We interupt this interview…to bring you these important announcements (drum roll please…)

The September Layout of the Month (LOTM) was voted to be “My Boy” by One Happy Mama. Click the image to see credits and leave her some love. Ashley (One Happy Mama) will receive a $5 Gift Certificate to the ScrapMatters shop. Congratulations!

AND we also have a new Layout of the Week…

Our first Layout of the Week for October is “Thankful” by rxdawg97.  The image is linked to her layout in the gallery, so you can check credits and leave her some congrats.

Back to our Sunday Spotlight…

Happy Weekend! Krista (norton94) here with a Spotlight of one of our own…a member of the Scraps Matter Gang, littlehiccup.  This talented scrapper is also on the ScrapMatters Creative Team!  You’ll see why if you check out her gallery.

1. Your screen name? Your real name?
My screen name is littlehiccup. I always get the hiccups! I get them when I am hungry, I get them when I am full, I get them after any dairy product, and sometimes I get them just because! And I used to be littler…hence…littlehiccup! Real name: Mary

2. What is your main job/career?
I stay at home with Clark now, but I used to be an ESL teacher.

3. Are you married/children/pets?
I am married to my best friend Jason, have the little guy Clark, and a dog named Cutlass - cruel name for a cute little terrier girl! It was my husband’s idea!

4. Where is home for you?
Sweet Home Chicago!

5. What are your 3 favorite foods?
Gina Portillo’s Chocolate Cake, Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork Burrito, and Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizza

6. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Straight up Vanilla

7. Snacks…Salty or Sweet?
Definitely SWEET!

8. Beverage of choice?
Root Beer…seriously I have a problem.

9. What’s your least favorite food?
Fish of any kind

10. PC or Mac? What program do you use?
PC, I currently use PSE 5

11. How long have you been digi-scrapping? How did you get started?
I started in Feb. of this year. I had been wanting to start for a long time, so I just sat down and went through a tutorial for my first LO.

12. What was your 1st LO about?
My graduation when I got my Masters in June 07.
Graduation - My First LO

13. Do you have any other hobbies besides digi-scrapping (are there other hobbies)?
I read quite a bit, sew, and enjoy storytime with Clark

14. What is the most challenging part of scrapbooking for you?
I’m terrible at clustering and layering, but I LOVE the way it looks. (Krista adds - Yea right have you seen Daddy and Me or Jacob and Stephanie LOL)

15. What would you like to learn to do (or do better) not related to scrapbooking?
I’d love to learn how to play the guitar. I bought one a few years back, but never learned how to play.

16. What are your favorite movies/TV shows?
Movies - Italian Job, Meet Me in St. Louis, Pride and Prejudice. TV Shows are easier…Bones, Criminal Minds, CSI:NY

17. Describe your “scrapping” environment. Music? TV in the background? Drinks? Snacks? Where?
At the computer desk in the family room with the songs of Clark’s toys playing in the background. Drinks, snacks, sure…whatever!

18. If you only had 2 elements to use on a LO, what would they be?
I think I use paper as an element quite a bit, and maybe an alpha. I really like using alphas these days.

19. Would you like to share a little known fact about you…?
I am currently writing my first children’s book. Hopefully someone will want to publish it someday!

20. Can you tell us a little about your scrappin’ style?
I’m pretty sure my style is template style! I LOVE templates!

21. Favorite LOs that you have done?
Baby It’s Cold Outside

Just Like Dad

22. What is your favorite part of being a member of the Scraps Matter Gang?
I love leaving comments for everyone and seeing the great LOs! It’s almost self-interested because I glean a lot of my inspiration from all the LOs I see when I am leaving love!

I just wanted to add that Mary is about the nicest person you’d ever meet.  She is always a ray of sunshine to interact with.  I enjoyed getting to know her better by interviewing her and viewing her gallery!

**If you’re here for the World Card Making Day freebie blog train - scroll down to the next post!!**

Hey All! It’s Andrea here (a.k.a. chia) with your Saturday Special! With all the fun changes and challenges going on here, the Saturday Special Challenge is now going to take more of a technique approach. We’ll teach you a new trick, tip or technique to improve your scrapping skills and you will use that new found skill to scrap a layout for the challenge.

You will have the entire month to complete the challenge!! When you complete the challenge you will earn 1 point! If you use a newly released product (within the past 7 days) from the Scrap Matters store on your challenge layout, you earn an additional point!! Wahoo! 2 points!

AND my favorite layout at the end of the challenge will earn another point! WHAT??? How crazy cool is that!!??

So are you ready for this week’s Saturday Special? We are going to work on selective coloring…when you have a bit of color showing on your black and white photo. After “googling” how to do this, I found several different techniques. Some more difficult and involved then others, but today I’m going to share one that I thought was nice and s-i-m-p-l-e!

A few weeks ago, Erica gave a great tutorial on how to make your photos POP! Pick a photo and do that…or if you want to go super simple, just pick a colored photo. Here is the photo I selected and here is my final result:

Now, I use PSE6 so keep that in mind (you may have to make some adjustments)…Once your photo is open, right click on the layer in your layers palette and select “Duplicate Layer.”

Next, with your duplicated layer selected, go to “Enhance” and select “convert to black and white.”

You should now have two layers in your palette—your b&w and your color photo. You’re going to want to now zoom in close on the object that you want to be colored. Find your handy dandy eraser tool and choose a pixel size that you are comfortable working with.

With your B&W photo selected, slowly begin to erase carefully. You will see that the color will show underneath!! Remember the “undo” feature is your friend!!

Your challenge for this week is to use selective coloring in your layout. You can use this technique here or try another. I just want to see some pop of color on you B&W photo! Remember, you don’t have to use Scrap Matters products (but we sure love it when you do) and once you post in the gallery, don’t forget to link up your layout to the Saturday Special thread in the forum here so we can leave you some love and get you your points! You also have one whole month to complete the challenge and no double dippin’!! If you have questions about the new point system, check out this thread in the forum.

Here is what I’ve created and a few layouts from some of our creative team members…

by Cyndi146

by monsu

by Stefanie

by winkasheart

Can’t wait to see what you create! Happy Scrapping!

Happy World Card Making Day! We are so excited to have you join us. Here at ScrapMatters, card making and hybrid projects are a hot topic - in fact, we have a spectacular 12 week hybrid card making challenge going on right now. Our talented hybrid artist Dawn (winkasheart) has posted her template for you to download, your first blog freebie:

Thanks for dropping by! The blog train will be taking you all over the world, so hold on tight. Your next stop is Heather’s blog.

Check back here tomorrow, at 7am for the start of our blog train.

Now scroll down for Henriette’s A Matter of Snap post -

Hello to you all, Henriëtte here with the October photo challenge.
This months photo challenge will be a wee bit different than before; we had the challenge name changed to: A Matter of Snap and we have a guest photographer for the first time to give us some tips and explain our first challenge.  A big thank you to Ashley (One Happy Mama) for helping me out on this one! She chose to do “close ups”.
So without further ado here is Ashley:
Hey everyone! Ashley here (One Happy Mama) and I am totally honored to be a guest for the photo challenge at Scrap Matters this month!! I LOVE photography and was so excited when ScrapMatters asked me to do this!! I hope that I can share a little of what I’ve learned to help you make your own photos even better!!

My main interest and experience is in family portrait photography. I have a small side business that I love, but I get the most fulfillment from taking photos of my own children and being able to use them for my layouts!! One thing I can say about photography is that the ONLY way to improve is to take photos everyday!! My best friend and I started a photo-a-day blog and we talk regularly about how much we have improved just from forcing ourselves to pull out our cameras and do something! I take my point and shoot with me everywhere…to capture the things that I might otherwise miss. It has saved me on more than one occasion. The camera I use most often is a Canon Rebel xTi. It’s an excellent starter SLR and is now quite reasonably priced!! (Wish it was when I bought it!! LOL!) To say I love it is an understatement. I have such fun learning more about photography each day. I totally recommend the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson if you are interested in learning more about manual settings and the workings of a digital SLR. It’s an amazing book! I want to touch on just one aspect of photography for the challenge this month. Get close. That’s it. Look at these two photos. One is documenting the moment (a) and one is telling a story (b).

The difference is that in one I got up close. It really changes the look of a photo. You are able to focus more on the subject and less on the chaos in the background! It also gives a chance to catch bits and pieces of a subject that you might otherwise miss. Some of my most favorite photos are ones that are just part of a subject.

1. Don’t rely completely on your zoom lens. My point and shoot has a certain point in the zoom where I start losing quality in my photo. I prefer to use my feet and actually move closer than using the zoom. My favorite lens for my xTi is my fixed 50mm. The clarity is amazing. But it doesn’t zoom. So I move my body to zoom. It’s a good habit to be in. AND I’m always right in the action!

2. Get down low or stand directly above. Different angles create more drama and interest in a photo. I love to stand right over my kids, focus on their eyes and let the rest of their bodies fade out of focus. And I can almost always get some fun facial expressions!! Getting down on the ground (I routinely lay on my stomach in the grass or on the pavement to get the shot) creates images that tell a new story because we aren’t down that low on a regular basis. But kids are!!

3. Don’t feel like you have to get someone’s face in the photo to still have a good photo. I love the stories that I am able to tell, even when I only capture part of my subject’s body. The sample of my daughter’s legs in the pink skirt show her excitement, without seeing her face. It’s one of my top 10 images…

I hope that these ideas will help you to create beautiful photographs that will make your scrap pages even more fun! I can’t wait to see everyone’s photos of your subject up close!! And the main thing you must remember is that photography is meant to be enjoyable! Get out of your comfort zone and have a good time…your photos will show the energy and excitement you have!
Thank you so much Ashley and I love your pictures, just gorgeous! If you’d like to see some more of Ashley’s beautiful pictures be sure to visit her blog at: http://hopeandbelieve.blogspot.com/ .

Not only do we have a new name for the challenge; we also have some new rules and a new system for all challenges; it’s called “Matter of Scrap Challenges” and [URL=www.scrapmatters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=657)]here[/URL] you can read on how it will work.

How to play:
- Make a photo that has something to do with the subject, you can be as creative as you want. But the photo has to be a NEW photo taken specifically for this challenge.  Don’t just find a photo that will work - actually go out and TAKE a new photo for this challenge and put those tips to use ;)!
- There are three (!) points possible in the photo challenge:
1point for taking and posting the photo
1point if you scrap your photo and post your layout in the gallery
at the end of the month I will choose the winner; my personal favorite; out of all the entries and that winner gets an exta point
- You can submit as many pictures as you like, but there is still just one point to earn (so multiple photo’s don’t give multiple points)! This also count for LO’s.
- Be sure to post your photos and LO’s in the appropiate Matter of Snap gallery as well as make a post linking the photo to the forumpost.

Here is my go on the challenge:

And here are the fabelous entries from the ScrapMatters creative team:

littlehiccup (Mary)

sahlink (Krista)

Britt-ish Designs (Brittney)

And last but certainly not least the winner of last months challenge is Chel with this fabulous photo:

I love the bright pink and how it looks like sails on a ship.
Congrats Chel!!

Thanks for playing and keep those pictures coming!

Click on the image and it will take you to the challenge thread - don’t miss this chance to dabble in hybrid AND make some great gifts (12 weeks left until Christmas, nudge nudge).

Now, scroll down for Kate’s great hybrid project!!!

Hi (scrappy)kate here for my first post here and the first Hybridology 101 post from ScrapMatters new hybrid creative team. How exciting! I hope these posts in the months to come, will encourage you digi-only-scrappers out there to give hybrid a go! It’s so much fun and nice to have something to physically hold once you’ve finished!

Just remember, hybrid can be as simple or as complex as you can be bothered with! I’m going to take you through, step by step the makings of my recycled cardboard album “felix’s day at the zoo”…

Firstly I chose scrap’it designs “zooLander” kit to make something with, I also used “flutter by me stamped alpha” for the titles. I used some photos of a trip to the zoo and it evolved into a story book for my son. He loves that mummy made him something special and he has read it (wanted it read!) every night since I gave it to him!

I made up my digi-pages in 5×7 size and used the cookie cutter tool (in PSE6) to create a rounded corner rectangle to fit each sheet of the album. I made it 5×7, because it was for my 2.5yo son and being made from cardboard too - I was after that big and chunky look, great for small hands. I added bits and pieces from the kit, photos and finally the journaling. I was able to print two to a sheet (A4), so that worked well (and I saved on card!). I was able to print two to a sheet (A4), so that worked well (and I saved on card!).

Cut out your digipages and punch holes through the sheets. Be sure to match up the front and back of each page!

Find yourself a box. I used a nappy (diaper) box… we have a number of them. I knew I had saved a few for a reason! Then trace your cut out pages on to the cardboard and work out how big you want your border. I did mine by eye, but it was about 1cm or a bit less than 1/2″. Then used the first one as a template to cut the rest out.

Get to cutting all your sheets of cardboard out. I did one piece of card per digipage, so each page of the album was double thickness. Again for that chunky look. I went the tedious route and peeled away all those edges, to reveal the rustic corrugated look. I used a hook to drag through the top layer on top of the corrugations and some tweezers to pick off the little bits!

I roughly sanded the glossy side of the cardboard to ensure a good stick with some thinly spread pva glue and then stuck the digipages on with some roll-on glue tape.

I laid them all out on some newspaper and gave them a spray of clear latex enamel - matte finish. Just to stop sticky fingers ruining the pages! About 10 minutes later I gave it another coat.

I then added fabric grade eyelets (they are thicker than the craft/scrapbooking ones and usually a lot cheaper too) to the punched holes, for reinforcement when turning the pages. I added coordinating ribbons to two album rings to secure the pages together and assorted buttons, ribbons and staples throughout with hot glue to make it pop and add a bit more interest. I could have also printed extra copies of the digipages to cut out and adhere with foam dots, but I was pretty sure my son would want to have a look behind them and end up pulling them off (we have already lost a couple of buttons!). But that would make it really POP!

And the finished product…

images clickable for credits!

I hope I have inspired some of you to give something like this a try, remember… you are only bound by your imagination! And by using digipages and cardboard (as opposed to chipboard, for example), you can make it any shape you’d like… hearts, brackets, stars, diamonds etc!

If you decide to make one like this, don’t forget to post it (and any other hybrid projects you do) to the gallery so we can leave you love!

Have a great Thursday!
Kate

I know today is supposed to be Words for Wednesday, but we are changing that up too!

Every other Wednesday will be the “word Up” challenge (all things word related), and the Wednesdays will be the all new “Roadmap to Scrap” challenge.

Here’s how it will work:

We are going to take a scrapping journey, and in order to get to our destination, we have to follow the map.

These are the requirements that will get you from Point A to Point B.

1. One Black and White Photo
2. Stitches
3. Flowers
4. No Alphas, Fonts Only
5. Lots of White Space
6. Something Torn
7. A Frame
8. Use a Kit You Have Never Used Before

In order to reach our destination, we MUST have all 8 things in our layout. You can of course do more than these 8 things…and the rules are open to interpretation. Be creative, for example, if you use something that meeting more than one requirement, lucky you!

Here’s something else that is new: You will have ALL month to scrap your layout, and when you complete it, you MUST post it to the “RoadMap to Scrap” Challenge Gallery AND in the forum here to get credit.

Your completed layout will earn you one point in the new Matter of Scrap Challenge System.

In addition, you can earn another point by using a newly released product (you must scrap and upload your layout within the first 7 days of the products release - and remember, you MUST indicate that you used a new release).

Remember, no double dipping…your layout must be unique to this challenge.

In addition, at the end of the month, I will choose my favorite layout and that scrapper will get one extra point towards next month!
And, for a little inspiration, here is my layout.

And to show you how even though we are taking the same journey together, we still wound up with very different results. Here’s a little inspiration from the CT:

Monqiue (monsu):

Andrea (chia):

Maria (muss):

Isn’t it amazing how many different layouts we can get using the EXACT same set of directions?

I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!

Happy scrapping.

Denise

Hello everyone Lina here

to bring you another Tuesday Template Challenge!

This is my first template challenge and I am really glad about it!!

Today’s template is based on an Lo I had made some time ago using

Flower Girl kit by GG Digital Designs! And here it is

And this is the template

DOWNLOAD HERE

So your task today is to grab the template and give me your best with it!

The rules here are that there are NO rules!!! You can do whatever you please with it!

Scrap about whichever subject you wish and just try to make the template yours!!!

Remember that you have to link your LO to this thread in the forums

and also remember to leave a link in your post so that we can find your LO

and leave you some love!!!

Ok and now time for your prizes!

Well yes, there will be two prizes!

The first prize will be a participation prize that everyone will get!

It’s 4  5×7 bragbook quickpages made using my latest kit

Vintage Lilac Dreams which you can find here!

Here is the preview of the BB quickpages!

And the second prize will be awarded to my favourite layout and it

will be a $5 GC to my store!

Ok would you like to see what our fantastic Creative Team has come up with?

Of course you do!

Here they are!

This one is from Sharon Dale (aka Skyezak) using Sweetness kit by Ellie Lash

This one is from Lisa Kane using So Sweet mini kit and

Glitter Sticker alpha-Silver by Ellie Lash

and Ribbon Jar by Britt-ish Designs.

This one is from Christine (aka Alamama) using Fall Splendor kit

by Haynay Designs

This one is from Stacey (aka shutch) using Halli and Just for Mom kit

by GG Digital Designs

And the last one is from Kim (aka Kimbytx) using the Grab Bag , Ribbon Jar and

Enchantment kit by Britt-sih Designs.

Don’t you think they are fantastic?

Thank you girls for all these really beautiful pages!!! They are amazing!!!!

Now remember that you have to complete this challenge until Monday 6th

of October midnight!

I will be waiting for your pages !!!

Love

Hello Everyone!

Krista (sahlink) here to bring you What Matters Monday.   When I thought about what I was going to write about today, I just had to take a look at the title for inspiration… what REALLY matters.  Of course, most of us will say family and friends, right?  That is initially why we do what we do…  Staying up endless hours, finishing that LAST layout or fixing the color on a photo.  Our goal is to create beautiful pages that document how much we LOVE our family and friends.   About our lives, or perhaps a reminder of a happy time. We document to tell a story and to leave a message.  Of course, some of us scrap because we MUST! The comforting glow of the computer screen as we buy a new kit or post a great LO in the gallery is almost as addicting as chocolate!   But I digress!!!

After we are done creating, usually all of these stories are stored in a photo album.   Hopefully, they are not still sitting helpless in your hard drive!  But, have you thought about incorporating it more into your life or into your home? Why not hang some of your favorite layouts on your living room wall?  In your bedroom?  The office?  Heck, why not spruce up the bathroom while you’re at it (you’ve probably already got some cute ‘kid in the tub’ pics already!).

I recently did a layout that I found I wanted to look at ALL the time.  Or at least I wanted to see it more than just in a book.  It turned out so beautifully and I thought… this could top any piece of art in an art gallery (although a mother’s love for her children can often be quite biased!).  I believe that these pages and pictures should be showcased like the art that they are.

Here’s my layouts in jpeg format:

1) Different Options for Printing
I looked into numerous different options.  What do I do?   Print and frame the picture, enlarge and have it backed with tag board.  There are so many options that are available to do nowadays.   What I ended up choosing was to turn my layout into a canvas print.   I have to admit I was a little nervous.  How is it going to turn out, are the colors going to be true?

2) Choosing a Company
As you can imagine, there are hundreds of different companies that do all forms of printing.   When I was doing my research there were a few things that I was looking for.  What size of print are they capable of printing? I make 12 x 12 layouts, which is not a ‘regular’ size for printing companies.  How thick was the frame going to be? I specifically wanted the profile of the frame to be as minimal as possible.  What is the cost? As everyone, I would like the least amount of cost for good quality.   On average, I found to print a 12 x 12 canvas picture to be around $60.   Does the company offer any guarantee? If so, what was it? My main concerns were…what if the colors don’t turn out?  what if the image doesn’t wrap around the frame correctly?   These are some of the questions to ask a printing company prior to ordering.

The company I decided to go with was http://arttecprints.com/.   I asked my list of questions (listed above) and was thrilled with all of their answers.  They were able to print a 12 x 12 canvas from photo (which was a custom size), on a gallery wrapped frame (which has a thickness of .75 inch), and get this…. for only $29 plus shipping.  Yes, I was VERY skeptical that it wouldn’t turn out because they were so cheap.   But they told me that it was fully guaranteed, which eased my fears.  They were also able to keep my entire image on the top and mirror the sides, so I didn’t have to change my layout at all!   And being the skeptic that I am, I was still a bit worried that the picture would indeed be fully on top.  But they emailed me a preview (within an hour of ordering) of exactly how it would print.

Picture of emailed preview:

It took about 10 business days to receive my order.  It turned out so beautifully.  I couldn’t wait to put my creation up on the wall!!  I think my kids were even more excited to find out they were “featured” on our wall!  Here are some photos of how it came out:

I hope this edition of ‘What Matters Monday’ will inspire you to do something special with your layouts.  You are all truly talented, artistic ladies… and your work deserves more than just 2 hours of appreciation on an internet gallery!  Create your own permanent gallery in your home…   Now, get to work!!

Krista (sahlink)