We are changing things up just a bit at ScrapMatters, and we are so excited about this first change – we’re sure you will be, too! Rather than our usual (small) Manic Monday sale each week, we’ll be having a HUGE Monthly Manic Monday sale on the third Monday of every month. There will be more products, more layout inspiration, more savings, more fun.. just MORE! So join us and check out the 50+ products available for just 50% off! The sale runs from 12am-11:59pm ET today (Monday) only, so act quickly before these savings are gone!

Hi!  I hope your weekend is starting off nicely and that you’ve got time to check out some really wonderful layouts!  It’s weeks like this that make blogging the GSOs an absolute joy!  So many beautiful layouts in the gallery this week and many ended up in the GSO thread.

Michelle (msbrad) nailed the May 1st journaling challenge with this first gorgeous layout.  It was nominated by Debby (debbysrose) who excitedly said, “I have one, I have one! This layout by Michelle is awesome, such a lovely tribute to her Mom and capturing such an important part of both of their lives. The kit was perfect, the extraction AMAZING, the layering something else.”

“I just stumbled upon this page in the gallery. How stinkin’ cute is this little guy? The page is stunning with the clustering and color choices to accent the photo. Just beautiful!” said Kate when she treated us to this layout by Gail (gwalters).   And Gail had a second layout chosen for GSO, too!  Be sure to check it out in the gallery.

Kate was on a roll and nominated this adorable layout by scrappinnewbie.  She said, “I also found this one, I must have a thing for little ones at the moment, because here’s another stunning page with another little cutie! I love the pattern paper combinations and color choices, it really makes the page pop.”

This next layout by mhreen08 caught Olga’s (zinzilah) eye for its “vibrant colours and a feel of happiness.”  She said, “beautifully created piece of art, I like it more than Warhol’s as yours has colourful splashes that create a happy look!”  The photo effect is amazing and colors fabulous!

Gail paid it forward and nominated this next amazing layout that was was inspired by this month’s Ad Challenge.  Gail said, “This layout by Dawn (Aussiegirl) is eye-catchingly awesome. I love the whole concept of the photo, and the way she created the layout with it. The color scheme and composition are great and she did a perfect job with the selective coloring. Very nice!!

Lastly, Jessica (Kramer.zoo) chose this precious layout.  She said, “I keep looking at this LO by mrspotts!! The photo blend is beautifully done and the small photo cluster is wonderful!! Simply beautiful!!”  I love the stitched edges and the title work is so perfect!

Each layout above is linked back to the gallery for credits. Don’t forget to check out this week’s GSO thread to see some more equally beautiful layouts.  And when you come across a layout in the gallery that knocks your socks off, feel free to make someone’s day and nominate it for a GSO.

~Dolores

We have another beautiful beach themed layout this week!  We must all be needing a beach vacation because these are SPEAKING to us! =)  Look how beautiful these colors are!  I love the rustic feel and how the photo treatment used works perfectly with the color tones in the kit! Please congratulate Natascha for winning Layout of the Week!

To leave love, click the image above.  She used Flights of Fancy and Project Sketch Vol. 1 by River~Rose.

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!?! *

So, are you recovered from last weekend’s iNSD fun and shopping?  I just love getting good deals and there were some great ones at ScrapMatters!  I’ve unzipped my purchases, haven’t done my filing yet, but hope to soon.  And I really hope to scrap with everything, too!  We’ve got some great layouts in the gallery and lots made with iNSD realeases.  These were some of the layouts in this week’s GSO thread.

Michelle (msbrad) is our resident beach girl so naturally was drawn to this layout by dodiegonzales. She said, “I know.. Water related and I could not resist! Check out this alpha.”  That group photo is wonderful!

This next layout by Lindsay KS not only is a GSO, but was also chosen as Layout of the Week!  Lisa (kelseyll) nominated Lindsay’s layous and said, “This one by Lindsay_KS is just stunning!!!”  I am envious of her tropical vacation and aweseome clustering!

Michelle came back with another GSO, and said, “I am in love with this WA [I want an 8x10 of it] and along with Trina’s expression, does this page not totally ROCK!”

Jessica (Kramer.zoo) found this beauty in the gallery and said, “I had to add this one from dianeskie, Pure. It is purely beautiful with the white wood BG paper..and the pops of blue completes it!!”

This next layout makes me want to go back in time to take more pictures of my own daughter when she was a baby…and I’d take my digital camera with me since I didn’t have one then!  Michelle shared Kim’s (kmkarayannis) layout with these words, “What a fantastic set of expressions on this sweet baby! Love the blending of photos and the composition with the focus pictures. Perfect title for the page. I feel a scraplift coming.”

Our last GSO is by Chris (porkchops mom).  Michelle found this layout and said, “I’m having a ball looking at all the fabulous LO’s in the gallery. Love the layered mats with the pretty edgework. Super page flow right to the title.”

Aren’t those all so beautiful?  I just love the inspiration I find in the ScrapMatters gallery and GSO thread.  Check out this past week’s GSO thread for even more wonderful layouts!  Each layout is linked back to the gallery for credit information.  Feel free to leave love for our scrappers and if you find something you absolutely love in the gallery, please let us know about it in next week’s GSO thread!  Thanks for spending part of your day with us.  I hope the rest of your weekend is marvelous!

~Dolores

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!?! *

Jennifer Labre Designs

Happy iNSD everyone!  I hope you are all having fun and filling your carts with all the great products on your wishlist! I have another designer spotlight for you today and she is a familiar face to many of us, Jennifer Labre. I hope you take some time to get to know her a little better.  Be sure to check out the gorgeous kit she made for us that is free with purchase while she is featured. Here is what Jenn had to tell me when I interviewed her.

“I live in Wisconsin with my family in the very town I grew up in. My husband Jeff and I will be married for five years in June. I have two daughters, Jordan (11) and Jenna (4). We tend to spend most of our time indoors during the winter, watching a lot of movies, playing the Wii, watching reality TV, and I love to read when I get the chance. During the summer, we spend a lot of time outdoors when it isn’t too hot and humid or up north in the UP at our lake house, where we fish, have campfires, see family and eat. I am generally an introvert and spend a lot of time online. I worked full-time in corporate marketing until I had Jenna.

I started paper scrapping back in 2001 when I was pregnant with Jordan. I was also working full-time and a majority of that consisted of graphic design. I went through some life changes and found my way to digital scrapping at the end of 2005. I never looked back, though I still have most of my paper supplies. (I am just now starting to use them again for art journaling projects and making things for designing.) As a digital scrapper, I found myself on several creative teams, one being at another store. I had the itch to design but didn’t know where to begin. I did a lot of research online and talked with the owner of the store I CT’d at and she agreed to help me with the basics. I did that and within a month or so I was selling at that store. My store officially opened on April 22, 2010. From there, my passion continued to grow. I grabbed any tutorial I could find online and just did a lot of experimenting.

I loved designing and I still do to this day. It is very much a creative outlet for me. My scrapping has suffered but I try to keep up with it as much as I can. I think my style has evolved a bit over the years but I think I am very much an eclectic designer. I love so many different styles and I am always trying new things. I love to paint, draw, doodle… I love the vintage stuff, but I like clean lines too. I am very much all over the place, but that is how I scrap too, so I guess it is what works for me. I am inspired by everything… nature, my girls, photos, colors, emotions, things I am going through in life, you name it. I also love getting ideas from my customers and team! I love to make people happy and give them just what they have been looking for. I bought a Macbook Pro laptop last summer. (My PC died and I lost a lot of files at the time.) I use Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator CS6 as my main programs for designing. I’m still working on using my Wacom tablet; I haven’t gotten over the comfortable hump yet! My camera is a Canon Rebel T4i; I finally upgraded recently from my Xti and I’m still getting used to it. I love taking photos and learning more about photography!

I love ScrapMatters. It is such a fun place to be, everyone is so welcoming and friendly. It’s a great place to call my digi home. Originally, I joined SM back on October 1, 2010 after receiving an invitation to join their team.  In 2011 I moved to another store, went through a difficult time in my life, and eventually found myself contacting Amber about rejoining the team. She and the SM team welcomed me back and I re-opened my store here on October 1, 2012. (I seem to have a thing with October….) I am thrilled to be back and look forward to staying for a long, long time!”

And we are glad Jenn has found her way back here to ScrapMatters as well. I asked Jenn to share some of her favorite layouts that scrappers have made with her designs.  Here are the ones she chose.

Family was scrapped by JillW using Jenn’s soft and vintage kit Bookkeeper’s Daughter

Geocaching by Iowan uses one of Jenn’s newer kits Happy Camper

Next up is Freeway by Navaja77 scrapped with Going Places

Jenn’s last choice is Be Soft by Tanyia using Splendor, Jenn’s collab with Down This Road Designs

With all your shopping have you see this beautiful kit Jenn designed for her featured spot?

As some of you may have already discovered you can get this kit free with a $10 purchase in the ScrapMatters store.  Here are the details.

Here are all the links you need to find Jennifer Labre Designs!

Jenn’s ScrapMatters shop

Her blog

Facebook

Twitter

Why not click over to her shop now to see what she has to offer!

Happy interNational Scrapbooking Day!  I won’t keep you long from shopping for amazing deals or playing along with fun challenges…just want to give the weekly shout-out to some fabulous layouts found in the ScrapMatters gallery!

We’ll get this party started with a fabulous layout by Roxana (roxanamdm).  Linda (lindabglw) nominated Roxana’s layout for its photo arrangement and the beautiful clusters!

Next is another layout chosen by Linda, who said, “Wow – just saw another great one! Love the paper layers, the great journaling, and the leaves and word strips tucked in down the side.”  Trista’s Dear Mom is so sweet!

Debby (debbysrose) treated us to this next layout and said, “I love this photo and layout by aadesigns. This just makes me want to be there and the design just pulls me into that gorgeous photo.”  I love how the flamingo is looking into the photo!

Debby was on a roll with beach layouts and found this fantastic layout!  She said, “The photo treatment Ophelia used on these beautiful and sweet photos is fabulous. I like that cute title too.”

Lastly, Debby nominated this beauty and said, ”The page design on this layout by Loucee really caught my eye. The narrow strip of photos with the great frame, the torn paper strip, simple clusters and neutral colors really work so well together.”  Those photos are gorgeous!

Thanks for letting me briefly interrupt your iNSD!  I hope you find some great great deals in the shop and enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Don’t miss the fun games in the forum…I’m off to play some myself!

~Dolores