space combined with simplicity while sending a powerful message.

Our Wedding Vows is a layout I did to remember what my husband and I said for vows on our wedding day. We somehow lost the piece of paper that had the original vows on them so when I found these vows online, I knew they were close if not exact and I’d better scrap them before I lost them too. It’s another example of simple, plus powerful message, with a bit of clustering. All is well fitted into my scrap style.

Our Story in Words is my top favorite layout ever. I really went outside the box on this one and pulled in everything I could think of at the time to represent the story of my husband and I. After close to 16 years together (4 married), we have quite a story to tell.

Thanks Kat for letting us get to know more about you!!

-Vicki (longhorn)