Shadow Tutorial with Freebie!

If you are looking for new products today. I'm sorry. You will probably be disappointed because I have no new products for you. BUT, I do have a short video tutorial with a freebie to go along with it. :-)

A couple weeks ago I released some Banner Templates.

Someone suggest I do a tutorial showing how I shadow them. I'm no expert, that's for sure. But I thought I would make a little video tutorial showing you how I shadow them. I'm using Photoshop CS3. I know that in Photoshop Elements there is more limitation as to what you can do but I do show you my shadow settings (which might help for Elements). I'm also using paper from the Viva Las Vegas Collab Kit (just in case you were wondering).

I always wonder if I'm doing things the "right" way....so there maybe be another way to do this but this is how I do them. Hope it helps. And don't forget to grab the freebie below so you can try right along with me.

Just click on the pic to download.

Digiscrap-apalooza Recap

I've been promising a re-cap for a couple weeks now. So here I am, finally! I got a few pages scrapped and I'm ready to show them to you all.

Here's a re-cap sort of page I made that showcases some of the photos I took. It includes a pic of me and Chari (from Persnickety Prints), Me and Tiff (CT member and friend!), the Purple Team. We had teams in Vegas and had some fun games to play against the other teams. I was on the lovely purple team. Although we didn't win anything we still had a blast.....all 16 of us fitting into a bathroom stall....oh what memories we made!  Then there is a pic of Helen (CT member and friend) and Britannee. Then there is Kami and me and then me with my Scrap Orchard T-shirt and get-up.....yup, I was all important with my walkie talkie.....um, I think I only used it once! LOL! My job was giving away all the wonderful prizes! Yah, I think I had the best job at the convention! Then the very last pic is me and my team minus a few members. Missed you girls.....maybe I'll see you next year ;-)

Using the kit Viva Las Vegas - Collab

And the I Love Vegas Font by Irene

And guess what? There is a free template and challenge over at Scrap Orchard with this template!

*template & challenge are expired

And this template was inspired by something I saw in Vegas.  Well, rather it was something I saw outside of Vegas. My hubby and I stayed a few extra days seeing the sites around Vegas and I saw this at Red Rock Canyon and I just knew it would be awesome as a template. So I snapped a pic so that I would remember it and then when we got home I made the template for the template challenge. 

 

And here is a picture slide-show of pics that everyone took while they were at Vegas. Lots of fun!

Here's a page I made with pics from the few extra days my hubby and I spent in Vegas. We rented a Mustang (yah, that was a lot of fun....a lot different then driving a mini-van!) and drove out to Red Rock Canyon and then the next day we went to the Grand Canyon. It was amazing! So glad we took the time to go out there. We were more amazed by the natural beauty surrounding Vegas then we were by Vegas itself......God makes pretty amazing things! We had a great time spending a few days just to ourselves without the kids. But we were so glad to get home to them.

 

 

Using Scent of Spring by Tracie Stroud and Ju Kneipp

Stitches from Captivated Visions Fantasia Kit
Alpha from A Life Expressed {Mega Alpha Stash} by Suzy Q.

Template is from the Variety Set being given away in the Scrap Orchard Newsletter (available in the store soon).

I know I usually do a giveaway and sneak peek on Tuesdays. But guess what?!? I don't have any new products coming out this week. Don't worry, I'm gearing up for May. I have a LOT of fun stuff planned for you all. Although I have no new products coming out I will have a new video tutorial for you all on Thursday along with a freebie to go along with it. So you want to make sure you come by on Thursday! See you then!

Template Miscellany (+ freebie!)

This week's new releases are a medley of fun templates.  These are great for multi-photo designs, and also feature substantial journaling spots.  I love how these designs really fill the entire page - every square inch is a feast for the eyes.  They are a bit playful, but as you can see with the CT layouts below, they are also very dramatic - it all depends on what kind of kit you choose! They are licensed for PU/CU/S4H and are 20% off for the first week.

Miscellaneous Temps I

Miscellaneous Temps II

The CT thought these were "great" (Dagi), "fun" (Sarah), and "fabulous" (Judie), and I have to agree with them. Take a peek at these gorgeous pages, all using kits from Scrap Orchard.

By Tami

By Carrie

By Dagi

By Heather

By Judie

By Knautie

By Sarah

By Liz

Isn't every one of those pages spectacular?! Wow, I'm blown away, and I hope you find them inspiring. Thanks for stopping by, and happy scrapping!

ps. Here is your freebie.  Have you been collecting them all??

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Enjoy!

Memories

I'm just going to pop in real quick tonight to show you a page I just scrapped about my grandparents. My grandfather passed away last week and so I was inspired to scrap this page about my grandparents. My grandmother passed away 14 years ago. They were married for over 60 years! They had 6 children and from those 6 children: 22 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren!

My Journaling:

Even though my grandparents are gone now, they left such an amazing example of how a simple Christian life and marriage should be lived out that even in my life today I can apply those simple truths to my life. Examples of hard work, dedication, service, honesty, steadfastness, gentleness, trusting in God, not complaining or gossiping, etc.. These are the things I remember about my grandparents and I pray that I will take their example and apply it to my life, daily.

Love - Matthew 22:37

Thankfully I had these pics scanned in from an album I did awhile ago (I'll have to show that to you another time). I used a template from an upcoming template set that will be coming out this Thurs. (I guess this is your little sneak peek for this week) and then a kit from Julie Bullock called Vintage Treasures (Beautiful by the way and perfect for a page like this!)

I won't be doing a giveaway on the blog this week but I will have one over at Scrap Orchard and probably DST later on tomorrow sometime. I'm still getting back to normal around here after traveling for the funeral this weekend. I'll let you know on my facebook when I have those posted so that you'll have a chance to wint my 2 NEW template sets.

LOTS of new products (and freebies continue!)

Hi, Liz fans! Liz has a great mix of products today. Four new products, so let's get straight to them. As always, new products are 20% off for the first week, and all of these are licensed for PU/CU/S4H.

Oh and the winner from Tuesday's giveaway was Lizzy. Read more about it in the comments section on Tuesday's post. Congrats Lizzy!

First are the layered Photo and Journaling Starters. These are layered, blocked shapes, perfect for clipping photos and papers, and the text boxes are right there for you in the block.  These are going to be so useful! I can see them being used very clean and simple, but I can also see all you clusters out there embellishing them up a bit.  8 sets are included (check the freebie below for an additional starter!)

Next is a set of Photo Clip Masks - photo and paper clipping masks, with a bold geometric style. These make really unique frames for your photo and are a great way to start your page.

Do you love all the banners you see showing up in all the kits lately?  The next product - Banner Templates - is perfect for making your own banners for your pages, or for designers looking for a great tool to make banners for kits. They even come with doodle style stitches and strings to complete the look. A big thanks to Jenny for suggesting these! And look for a tutorial soon on how to give these banners some great shadows.

And finally, we have 12x12 Frames - a set of 17 page frames, great for your pages or for designer use.

Here is some inspiration from the CT.  All of these examples are made with kits that can be found at Scrap Orchard.

By Tiff, using Photo Clip Masks

By Carrie, using the Photo & Journaling Starters and 12x12 Frames

By Dagi, using the Photo Clip Masks and 12x12 Frames

By Sarah, using Photo Clip Masks, Frames and Banners

Finally, I want to remind you of the freebies Liz is giving out this month.  These freebie templates are being given out in the Scrap Orchard newsletter over the course of the month:

And there are also freebies in Liz's Newsletter, as well as here on the blog.  Here is your blog freebie for today, a Photo & Journaling Starter, in the same style as the new release set.  Enjoy!

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Another Digital Home Project - Sneak Peek & Giveaway

Happy Tuesday Everyone! Are you ready for another home project? Oh wait.....I was supposed to show you pics of Vegas. Well, that is just going to have to wait because I've been wanting to show this to you for awhile. DigiscrapApalooza was great by the way and I'll tell you more about it in an upcoming post!

Anyway, onto the project. I've been updating a few rooms in my home (see other post here)....well, more like walls! I just want a little change but nothing that requires painting, moving furniture, or spending lots of $$$. So I'm just updating different walls around our house. I wanted something new in my bedroom and I honestly don't know where I came up with this idea.  I think it just popped into my head one day. I decided to make some letters with pretty digital paper and spell the word LOVE. Yes, that's right. The word love above our bed. My hubby rolled his eyes when I told him my idea but in his good humor he obliged me and let me do it! Plus he knows all my decorating schemes turn out nice....well, besides that awful bright blue wall in the kitchen in our first home that we had to repaint but I won't get into that today. After I decided on the word LOVE I thought it would be fun to have a circle mirror as the  O. So I made the letters L, V & E on an 11x14 canvas in photoshop and then clipped different digital paper to them and got them printed at Persnickety Prints (my fave printing shop....oh and I got to meet Chari this weekend in Vegas! Woot!). I found some cheapo, but nice frames from Wal-mart and put my letters in the frames. Then I went shopping on Amazon and found the circle mirror that you see....I got a steal of a deal! Then it was just a matter of hanging it all up....that was probably the hardest part. Lining it up, spacing it, etc....lots of trial and error but I think I got it looking good.

 

I think it gives it a little bit fresher and more modern look. I mean, I'm not interior decorator but I like it and that's what matters, right? I used paper from DeCrow's Kit called Everyday You and paper from Tracie Stroud's Kit called Sunshine Song.

Now onto today's sneak peek. I have 4 new products coming out this week! They are all great products to get your pages started. So if you want a chance to win this (a value of over $16) hen just leave a comment here and let me know....hmmm I guess just let me know if you want to win it!

Templates: Inspirational Booklet and Freebie

Are you new to digital scrapbooking? Or have you been digi-scrapping for a while and are just discovering templates? Liz has a unique new product available today, perfect for the new template scrapper or for someone who is just learning about Liz's products.  But before we begin  I just want to announce the winner of Tuesday's giveaway, it was Stephanne (read more about it in the comments on Tuesday's post)! She won a $25 gift certificate to Hooked on Adorable plus my new Inspiration Booklet and Temps!

First, let me give you a peek at what you get, and then I'll get into the details.  As always, new products are 20% for the first week.

PDF Template Inspiration Booklet & 11 Digital Templates

Your download contains 11 Digital Templates and a PDF Booklet showing you each of the 11 templates in use.  Not only are there examples of the templates used "as-is," but there are also examples showing you how you can modify your templates to get more use from them - by rotating them, or by using a portion of a template to create a completely new look!  The beautiful example layouts were made the Scrap Orchard Honeybees, so you know these are going to be a great source of inspiration.

The eleven templates are a mix of 7 older templates from Liz's store and 4 new templates exclusive to this product.  Four of the templates can be put together to make two double-page spreads.  The templates Liz chose for this collection make up a very good mix of her style; if you are new to Scrapping with Liz, this set is a great representation of the quality Liz delivers - with features such as text paths, scalloped paper clipping layers and fancy shapes.

In your download are PSD, TIFF, and PNG versions of the templates.  Download the files that are appropriate for your software.

Liz has several template tutorials here on her blog.  The Scrap Orchard Forum is also a great resource for learning techniques.  Here are a few links to get you started.

• How to use a template - Liz's Blog - Nov 14, 2008
• Turn a 12x12 template into a 2-pager - Liz's Blog - May 21, 2010
• Modifying a Template Video - Liz's Blog - Jan 25, 2011
• How to Use a Template (PS)  - Scrap Orchard Tutorial
• How to Use a Template (PSE)  - Scrap Orchard Tutorial 
• Using a template in PSE9 - Scrap Orchard Video Tutorial (with free mini-kit by Ziggle and SuzyQ and an additional template from Liz!)

Once you start using templates, you are likely to fall in love with them.  Most of us have!  Almost all of my layouts start with a template, and even though you are starting with a foundation made by someone else, I still think your finished layout is all your own - with your own style and personality.

It can be hard for me to get focused when I look at the blank page, so I love templates because they give me an organized starting point.  I might stick very closely to the original design, or I might delete portions and take it to a more minimal look, or I might add to it and take it in a completely different direction.  When you want to finish a product quickly, templates can also help with that.  It's all up to you!  Templates are a great tool for scrappers, and if they are new to you, I hope you will give this product a try.

Here is your freebie!

 

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An Adorable Giveaway and New Product Sneak Peek

As you are reading this blog post I am probably flying home from Vegas right now and I'm probably ready to be back home to my girls and regular routine. I promise to show you all pics very soon of my trip....because I know I will have tons.

Well today I'm doing a super special giveaway. My friend Jenni, from Hooked on Adorable has offered to sponsor today's blog post and she's giving away a $25 gift certificate to her store. She has some amazingly cute and adorable handmade, crocheted creations for babies, children and even adults. I purchased some matching hats for me and my girls and they are absolutely adorable but my favorites are her little baby creations. They are just too cute.

Now what does this have to do with digital scrapbooking you might ask.....nothing really. Other then the fact that I know a lot of you have little children and could always use something cute for them AND the fact that I appreciate the creativity of others and I love it when women can help and support their families with their creative abilities.

So here's a little bit about Jenni:

My name is Jenni and I am married to an amazing man named Josh.  We have two furbabies named Callie and Cassie.  I have been teaching second grade for four years.  I learned how to crochet last summer and I've been "hooked" ever since. I offer hats for all ages and sizes from newborn to adult. I make basic beanies, newsboys, newsgirls, and animal beanies including monkeys, owls, penguins, raccoons, rabbits, and my newest animal addition a dinosaur complete with spikes and a tail! I also offer cocoons, nests/bowls and hanging stork pouches for those adorable newborn pictures. I recently added an adorable little purse and I'm looking forward to adding additional sizes soon.

Here are some of my faves from her store (the pics are linked):

This is the hat I ordered for me and my girls.

And I'm so sorry to say that I haven't taken any photos with us in the hats. I know, shame on me!

So if you like what you see be sure to "like" her on facebook because you never know when she might be doing a sale or handing out coupons. And check out her Etsy Store here and her blog here to keep up to date with what she is up to. She's always adding new stuff.

Now onto my sneaky peek and my part of the giveaway. I have something unique coming out this weekend....something I've never done before....something that I never thought I would do....something that I had to learn a lot to figure out how to do.....something that I think turned out pretty awesome, thanks to a lot of ladies who helped me. Okay, are you excited or scared?!? Well, if you were in Vegas then you probably already know what this is and you might have snagged it up but if not, then you'll have a chance to grab it this weekend. I'll give you a hint, it includes a PDF and 11 templates....some old and 4 exclusive new ones. So you won't want to miss out on this sweet deal. You have a chance to win this and the Hooked on Adorable Hat just by leaving a comment here and letting both Jenni and I know if you've ever bought anything on Etsy and maybe telling us a little bit about it. We'll be announcing the winner in Thursday mornings blog post. Can't wait to hear from you all.