Aside from all things hybrid in the shop today our hybrid gallery is FULL of great new projects!!!  I hope you’re taking time to stop in and check out all of the hard work :)  Here is just a small sample of what you will find:

These firecrackers by Jaime (ocmath) are the perfect treat for the kids at any 4th of July celebration (in the U.S., of course)

This album by Sharon (skyezak) is GORGEOUS!!!  Best of all?  The entire set of quick pages is available in her new shop!!

Isn’t this fun?  Kristie (kcherrie) printed this on inkjet canvas cloth … can’t wait to try that!

This set is perfect for the many babies I have being born around me right now :)  Debra (dbrprc) did a fabulous job on this one!!

Wouldn’t these be perfect in that paint can?  Happy Scrap Girl will make some new mama VERY happy with these!

I could go on and on … why not hop over to the hybrid gallery and have a peek for yourself?  All of the images used here are linked so you can click over and leave these girls some love :)  We hope you enjoy all of the exciting hybrid happenings around here - keep an eye on the shop for more new items throughout the coming weeks!!

*I will get shop links and such added in when the shop isn’t giving me fits … it has something against me right now

July Hybrid Sale

Hi everyone–it’s Andrea here and I am so excited for tomorrow! It’s my birthday tomorrow and I’m going to celebrate by having a sale at SM and giving away all kinds of fun goodies. All of our digital personal use products are on sale, with a few exceptions, for 30% off and all of our commercial/professional use products are on sale, with a few exceptions, for 25% off. We also have a MEGA template kit available FREE with a $20 purchase in the shop. Can you say–timesaving, fabulous scrapping! These templates will help you scrap your summer (or winter) painlessly.

Mega Template Kit FREE with $20 purchase!

There will also be a Hybrid Grab bag free with a $10 purchase of various hybrid products. Our hybrid designers will also have hybrid grab bag or two for sale.

Hybrid greatness is coming to SM tomorrow and while we’ve always had such a great hybrid team at SM, they haven’t always had much to work with, their very resourcefulness has been amazing. Anyway to remedy the situation SM is going to start selling Kaiser Craft’s amazing pressboard albums. These are perfect for mini-albums, they are sturdier than chipboard, yet light weight. We also have new hybrid designers as well as a new hybrid CT just waiting to show off their skills. Since this is SM’s first time selling tangible, IRL (in real life) products it should be quite an adventure. The hybrid celebration will continue all month long during July, so keep checking the shop, forum and gallery to see what fun ideas the hybrid team is creating.

Hope you will be joining us for the big kickoff!

Hi Everyone!

Denise here to bring you this week’s Grand Theft Layout. I am so excited to be scraplifting Courtney (cnscrap).  She has the most amazing gallery which you can see here. I adore her style and each of her layouts is a little work of art. There is just so much inspiration…I already have several of her layouts on my must lift list.

Today, I choose this cute layout to lift:

And here is my layout:

And here’s a little more inspiration from the CT:

Monique lifted this cute layout:

And came up with this:

Christy lifted this adorable layout:

and came up with this:

Christine lifted this pretty little layout:

and came up with this:

Aren’t they awesome? I am so excited to see what you come up with!

Here’s a little housekeeping:

You have all month to complete your layout.

Upload it to the Grand Theft Layout gallery and leave BOTH the image and a link in  forum here.

You will receive one point for completing this challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a NEW product from the SM store (within the first seven days of a product’s release). Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.

At the end of the month one lucky scrapper will receive one ADDITIONAL point for creating my favorite layout! Remember there’s no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge!

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Denise

Today we are revealing all of the amazing products that were hidden in those grab bags!

One Fine Day by Happy Scrap Girl Designs

Say it Like it is Frame Pack by Happy Scrap Girl Designs

Grandpa’s Attic mini

Grandpa’s Attic Alpha Pack

Love Me Some White Space 1 template pack by Trixie Scraps Designs

Stamped, Dated, & Stated Element Pack by Trixie Scraps

Sage Sunset Mini Collab Kit by Trixie Scraps Designs, Happy Scrap Girl Designs, and Andilynn Designs

Sage Sunset Alpha Pack by Trixie Scraps Designs

Buds and Blooms By MickeyB Designs

Father Son Journey Mini By MickeyB Designs

Dreaming of Summer by WM[squared] Designs:

Sunshine Polka Dot Alpha by WM[squared] Designs:

Pink Lemonade by Chelle’s Creations

Chunky Chipboard Alpha

Pure by Dirty Feet Designs

Craft paper 4 by Dirty Feet Designs

lob-STAH by Plum Dumpling Designs

Iconology: Everyday by Plum Dumpling Designs

Boy Wonder by GG Digital Designs

Diamond Plate Alpha by GG Digital Designs

Afternoon in the Arboretum- Pink by Geeky Diva Designs

Boxing Day Templates by Geeky Diva Designs

“Back to Basics: Black Alpha” by Denise Beatty Originals

“Most Awesome Templates Ever” by Denise Beatty Originals

She’s Got Spunk by Man In The Moon Designs

Messy Mesh Alpha by Man In The Moon Designs

“Straighten Up Templates” by Britt-ish Designs

“Edge 2 Edge Word Art 3″

Deeper Conversation by Sya’s Blueprints

Triple Threat Set 4 by Sya’s Blueprints

“The Cool Dad” by Jeni Hopewell

“The Cool Dad Journalers” by Jeni Hopewell

Flower Power mini kit by AnnaBV Designs

Dotty felt alpha by AnnaBV Designs

Sparkle and Shine - Glitter Stamps

Under Sea Adventure - Mini Kit

Not Quite Square Paper Pack: Green by Andilynn Designs

Bright Sunshiny Day by Andilynn Designs

Sky And Sand by Juno Designs

Sky And Sand Alpha by Juno Designs

And starting July 2nd - we we are bringing you a whole new line of hybrid goodness - just look at what we’ll have instore for you!

Hi everyone- Suzanne here and I am so excited to be bringing you my very first challenge! I love template challenges- so I hope you like this one too. There are no special rules- just do whatever you like with the template and have fun.

Go HERE to download

Here’s the page I did using Happy Scrap Girl’s Kit “Flirt” that was the inspiration for the template:

And here are some wonderful examples from the wonderful CT:

First up is this lovely layout by monsu using “Life’s a Beach” kit and Snipettes by Sahlin Studio-

kimbytx also used “Life’s a Beach” kit  by Sahlin Studio for her adorable layout-

By WM [squared] Desings using her kit “My Hero” and “Simply dated V.2″ -

Here’s Juno’s using “Sunshine in my Soul” by Britt-ish Designs-

And last but not least, tgmousechick used “Easter Day” by Juno Designs to create this cute page:

And finally here’s a reminder of the Matter of Scrap rules:
Because this is posting on the last day of the month, you have until the end of JULY to complete your challenge. Once you post your layout in the gallery and link back to the challenge thread in the forum, you will receive one point.  If you are super fast and get the page done, posted and linked back by today you will get your point for June- otherwise all other points will be for July.
If you use a newly released product from the Scrap Matters store on your challenge layout, you earn an additional point- but make sure you indicate in your credits that the item you used was a new release.
Your LO must be posted before the end of the month to be counted toward that month’s point total.
At the end of the month I will choose my favorite for an extra point!
You don’t have to use SM products to participate in this challenge, but we love it when you do! Remember, no double dipping. Each LO must be created for one challenge only.

Good luck and I can’t wait to see what you all do with this template!

This weeks LOTW is Good Night Fairies by kathleena. It was chosen for the whimsical and vintage feel! I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it!! Congrats kathleena! Make sure you leave her some love in the gallery and in the forum!

Now on to our…

This week we have the pleasure of learning more about one of our Designs Star winners…Rachelle aka maryzmom & Chelle’s Creations.

1.   Your screen name? Your real name?  I have a son with special needs.  For eight years every doctor, nurse, specialist, therapist, teacher, etc called me Marky’s mom, so it seemed natural to call myself markyzmom, I go by Chelle, but my real name is Rachelle

2.   What is your main job/career? My husband and I own a financial services company.  We do insurance and financial planning.  He does the selling, I manage the office.

3.   Are you married/children/pets? We have six children ages 22 to 8.

4.   Where is home for you? How long have you lived there?  I live in a small community in northern Utah.  I live 300 feet from the home my parents lived in when I was born and 250 feet from the home I was raised in (where my parents still live).  Other than college, I’ve only NOT lived here for six years.  How’s that for boring?

5.   What are your 3 favorite foods?  I  LOVE homemade wheat bread, a nice juicy steak, and plump red raspberries

6.   What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  I like the fruity sherbets best

7.   Snacks…Salty or Sweet?  Neither, my favorite snack is plain almonds.  LOL!  But I do have a sweet tooth.

8.   Beverage of choice?  WATER  I keep a water bottle on the floor next to my computer.

9.   What’s your least favorite food?  Vegetables!

10.  PC or Mac? What program do you use?  Yes.  I have a desktop PC with elements on it and a Macbook Pro with Photoshop CS4 and elements on it.

11.  How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started?  I’ve been printing hardbound “scrapbooks” for five years, but while I was recovering from surgery last summer, I talked my DH into bring the desktop downstairs so I could work.  I was browsing the internet and discovered that you can BUY digital scrapbook supplies!  Woo Hoo!  I was in heaven!

12.  What was your 1st LO about? My first hundred or so layouts were just a border with pictures and words-like a regular book.  But this is my first Speed Scrap: 

13.  Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)? Thread crochet.  Spending time with my family (immediate & extended).  Playing games.  Watching basketball.

14.  What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?   Composition!  I LOVE layouts with a vertical composition, but I scrap 11×8.5 horizontal and keeping a variety in my layouts is a challenge.  And white space!  I can’t help but think I’m wasting space!  LOL!

15.  What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?  Draw.  Paint.  I would love to improve my artistic skills.

16.  What are your favorite movies/TV shows?  I really don’t watch TV.  Ok, I have a LOT of SpongeBob, Hannah Montana, and Suite Life of Zach and Cody memorized, but not from watching it.  My favorite movies are Sneakers, Hunt for the Red October, Miss Congeniality,…

17.  Describe your “scrapping” environment.  Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?  In the office, at my desktop.  Waterbottle next to my feet (where it can spill on the carpet, but NOT on my keyboard) and a handful of almonds on the desk.  My daughters in the room working on homework or chatting with friends on gmail.

18.  If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?  I LOVE stitches and ribbons

19.  Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?  I have a master’s degree in mathematics.

20.  Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?  I like my layouts to look like a photograph of a “paper” layout.

21.  Favorite LOs that you have done?

Love this one because of the colors:

Love this 2-pager:

Loved this pic, and LOVE how the LO turned out:

22.  When did you start designing? What is your favorite product that you’ve designed?

I started designing last fall, but my first attempts were laughable.  I got serious and started asking for feedback so I could learn and improve in January.  I became an official designer at the end of the design star competition.  My favorite product?  Probably the Let’s Camp S’more kit.  It’s been so fun!

23.  How would you describe your design style?  I like my elements and kits to look like you could’ve bought them at a paper scrapping store.

24. Where do you get your inspiration/motivation?  There are buttons, photographs, magazine scraps, and pieces of ribbon stuck to a corkboard next to my computer.  That wall is my source of inspiration for designing.  I like to look in the gallery or in printed scrapbook magazines for scrapping ideas.

25. Which of your kits showcases you style the most?  Let’s Camp S’more - lots of realistic elements

26. What is your favorite color scheme to design with?  I LOVE blue, so I usually end up with some blue in each of my color schemes.

27.  Favorite kit you’ve designed?  It’s usually the most recent kit I’ve designed.  But I’ll always have a fond spot in my heart for Make a Splash - I learned so much from the design star competition and this kit really shows it.

Thanks so much for letting us get to know you better. We sure love your LOs and your designs. Check out all of her kits HERE!

Size Does Matter With Elements

For this one I used smaller elements.

Here’s some inspriation from our CT, who are the best!

Christy made this LO using Erica Zane’s *Sail Away*

See how the big waves “hold” the photos in place. While the smaller size of the chair, shell, birds, etc. add to the feeling of the LO and not distract from the photos.

Monique made this beautiful LO using Grab Bag No.4, by Anna BV Designs, Designs by Tater, Dirty Feet Designs and Geeky Diva Designs.

Notice the three different sizes of the flowers. They balance, highlight and really add to the LO. The circles bring your eyes right to the photo.

Cyndi made this LO using Ohana & Date Stamped by Britt-ish Designs and Fun Times Alpha by Andilynn Designs.

Cyndi shows how you can use various sizes and use a lot of elements, yet keep the photos as the focus.

Cristina made this LO using Strips and Pieces Template and Foam Stamp Alpha White by Sahlin Studio
Girl Power by Chelle’s Creations
Font: Pea Olson

Cristina kept her elements on the smaller side as to not take away from the totally cute bunny!

Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!

Remeber:
You must post to both the gallery and the forum.
You get one point for participating in the challenge.
You can get one more point for using a new release (something from the SM shop released within the last seven days). PLEASE let me know it’s NEW in the forum!
You can get one additional point for being the winner. I will pick a winner at the end of July.
No double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

And, since this challenge is posted during the last week of the month, your layout can count for this month or next. If you want it to count for this month, you must post before the end of the month, and if you want it to count for next month, then you should wait and post your layout after the 1st of the month.

Hello, all!  Tgmousechick her with this Thursday’s Hybrid feature!

When I throw a party, I tend to go a little overboard with the theme, and a trip to the Party Supply becomes an expensive endeavor.  But, I love the put-together look of having everything coordinate- the plates, the centerpiece, etc, etc.  And the favors.  Oh, I love the party favors!!!  Little trinkets that say “thanks for coming!!”  They tend to take up the largest part of that blown budget, but they are the most fun- when you can find what you want!

With hybrid, tailoring that perfect party favor becomes easy!  With thousands of digital kits out on the market, there’s a pretty good chance that you will find a kit (or a couple) that suits your theme perfectly.  Pairing that with a shape pattern or a hybrid template makes it simply to achieve custom results.

Today’s project includes a freebie template!

Download here!

I created these little “fryboat” cups to serve as treat cups, or to hold small items that you’d like to display.  They are super easy to trim and put together- essential if you’re making a bunch of these!

In my sample, I’ve used them to hold color-matched M&M candies for a baby shower theme.  I used the bright and sunny “Summer Breeze” kit, a collaborative kit by Jeni Hopewell and Andilynn Designs.

Although the cups are really cute, I think what really makes the presentation is the metal tower.  It’s a cupcake tower made by Wilton.  With cupcakes all the rage these days, it allows you to display them with style- I get wows everytime I bring in cupcakes for an event- all of my decorating work is highlighted when it’s presented in such an eye-catching fashion.  This is the first time that I’ve used it for something other than cupcakes, but it certainly won’t be the last!

Your challenge this month is to create a hybrid party favor.  You can use the freebie offered above, or use another design.  Since this challenge falls at the end of the month, you can keep creating through the month of July.  Projects posted up to the 30th count towards this month’s points, and those created in July count towards next month.

Party favors can take many shapes and varieties.  Here are some great examples made by our amazing CT!

Sylvia B. used a paper template by Mirkwood Designs paired with the Mystery Mix grab Bag #5:

And Kari had these favors in her gallery:

Just a quickie reminder of the Matter of Scrap Challenge guidelines:

Upload your layout to the gallery, and leave BOTH the image and a link in the challenge forum.

You will receive one point for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional point 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!)

If you post a project for this challenge, you cannot use the same project to complete another challenge.  I can’t wait to see what fills the gallery- have a great day!

Hello Ladies!!  Wendy here for your next installment of “Grand Theft Layout!”.  This time around we’re going to lift the lovely Cyndi146!  I don’t know about you, but I just love her style!!

You can find Cyndi’s gallery–> HERE

Please remember to post your inspiration LO along with your LO!

Here is my inspiration:

M&M

And *MY* LO - a little less sweet, a little more sassy:
Credits:  “Teen Grunge”  & Date Stamped V.2 by me (WM[squared] Designs)

SylviaB lifted Grandma:

Here is her verison:

Credits:  ‘Life’s a beach’ by Sahlin Studio

Krisi616 lifted “Sky High”

Here is her version:
Credits:  “Hocus Pocus” & “Lucky Girl” by WM[squared] Designs

Aren’t they great?  Ok, now it’s your turn!  Head over to Cyndi’s gallery and get to liftin’!
Here are the Matter of Scrap Challenge Rules:

You have the rest of the month to complete your layout! Upload it to the gallery and leave BOTH the image and a link in the challenge forum –>  here!

You will receive one point for completing the challenge. You can earn an additional point for using a NEW product from the SM store! (Please indicate that you used something new with your LO/link in the forum.) And, one lucky winner (random) will receive an ADDITIONAL point!

Remember no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge! Can’t wait to see your lifts!

Happy Scrapping!!