Hey there!  Welcome back!  It’s been a while!  How are ya?

LuAnn here – hosting the 12/9 It’s in the Cards challenge – one of my most favorite challenges on the ‘net!

Ready to get started?  Here we go….

Here’s my card using Erica Zane’s Itty Bitty {collab with Britt-ish Designs} kit

Download the template here

And as always, how about some fabulous inspiration from the team:

Carina made this super cute card using the collab Believe by Graham Like the Cracker designs and Wm{squared} designs:

Rebecca was inspired to create this beautiful card using Serenity by Happy Scrap Girl:

Tanya created this really fun card using Merry Christmas, Deer by Sir Scrapalot (I love how I can see the words figgy pudding in the background! it just makes me giggle):

How’s THAT for some inspiration?!?

Remember: the rules of the challenge are:
*To earn your Matter of Scrap point for the month you need to photograph and upload your card to the Hybrid Challenge gallery by the end of December – then come back here and post it as a reply to this post.   Make sure to let your hostess know if you use a new product within a week of it’s release – if you do, you get an extra point!  One random winner will be chosen to receive an extra point!*

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

Happy Monday before Thanksgiving!  It’s Kat {ktanker} here with your Monday Home Matters post.  This post is a newer feature on the ScrapMatters blog.  Our goal is to give you new ideas on how to incorporate your scrapbooking talents into your home.  Of course, you can always print and frame your layouts.  I would guess that is the most common why to bring your scrapbooking into your home, but let’s explore some other ideas too!

Ornaments are a really unique way to bring scrapbooking style into your home.  Each year, I look for something I can add to my Christmas tree or use as a nice display around the house to remind me of the season.  Traditional ornaments are sometimes too expensive, too similar, or too “insert your line here”.  For me, they are usually too glittery.  I love a bit of sparkle but I hate picking up an ornament and getting covered in glitter flakes and the flakes stick like glue to my tile floors.  As a child, my mom made a lot of ornaments.  Those have now been retired and live in a nice box of older Christmas decorations but the photos and memories last forever.  They are also some of my best Christmas memories.  Take some time with your kids and make a few ornaments for your tree.  It’s a great way to spend time with the family.  Here’s an ornament template that would be easy to use.

What I love about this template is that while it is not a traditional project for hybrid crafting, it is a simple way to make and print an ornament.  To use this template, all you need to do is open the file, add your papers and text, then drag the ornament to an 8.5×11 page.  Once on the page, you can re-size and print.  Just cut out the ornament, add some ribbon to hang it or some other embellishments or a dab of glitter glue here and there.  Write on the ornament (front or back) the date and who made it so years down the line when you pull it out of your ornament box, you can remember that special time making ornaments together.

Here’s another great idea!  Next time you visit your local craft store, pick up some clear ornament balls.  They usually come in a package of 6 or 12.  Print out a few different sheets of your favorite scrapbook paper and tear it into strips.  Roll the strips around a pencil and put them inside the ornament.  Add anything you’d like to spruce it up.  I chose a different type of hook, added a ribbon around the top and tied a snowflake embellishment to hang off the side.

There is a great Hybrid challenge for creating ornaments in the forum.  Be sure and check it out and show us how you (and your family) made your own ornaments .

Kat

I posted a thread in the forum over the past couple of weeks asking what YOU in the community wanted as a tip or tutorial and of the ideas expressed I was intrigued by the request from Neeny! She asked how to shadow elements when using a dark background. I’m not a shadow expert since I cheat and use styles for my shadows and since we’ve covered shadows three or more times as a Sat Special I figured it would be a fun Sat Special to challenge you to cross over to the DARK side and ask you to use a dark background on your page!

Tips: I found it best to use a darker shade of blue for my shadow colors to give my shadows more depth. There are some great tutorials here, here and here about shadows that might help you. And there are a set of shadow styles from Jennifer Barrette for sale in the store here.

Becca shares this tip as well, “I know that when I shadow I often change my blend mode to Linear Burn. On dark backgrounds linear burn is way too dark though, so I stick with multiply, but I’ll often darken the opacity of the shadow to 85 when I do that b/c it seems that the shadow doesn’t show up as well on the dark background.”

My page:

And here is what the wonderful Creative Team whipped up…
Fiona made this page using After Dark by Sahlin Studio and The Cutting Edge by Chelle’s Creations:

Becky’s page using Adventures in Reading & Iconology by Plum Dumpling Designs, Round the Block Template by Man In The Moon Designs, Paper Cuts from Designs by Sarah Bennett, Garden Party from The Design Girl and Sweetest Days by Erica Zane:

Becca made this using After Dark by Sahlin Studio :

Kat’s page using After Dark by Sahlin Studio & Jennifer Barette’s shadow styles:

Amber made this page using All For One Template & Made in America by Britt-ish Designs, Polka Dotty Alpha by Wimpychompers and Glass Pebble Alpha by Sahlin Studio:

Lori’s page using Miss Kitty by Britt-ish Designs and Jubilant by Connie Prince:

scrappurple made this 2-pager using Make a Wish by Sahlin Studio & Valorie Wibbens and Birthday Word Art by Sahlin Studios:

Challenge reminders:
-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum. 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 August I will choose my favorite layout for a bonus point!

-You have until the end of Aug to have your page count for 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!

I can’t wait to see your DARK side pages!
-Jami

This week we are getting our lifting inspiration from Kim (aka kim21673)! You can find her gallery here ! Kim has some fabulous boy pages, and since I am a mommy to twin boys her gallery was just what the doctor ordered!

I lifted this page:

And I whipped up this fun boy page using Junior: The Boy kit by Graham Like the Cracker and Karen Lewis Designz:

More inspiration from the rest of the team….

Becca lifted this page:

And came up with this super “sweet” page using Family Tree by Bella Gypsy:

Lori lifted this page:

And came up with this precious story time page using StoryTime by Sarah Bennet & Stacy’s Backdoor Designs and Lil Bits by Jude:

Dawn lifted this page:

And came up with this adventurous page about her trip to Battle Creek using Dandelion Wishes and Ice Ice Baby Alpha Brushes by Jennifer Barrette :

Becca lifted this page:

And came up with this pretty in pink page using Girls Just Wanna Have Fun kit, Graph Schmaph Alpha, and It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere template by Bella Gypsy:

Challenge reminders:
-You will receive one point for posting your layout 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 I will choose one layout at random for a bonus point!

-You have until the end of July to complete your layout.

-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!

-Have fun!

I look forward to seeing how Kim inspires you!
–Jami

Hello all! Welcome to the Saturday Special for June 12, 2010. I’m Kat (ktanker) and I am thrilled to be hosting this week’s challenge for you. I am going to be offering a “time saving tutorial” for you. This is something I learned a while back and it has been a been a huge time saver for me and is one of my favorite techniques. I will be working in Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Please Note: These scripts only work in Photoshop Versions CS3 and above.

Today, we are going to learn how to “Load layers into a stack”. This is achieved using Photoshop Scripts. Scripts are described as “actions on steroids” and can increase your productivity so you may make the most of your scrap time . Many of us use actions on our scrap pages or photos and scripts are similar yet they allow more customization. There are numerous scripts that can be bought and found on a variety of websites for free. Loading layers in a stack is included in your program and extremely easy to use. Follow along with me below.

Today I will be adding a title to my scrap page. Normally, I would open all the individual files in my scrap program and have a lot of open windows. I would click on each window and drag the letter to the scrap page. This slows my computer because I am using a lot of resources by opening numerous “images”. By loading layers into a stack, I am only opening ONE image in my program and each alpha letter (or element/paper) is in that one file. ***If you are using elements from multiple kits, this is a great option to help you track your credits. You will be able to see the name of each element!***

Follow along with me below.

Step 1: Click on File, Choose Scripts and click “Load layers into stack”

Step 2/3: You’ll see a dialog box like below come up. Choose “Browse” and locate your files. Remember that all your files will load into ONE image. If you have files in multiple folders, choose your files from one folder, click ok and click browse again to add more.

I made a special note here that by changing the drop down from files to folder, you can load an entire folder at once.

Once you have all your files chosen, your script box will look like this.
Step 4: Click the OK button to add your layers to an image. (Note: if your files are open in your program already, click on the add open files button instead of browsing to add your images.

Here’s your new ONE image holding your numerous images.

Now, what I do next is set up my windows so I can do easy drag and drops of the layers to my layout. You can use any variation on this that you’d like.

Step 5: Drag and Drop. Drag your image to your layout, shadow and arrange as you please.

Here’s my final layout using this technique.
Credits: Blessed and Sweet Sayings by Sahlin Studio

Here’s some inspiration from the Scrap Matters Creative Team!

By Suzanne (iisuzieii)

Credits: Template from My Personal Favorites v.3 by Denise Beatty Originals, Papers and elements from Season of Giving by Sahlin Studios (Season of Giving Bundle here), Frosted Acrylic Alpha by Sahlin Studios

By Lori (loribear)

Credits: Polka Dot Bikini by Stolen Moments & Jessica Edwards

By Heidi (scrappurple)

Credits: Summer Reading by Jennifer Barrette Designs

By Kendall (kendallt)

Credits: If You Give a Girl a Castle by Erica Zane

By Jaime (azrood)

Credits: “I’m Back” Grab Bag” and Hopeless Romantic Kit by Sya’s Blueprints

By Jen (GrahamLikeTheCracker)

Brain Freeze by Connie Prince and Fabulously Negative – Templates V.5 by WM Squared Designs

Last but not least… here’s the rules to play by…

The deadline for this challenge is June 30th, 2010.

You will earn 1 point for your LO and a bonus point if you use a new release (within 7 days of release – be sure to mention this in the forum and in your credits).

No double dipping, your LO must be unique to this challenge.

Please note in your credits that your LO is for the June 12th Saturday Special.

At the end I will pick a random winner to receive an extra bonus point to go toward their July total.

Be sure and stop by tomorrow for the Sunday Spotlight! Have a great weekend!

xoxo-Kat (ktanker)

Today is my husband’s birthday (happy birthday my love)!

It got me thinking about how we don’t take many photos together. This photo of us was taken around our 9th wedding anniversary in 2007.

Seriously, it’s been over 2 years since we took a photo together? Now, I don’t know about you but I think that is too long! I document the lives of our children with numerous photos, scrap pages and yearly calendars. And we have taken tons of family photos of the four of us…but what about those “Just Us” photos? Since 2007, I have lost 45lbs and I look better now than I have in years, so why do I not have a more recent photo with my husband? I don’t have an answer that doesn’t sound like an excuse so can I just say that I am on a mission to get a recent photo taken with my hubby and I mean SOON! The moments that matter are the ones shared with your loved ones, so don’t let those precious moments pass with your significant other, take the time to be photographed with them! I encourage you to take the time to get a photo with your beloved; sooner rather than later!

Happy Monday!
Hugs,
Jami (alansrock)

Happy iNSD and happy May everyone! Let’s kick off this busy month of fun and amazing challenges and events with something I personally love…white space! Feeling stuck or are you new to white space? Grab a template from the store during the sale, problem solved!!!!

My page using So This is Love by Sahlin Studios:

And here is what the wonderful Creative Team whipped up…

These three ladies rocked Jennifer Barrette’s iNSD Grab Bag and One-derful Start Templates with these pages…
Tanya:

Kim:

Megan:

Cristina used Family Fun and The Longest Date from the 2010 iNSD Grab Bag by Plum Dumpling Designs:

Bonnie used iNSD ’10 Grab Bag & One-derful Start Templates by Jennifer Barrette; Glitzy Spills & Thrills by Britt-ish Designs:

Challenge reminders:
-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum. 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 May I will choose my favorite layout for a bonus point!

-You have until the end of May to complete your layout for your 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!

I can’t wait to see your pages!
-Jami

I just finished the book “The Wedding” by Nicholas Sparks. This book had me thinking how us moms put ourselves last for most everything. We’re the last ones to get ready when preparing for an outing, we buy new things for everyone but ourselves, etc, etc. It dawned on me that we get so caught up in our hobbies as a result. And if you are reading this then that main hobby is the same as mine…digi scrapping! Too often we focus our pages on the loved ones in our lives; we forget to scrap about ourselves. Just like in the book I mentioned above Jane is on the sidelines and doesn’t speak up for what she wants, so let’s not be a Jane and wait 30 years to be heard…let’s be in the limelight today, right now. So I challenge you to try and scrap more about YOU; because YOU are what makes this community at ScrapMatters.com so amazing…YOU matter!

Have a great week!
-Jami (alansrock)

Hello ScrapMatters Friends! Becca (aka becca372) here with you today. So, I totally went back and forth this week on what to do for this Saturday Special. It’s my first challenge and my first blog post as a ScrapMatters Creative Team Member. I thought and thought, and then settled on something I love to do with my layouts! We’ve talked here in the past on the use of color, on color schemes, and on using the color wheel…well, throw that out the window today, because we’re going to keep it simple! One of my favorite things to do when creating a layout is to use a monochromatic scheme.

A monochromatic color scheme focuses on one color, and uses neutrals (black, white, brown, grey) to accent this color. When I do a monochromatic layout, I love to pull a color from my photo to be the main color of my layout. For example, this photo of my DD (today’s her third birthday, by the way!) in her butterfly shirt.

I didn’t want the landscape colors to blend into the layout, so I pulled the color of the blue butterfly out of her shirt, and made that the focus of my layout.

So, I browsed through my kits to find one that went with this color and photo…thanks to ScrapMatters, and a slight kit addiction, I had a lot of choices. Eventually I settled on Erica Zane’s Sweetest Days kit. The next thing I did was pick 2 papers for the background that have different tones of the blue. That’s one of the tricks to use when creating a monochromatic layout-working different tones of your color throughout the layout.

This look is easier to achieve with some kits than others (take a look through our shop and you’ll even find quite a few monochromatic kits to make this challenge a breeze), but sometimes I love to mix and match from kits and element packs to create this style of layout. I also love elements that I can customize to match my layout (if you need some hints on this, check out these two Saturday Special blasts from the past, one and two,  all about recoloring elements!). Check out Alamama and Sarah Bennett’s layouts below for some awesome recoloring, and TanyaH666′s for doing a great job of pulling from TONS of  products-you’ll just have to check out both of their layouts in the gallery to see all that they did to make those gorgeous pages! !

Here’s *my* finished product, using Sweetest Days by Erica Zane, and Stitch Me Up element pack by Chelle’s Creations

Here’s a beautiful layout by Alamama, using Sahlin Studio’s NEW Rejuvenate, Sunshine and Daffodils, Tangie Baxter’s  Explain It,
By Becca Lightness of Being (recolored ribbon), Brittish Desgins Around the World, and NEW Trixie Scraps A Mother’s Love.

here’s a really fun, potluck-style layout by TanyaH666, using tons of Britt-ish Designs products, particularly her brand NEW Collectible Cardboard.

and last, but certainly not least, here’s a bold and bright layout using Erica Zane’s NEW What Say? kit, by Sarah Bennett

What do you think? I know I love a monochromatic layout!
Your task for this Saturday Special is to create your own monochromatic layout, using neutrals as accents only! Have fun, and I hope you like this technique as much as I do!

Here are the rules for this challenge:

* Post your layouts to the Saturday Special gallery. You will also need to link us up here so we can leave you love !
* You will earn one point by participating in this challenge. You can receive an EXTRA point for using a product that has been released in the seven days prior to your post – be sure to make a note of this in your post so you receive proper credit!
* Your layout must be created for this challenge – no double dipping.
* You have the rest of April to complete the layout.

Thanks for playing along with me, I can’t wait to see what you create!

Today we are going to talk about color correcting scanned photos.

Here is my original photo:

*I scan my photos at 300dpi at a minimum.
*The first thing I do is Auto Color Correction.
*Then I play around with the hues. On this photo I desaturated the yellow and red tones a little more.
*Then I play around with the brightness & contrast.
*The last thing I do is sharpen my photo.

And here is what my edited photo looks like:

Here’s a side-by-side comparison:

Here’s the page I created using The Carrot Patch by Chelle’s Creations:

And here’s what the rest of the team did…
Melissa used My Honey Bunny Collection by Connie Prince:

Wendy used her “Be Inspired – Tanya” template & Bunny Foo Foo by Brittish Designs:

Becca used “Just Call Me Kim” templates by Stolen Moments and Happy Easter Bundle by WM[Squared] Designs:

Challenge reminders:
-Post your pages in the “Saturday Special” gallery and link it back to the thread in the forum, be sure to show us your before and after photos too please! 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 April I will choose my favorite layout for a bonus point!

-You have until the end of March to complete your layout for your points to be counted towards March points. Otherwise post your layout after the first of the month to be counted towards April 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!

So grab a photo and get to scanning!
-Jami