For the first time in over FOUR YEARS ScrapMatters is holding an open designer call!  I’m so excited to be taking this next step forward with the store.. We’ve made so much progress as a team these last few months, it only seems logical to add a few new faces to the mix..   Get all the deets and info by clicking the image below, and good luck to everyone!

I really like the fun paper stack and how the notebook is used for both the journaling and photo! And how perfect is that font! The journaling is made even more special with the word arts! Congratulations to AZK for this fun layout using Off to School by geniaBeana Scraps and Creations by Rachael!

Dolores (Dolores)

The papers and word art are perfect on this adorable card made by StudioCappuccino.  She used Tea Party by Adorable Pixels for this card. Congrats on being this week’s Project of the Week Winner!!

Dolores (Dolores)

Scrapbooking with a Less than Desirable Photo

By Michelle Bradshaw

Let’s face it – there may be a time when we really want to scrap a situation or event and we are not content with the photos we have. This could be for any number of reasons…the photo may be damaged, old, small or just not a well-focused capture.

This tutorial will hopefully encourage you to salvage the situation.

Here is my story… I’ve been gradually completing pages for my daughter’s competitive dance album. The photos were all taken pre-digital; therefore they needed to be scanned. I located 2 and I knew I had a third one, somewhere. ….as it turned out, the only copy I could locate was printed in a bound book on copy paper. The photo size was only 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches. [sigh]

Scan at least at 300dpi. In this case I chose 600.

original

Now it is time to edit the original.

Edited with a layers adjustment-

Here is the edited photo placed on the 12 x 12 paper.

I could leave the photo small or even make it smaller for a white space look. It was just not the look I wanted. Instead, I chose to make the photo larger!

From the menu in CS- Edit > transform >free transform. In PSE Image> transform >free transform or shortcut ctrl [cmd] on a mac +t. Constrain the corner handles and drag the photo larger.

As the photo was dragged larger it became more pixelated. I chose to allow the wonderful texture on the background paper to camouflage the poor photo quality.

Scroll through the blending modes in the layers palette to see what works best with the photo and the paper. In this case, simply lowering the opacity worked. Then apply a soft brush using the eraser or use a mask.

Here is the final page.

This page was created with Star Spangled BBQ by Memory Clips.  Photos by msbrad.

I hope you found this tutorial to be helpful as you scrap those difficult photos. Be sure to post your layouts to show us what you do with those photos!                                            

Happy Scrappin’
m

Observing Nature at Home

Hello everyone! Jenn (catgoddess) here with a little snippet of my everyday life at home.
One of my favorites times of year here in Michigan is spring. We live in an area with abundant wildlife and a huge pond. This past winter was so warm, the Canadian Geese never left the area and were quite busy making the next generation of geese. These beautiful birds are just one of many animals we see just outside our front door. The pond is also inhabited by mallard duck families, several breeds of fish, and the occasional muskrat. Sometimes, when it is quiet, we’re able to see a heron or crane, but with the community pool so close by, those birds usually land elsewhere to rest and relax.

As we prepare to leave the Michigan area, I look back at some of my photos of this past Spring and know I’ll miss seeing these wonderful birds and their offspring each year. Canadian Geese are quite friendly once they get to know you, but I wouldn’t recommend forming any new friendships until their goslings are full grown. Even with geese families I’m used to, I’ve been known to be chased down the sidewalk by a protective papa.

These geese feel so at home here, they can often be found resting in the middle of the road.

I felt lucky to get this close to a momma and her goslings later that day while they were sunning on the pool deck.

We have been blessed to live in a beautiful part of Metro Detroit and be able to enjoy a very diverse ecosystem of wildlife here. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing a bit of my neighborhood and a few of my adorable little neighbors.

Happy Scrapping!
xoxo

Monday ONLY!! Select items are 50% off!! Visit the ScrapMatters Shop for more details!!
*Sale runs 12am-11:59pm ET. HURRY! What are you waiting for!?! *

Today I wanted to introduce you to one of ScrapMatters newer members Helene(Victoria32). She actually joined up quite awhile ago and just recently started to participate in the forums and challenges. She is now one of the challenge faithfuls and her gallery is filled with her many of her challenge layouts. She was also a big winner in ScrapMatters 5th birthday games at the beginning of the month. So I thought it would be great for all of us to get to know her a bit.

I asked Helene to introduce herself and here is what she had to say. “Hi everyone, my name is Helene and I live in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. I am a 70 year old grandmother and have been married for 47 years to my husband Victor. We have 2 married children and 3 wonderful grandchildren. We love to spend time with the family at our vacation home in Birch Bay.  We also enjoy vacationing with the family in Cancun, Mexico.  I enjoy photography, and am always trying to improve my photos.  I also enjoy reading, but do this mainly when we are on vacation. I worked as Medical Laboratory Technologist for all of my working career.  I also used to do counted cross stitching and used to do a lot of sewing, as well as knitting and crocheting  Now I create my works of art using my photos and my digital scrapbooking supplies.” I love that so many scrapbookers are or were into so many other crafts and clearly Helene is no exception.

I wanted to know what inspired Helene’s layouts the most although I had a pretty good idea after going through her gallery. ” My family is my reason for scrapbooking. I love to make layouts of the family photos and get them printed as gifts for the children and grandchildren. I also enjoy genealogy and have created life books for both my parents and my husband’s parents.I paper scrapped for a few years before discovering digital scrapbooking and was immediately addicted. I love doing challenges, as this helps me learn new techniques and improve my scrapbooking skills.I use PSE 10, having upgraded from PSE 8 this year.I started digiscrapping in 2005 using PSE 2. I sometimes find it hard to believe just how much I have learned since creating my first layout.

This is one of the first layouts Helene posted to an online gallery.

and a recent remake of that same layout. These photos are just fabulous!

I asked Helene what she likes about doing the challenges here at ScrapMatters. “I really love the challenge format at ScrapMatters. They are the perfect mix for me. I am enjoying learning mew photo editing techniques. Everybody has been friendly and helpful, and this is what I love.
Here is one Helene favorite challenge layouts. I think this layout is just gorgeous!

I want to thank Helene for taking a little time letting us get to know her. Be sure to look her on the challenge threads in the forum and don’t miss a visit to her gallery.

Debby

Can you believe it is Saturday again? Wow, everyone kicked it up a notch in the gallery this week! Here is a sampling of some gorgeous scrap inspiration for you.

I cannot tell what I love best about this layout by catgoddess. First off is that photo and it really is about that photo and how perfect it is in black and white. But I cannot get enough of white space layouts that have a patterned background and then she through the paint spatters in for good measure. The clustering, shadow work, the sprinkled flowers. Okay, did I leave anything out?

I really love blocked design. I just can’t seem to do one without a template and when I see layouts like Surfen by Marlen, so simple, always perfectly imperfect with a little tilt here and a little resize there, I just sigh. Isn’t that big blend just great and what priceless photos.

Next up is Sharks by Trista. I seriously love this kit. Maybe it has to do with the fact I spent 8 days on the Oregon coast this summer and have scrapped with it twice already. Going to aquariums a favorite activity in our family so I always like getting inspiration from others’ aquarium layouts.Those blue photos are so cool.

Another killer photo in this beauty, is she not just gorgeous? Posing by Iowan is another great example of fabulous layers and clustering and the colors of this kit are just downright yummy.

Last up for this week is Freedom isn’t Free by Neverland Scraps. I love Washington D.C. and I am a great big patriotic softy so I love the lesson Wendy reminds us of in this layout as well as in the journaling that describes their family visit to Arlington.

If you have not joined in the fun yet, everyone gets to show us the layouts in the ScrapMatters gallery that inspire them in the weekly GSO thread here in the forum.Then we showcase a few of those fabulous layouts every Saturday here on the blog. So be sure to get your favorites linked up in the forum.

Debby