Happy New Year, everyone!
"2008 in review" template: download here.
Here's my layout using this template...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008 in Review Template
It's still hard for me to believe that today is the last day of 2008! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing in 2008 - and now it's time to celebrate another new year!
Happy New Year, everyone!
"2008 in review" template: download here.
Here's my layout using this template...
Happy New Year, everyone!
"2008 in review" template: download here.
Here's my layout using this template...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Winter Wonderland Paper Pack Freebie
The recent ice storm here in WV has left everything quite frosty - including me! Winter Wonderland is a little paper pack of blues and silvers that would be perfect for scrapping snowy photos - or anything that your heart desires!
If you feel so inclined, leave comment with a link to your layout - I'd love to see your creations! Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD HERE
If you feel so inclined, leave comment with a link to your layout - I'd love to see your creations! Enjoy!
DOWNLOAD HERE
Monday, December 15, 2008
Blog Challenges to begin January 1!
One of my New Years resolutions each year is to scrap more... and looking bad through my galleries, I realized that I have a scrapping cycle that goes something like this...
During January - April I am an excited, motivated scrapper. I always do pretty well for the first few months of the year - I have tons of holiday pics to scrap, and a little more free time since the weather is crummy. Once I'm finished with holiday scrapping, I usually move on to back-scrapping (scrapping older pics from the previous year that are still in my TO SCRAP "file"). It usually takes me the first couple weeks of the year to get into my groove, but after that I usually scrap several pages per week. During this time I'm my most active in the digi scrap community, normally do all of the scrapping challenges I can get my hands on, and do a pretty good job of keeping up with what's new and exciting in the digi scrap world.
From May - July I am losing some steam. As weather starts getting a little nicer, I start losing some steam and spend less time on digi scrap forums, and more time scrapping. I'm usually still participating in a few scrapping challenges - but I pick and choose instead of doing them all.
From August - October I am a scrapping loser. Normally during this time I can count on two hands how many pages I have scrapped - sad, I know. Although I tell myself every year that I will try to keep up with my scrapping so that I don't get behind, the nice weather, summer vacations, and long evenings get in the way and scrapping goes to the backburner. When (if!) I do attempt to scrap anything, it feels like I've totally lost my mojo because I haven't scrapped in so long. By this time, my TO SCRAP "pile" is just that - a pile. I keep adding to my list of pages that I want to scrap, and that's it.
By the time November and December roll around, I am so caught up in holiday ruckus that I continue my unintential scrapping strike. As the end of the year approaches (like right now!), I realize that I am WAY behind scrapping this year's memories, and next year is right around the corner!
I figure there is no better way to start out the new year than with scrapping some memories! So I've decided to host a few Blog Challenges to get some creative juices flowing. The challenges will start January 1, and will be diverse enough that anyone can participate - beginner through expert scrapper! And I even have a couple of fun give-aways planned.
Check back soon for details! :)
During January - April I am an excited, motivated scrapper. I always do pretty well for the first few months of the year - I have tons of holiday pics to scrap, and a little more free time since the weather is crummy. Once I'm finished with holiday scrapping, I usually move on to back-scrapping (scrapping older pics from the previous year that are still in my TO SCRAP "file"). It usually takes me the first couple weeks of the year to get into my groove, but after that I usually scrap several pages per week. During this time I'm my most active in the digi scrap community, normally do all of the scrapping challenges I can get my hands on, and do a pretty good job of keeping up with what's new and exciting in the digi scrap world.
From May - July I am losing some steam. As weather starts getting a little nicer, I start losing some steam and spend less time on digi scrap forums, and more time scrapping. I'm usually still participating in a few scrapping challenges - but I pick and choose instead of doing them all.
From August - October I am a scrapping loser. Normally during this time I can count on two hands how many pages I have scrapped - sad, I know. Although I tell myself every year that I will try to keep up with my scrapping so that I don't get behind, the nice weather, summer vacations, and long evenings get in the way and scrapping goes to the backburner. When (if!) I do attempt to scrap anything, it feels like I've totally lost my mojo because I haven't scrapped in so long. By this time, my TO SCRAP "pile" is just that - a pile. I keep adding to my list of pages that I want to scrap, and that's it.
By the time November and December roll around, I am so caught up in holiday ruckus that I continue my unintential scrapping strike. As the end of the year approaches (like right now!), I realize that I am WAY behind scrapping this year's memories, and next year is right around the corner!
I figure there is no better way to start out the new year than with scrapping some memories! So I've decided to host a few Blog Challenges to get some creative juices flowing. The challenges will start January 1, and will be diverse enough that anyone can participate - beginner through expert scrapper! And I even have a couple of fun give-aways planned.
Check back soon for details! :)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Adding catch light to eyes
A very neat trick for adding some extra pizazz to eyes...
http://www.all-things-photography.com/adding-catch-lights-to-eyes.html
http://www.all-things-photography.com/adding-catch-lights-to-eyes.html
LO: Life is Good.
CREDITS
- for SSD Slogan Challenge
- Lift of purple_colourz's "Delight": http://tinyurl.com/6go745
- Paper Punch Outs: D. Mogstad's "Creative Crops" (SSD)
- Papers: from E. Kipler's "Electric Attitude" (SSD)
- Elements: from "Electric Attitude" and "Happy Dance", both by E. Kipler (SSD)
- Alpha: from "Fresh Fizz" by E. Kipler (SSD)
- Font: One Sweet Font (SSD)
Gatlinburg albums - pgs 1-3
I'm getting started on our Family Vacation album, which I'm pretty proud of considering that we've been back only a few days! Now, if i can get it completed - that will be a REAL accomplishment.
CREDITS
- for SSD SAL 8/31 of Julie's "soaked" :http://tinyurl.com/6ef26j
- Kit: H. Roselli's "Are We There Yet?"
- Fonts: CK Alis Hand, 1942 Report
CREDITS
- SSD 8/27 Cookie 48 w/ babycake
- Kit: H. Roselli's "Are We There Yet?"
CREDITS
- Frames: "Bent Bunch #3" by P. Springermann (SSD)
- Kit: "Babalicious" by Clingerman & Billingsly (SSD)
- Font: CK Alis Hand
CREDITS
- for SSD SAL 8/31 of Julie's "soaked" :http://tinyurl.com/6ef26j
- Kit: H. Roselli's "Are We There Yet?"
- Fonts: CK Alis Hand, 1942 Report
CREDITS
- SSD 8/27 Cookie 48 w/ babycake
- Kit: H. Roselli's "Are We There Yet?"
CREDITS
- Frames: "Bent Bunch #3" by P. Springermann (SSD)
- Kit: "Babalicious" by Clingerman & Billingsly (SSD)
- Font: CK Alis Hand
LO: I Love You
Back from vacation - and time to scrap! Here's a layout using Theres K's new "Kit No 6" @ Elemental Scraps.
Take a closer look HERE.
CREDITS
- for SSD September TOTM
- Lift of nikki's "you are my everything": http://tinyurl.com/5n4v8n
- Papers: from "Paper Stuff" by TheresK (Elemental Scraps) and "Super Star Bright" by F. Jardine (SSD)
- Staple, acrylic bracket, beaded title: from "Kit No 6" by TheresK (Elemental Scraps)
- Glitter splats: from "Sparkle Mess" by M. Martin (SSD)
- Font: 1942 Report
Take a closer look HERE.
CREDITS
- for SSD September TOTM
- Lift of nikki's "you are my everything": http://tinyurl.com/5n4v8n
- Papers: from "Paper Stuff" by TheresK (Elemental Scraps) and "Super Star Bright" by F. Jardine (SSD)
- Staple, acrylic bracket, beaded title: from "Kit No 6" by TheresK (Elemental Scraps)
- Glitter splats: from "Sparkle Mess" by M. Martin (SSD)
- Font: 1942 Report
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
BlogWear How-To, Week 1
A How-To on customizing your Blogger/BlogSpot blog from head to toe and impressing all of your friends with your mad blogger skills.
You've seen all of these cool blogs with rockin' headers and matching buttons and headers. WOW - those people must have some mad skills, huh? It's actually not as hard as you might think. It does take a little time, and if you want to get it perfect - it will require working with some HTML. BUT don't let that scare you. You can do this.... even without one of those "for Dummies" books. :)
I've broken down the process into 2 "classes," which is just an attempt to separate the information in some logical form. Class 1 is the BlogWear design phase; Class 2 is when we will upload the BlogWear to the blog.
The first step is to design your blog elements. If you aren't up for designing/creating them yourself, consider having them designed by someone else. There are hundreds of places on the web where you can order custom "blog-wear" (aka: blog designs). If you are up for designing your own blog wear, read on...
1. Determine what elements you want to add to your blog. I am assuming that you totally want to pimp out your blog, so this tutorial will cover the design and creation of a header, footer, and buttons.
2. Determine the appropriate size of your blog elements.
-- Header Size: Log in to Blogger, and go to Layout -> Page Elements. Click Edit on the Header element. A pop-up box will appear with options for editing the Header. At the very bottom of the pop-up box, you will see "Image will be shrunk to XXX pixels wide" (in my case, it is 660 pixels wide - but this number will vary, depending on the Blogger template that you are using). [If you do NOT have "Image will be shrunk to XXX pixels wide," uncheck the "Shrink to size" box.] Take note of that XXX number - that is the size for your header and your footer.
-- Button Size: Back to Layout -> Page Elements. On the side of the Page Elements (could be on the left or the right, depending on the blog template you are using), click "Add a Gadget" and select the Image/Picture gadget. A pop-up box will appear, and you are again looking for the pixel dimensions listed at the bottom of the box. In my case, it is 220 pixels wide, but again - this will vary, depending on your Blogger template.
Now that you have your dimensions, you are ready to start designing!
3. Design your elements in Photoshop.
-- Start Photoshop. Go to File -> New. Name your project: blog_header. For width and height, set the drop-down box to "pixels." For width, enter the number of pixels that you wrote down from Blogger for the header. The Height can be whatever you want it to be. (I err on the side of making it taller than I think it needs to be because it's easier to crop it than it is to add to it). Set resolution to at least 200 pixels/inch (higher, if you'd like). Set Color Mode to RGB. Set Background Contents to White. Click OK, and you have the start of your kickin' blog header.
Follow the same process as above to create a footer and buttons - just be sure that you change the width/height to suit the element (ie: buttons are not as nearly as wide as the header).
Save all of your source files (PSD files) so that they can be edited easily. Got that? BE SURE to save your source files!! Also, save each file as a JPG or GIF. Also, remember: SAVE EARLY, SAVE OFTEN.
Where you go from here is completely up to you. The world is your oyst... umm... blog header! So knock yourself out!
Check back soon for Class 2: Uploading your BlogWear to your blog.
You've seen all of these cool blogs with rockin' headers and matching buttons and headers. WOW - those people must have some mad skills, huh? It's actually not as hard as you might think. It does take a little time, and if you want to get it perfect - it will require working with some HTML. BUT don't let that scare you. You can do this.... even without one of those "for Dummies" books. :)
I've broken down the process into 2 "classes," which is just an attempt to separate the information in some logical form. Class 1 is the BlogWear design phase; Class 2 is when we will upload the BlogWear to the blog.
The first step is to design your blog elements. If you aren't up for designing/creating them yourself, consider having them designed by someone else. There are hundreds of places on the web where you can order custom "blog-wear" (aka: blog designs). If you are up for designing your own blog wear, read on...
DESIGNING YOUR BLOGWEAR
Please note: This tutorial is written for Photoshop users. Photoshop Elements users can mostly likely use these instructions, with a few adaptations. You can use your designs for any type of blog - however, these instructions are written for use with Blogger/BlogSpot.1. Determine what elements you want to add to your blog. I am assuming that you totally want to pimp out your blog, so this tutorial will cover the design and creation of a header, footer, and buttons.
2. Determine the appropriate size of your blog elements.
-- Header Size: Log in to Blogger, and go to Layout -> Page Elements. Click Edit on the Header element. A pop-up box will appear with options for editing the Header. At the very bottom of the pop-up box, you will see "Image will be shrunk to XXX pixels wide" (in my case, it is 660 pixels wide - but this number will vary, depending on the Blogger template that you are using). [If you do NOT have "Image will be shrunk to XXX pixels wide," uncheck the "Shrink to size" box.] Take note of that XXX number - that is the size for your header and your footer.
-- Button Size: Back to Layout -> Page Elements. On the side of the Page Elements (could be on the left or the right, depending on the blog template you are using), click "Add a Gadget" and select the Image/Picture gadget. A pop-up box will appear, and you are again looking for the pixel dimensions listed at the bottom of the box. In my case, it is 220 pixels wide, but again - this will vary, depending on your Blogger template.
Now that you have your dimensions, you are ready to start designing!
3. Design your elements in Photoshop.
-- Start Photoshop. Go to File -> New. Name your project: blog_header. For width and height, set the drop-down box to "pixels." For width, enter the number of pixels that you wrote down from Blogger for the header. The Height can be whatever you want it to be. (I err on the side of making it taller than I think it needs to be because it's easier to crop it than it is to add to it). Set resolution to at least 200 pixels/inch (higher, if you'd like). Set Color Mode to RGB. Set Background Contents to White. Click OK, and you have the start of your kickin' blog header.
Follow the same process as above to create a footer and buttons - just be sure that you change the width/height to suit the element (ie: buttons are not as nearly as wide as the header).
Save all of your source files (PSD files) so that they can be edited easily. Got that? BE SURE to save your source files!! Also, save each file as a JPG or GIF. Also, remember: SAVE EARLY, SAVE OFTEN.
Where you go from here is completely up to you. The world is your oyst... umm... blog header! So knock yourself out!
Check back soon for Class 2: Uploading your BlogWear to your blog.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Finally getting this blog going!
I've been working on this blog in my mind for a very long time. When I was a paper scrapper, I wanted a paper scrapping blog. When I went digital, I knew I HAD to have a digi scrap blog - and that was more than 2 years ago.
I started adding information to this blog months ago, and made an attempt to post a couple of things, and then I lost my mojo. I didn't even think about this blog for a couple of months.
Now that I finally got around to throwing together some blog wear - a header and some buttons - I'm very excited about it again!
My goal is to post at least once a week - and hopefully more often than that! But for now I'm thinking in baby steps... baby steps. :)
I started adding information to this blog months ago, and made an attempt to post a couple of things, and then I lost my mojo. I didn't even think about this blog for a couple of months.
Now that I finally got around to throwing together some blog wear - a header and some buttons - I'm very excited about it again!
My goal is to post at least once a week - and hopefully more often than that! But for now I'm thinking in baby steps... baby steps. :)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Summery new collab kit
Sugar Giggles just released a brand new collab kit that is smokin' hot!
Seven designers, including the awesome Summer Simmons, designed this kit, which is jammed packed full of more than 400 megs of goodies! Pick up A Summer Celebration HERE.
I can't wait to scrap a bunch of pages using this kit! Here's one that I just finished this evening...
Larger version, and full credits, can be found here.
Seven designers, including the awesome Summer Simmons, designed this kit, which is jammed packed full of more than 400 megs of goodies! Pick up A Summer Celebration HERE.
I can't wait to scrap a bunch of pages using this kit! Here's one that I just finished this evening...
Larger version, and full credits, can be found here.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Benefit Collab Kit
For all of your digi scrappers out there... check out this HUGE new collab charity kit - "Celebration of Life" - put together by more than 25 designers to benefit Laurie Garza, an active member of the digi scrap community. Her husband passed away last month and she is now raising their three small children on her own. 100% of the proceeds from this kit go to Laurie.
The kit is GIGANTIC, and includes: 94 papers, 157 elements, 4 alphas, 8 templates, 6 quick pages and 1 bracket album. If you purchase the kit before June 24th, you get the Maya Road mini heart album quick pages for free.
Pick it up at Shabby Pickle.
The kit is GIGANTIC, and includes: 94 papers, 157 elements, 4 alphas, 8 templates, 6 quick pages and 1 bracket album. If you purchase the kit before June 24th, you get the Maya Road mini heart album quick pages for free.
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