Saturday, December 7, 2013

Did you get the freebie?

I was the featured designer on the Scrapbookgraphics blog not long ago, and there's a pretty little mini-kit there for the downloading:

I more or less thought this color palette was swoon-worthy - rich and delicious ;)

You can find out all about me (and my messy office) and download the kit HERE.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Last Day Goodies...

It's the last day of the sale.  There, I said it.  It always makes me a little sad, sort of like knowing there's only an hour left of the party and then you have to go home.  Or worse, you have to clean up after the party, LOL!  However, we will try to make the last day as much fun as the first ;)

This morning I added the No Place Like Home - For the Holidays Add-on kit into the store.  Part of this has been sold before - I took out the papers (which were very distressed) and created a separate paper pack with them.  Then I made an entirely new clean and tidy set of papers for the kit.  All of the pieces are available separately, so if you had the kit but want the new papers, you can accomplish that with a minimum of fuss :)

I also made a new photo tray to go along with this whole collection:


There are all kinds of fun possibilities with this one - I can picture adding a young couple's name in the "roof" along with the date established, and then photos of either their wedding or their new home (or both) in the photo spots.  I may take a stab at doing that myself - I think printed and framed in a nice shadow box would make a great gift!

I have another one of Tamie's pretty stacked papers for you from the original No Place Like Home collection:

You can download it HERE.  Enjoy!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Too many freebies?

I'm probably making a nuisance of myself, but I love these, so please try to bear with me :)

Download HERE
I really love this clever stacked paper - how cute are the buttoned papers?!  Thanks, Tamie!

Stacker number Four!


The Fourth Stacked paper gift comes from the Whimsical Woodland collection :)


Download HERE


And the next freebie is...

Time for another stacker - this one is from No Place Like Home:


You can download it HERE.  (feel free to leave Tamie some love!)

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!

I feel as though I should be singing a song about the "best time of the year" or something, but I've only had one cup of coffee, so maybe we will just skip that part :)  Hope you all have great fun chasing down freebies and glorying in great sales!

I think I'm going to go scrap with my latest kit:


You can, too - my creative team member Tamie has graciously provided this cute stacked paper to start with!
You can download it HERE.

Be sure to watch for more goodies later!

Friday, November 1, 2013

It's Digiscrap Parade Time :)

I will be perfectly honest with you.  The color palette for the Digiscrap Parade for November is not in my wheelhouse.  I took multiple tries at it; most of what came out of my effort looked babyish or (worse) like baby poop.  So I kept the papers that worked, and added a cute little photo cluster, because I think it's better to have something that's usable, LOL.  And I make photo clusters because I love them - I'm far too independent for most templates; I end up deleting most everything but the photo spots because *I* want to decide where the goodies go, LOL.  Here is this quarter's contribution for those other independent souls:


Download HERE.

And if you get lost, here's the main Parade blog so you can get back on track again ;)



Thursday, October 31, 2013

DSD and Happy Halloween :)

It's Halloween.  I'm trying to get this blog post wrapped up before the sun completely sinks over the horizon and the doorbell begins to ring ;)  When you get to the end of the post you will find a little treat of the digital variety!

Digital Scrapbooking Day is Saturday, but I like to take a running start, so my sale started today.  And since this *IS* the holiday that celebrates what I love most, this is also my biggest and best sale of the year!  You will find everything in my shop at Scrapbookgraphics marked at half price!  That's right, a full 50% off of everything, and that includes the bundles, which are already specially priced to begin with - making them an even better deal :)

I have a new collection in honor of the event - it's been bubbling in the back of my head for some time now, and finally fought its way out, LOL.  "Woodland" everything is hot right now, and I've fallen for its charm.  I have been fascinated with foxes for some time (yes, even before What Does the Fox Say) and so I pretty much indulged myself with all my favorite colors and patterns and textures and vintage-y things and cute things...something for everyone (no matter What they Say).










Of course there is a bundled version with extra savings - it includes everything!

And don't forget last week's collection (part of which is new):

One of my CT members, Tamie, very graciously created some stacked papers to share with you using this collection, and here is the first one!

The Image is linked to your download :)

I also have a new freebie on Facebook to share:



That's it, for now.  Stay tuned for more freebies :)









Saturday, August 24, 2013

A Decade of Digital - the Celebration continues!

 Scrapbookgraphics has been celebrating their 10th birthday, which is astounding in the digital scrapbooking world!  There have been lots of fun events, challenges, sales, and it isn't over yet!  Check out the forums for challenges:


Make sure you stop by the Studio Girls Facebook Page and enter the big giveaway:


There are also freebies to pick up on the store blog and on the Facebook page, so make sure you collect them!

Last of all, I have a template for you that will help you scrap your ten favorite - well, your ten favorite what-evers, LOL.  There's also an extra coupon in the pack for an extra 10% savings on your next purchase.

Download HERE.

Enjoy, and happy scrapping!  And stop by and say "Hi!" in the forums!


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

August Digiscrap Parade - Destination: Adventure!

Yay!  It's Digiscrap Parade time again!  I'm offering my contribution on my blog as well as my FB page because I know some people would rather not "do" Facebook.  The stop before me is HGD by Laurie Ann  and your next stop will be Wishing Well Creations (Wishing Well Blog for those who don't use Facebook). If you get lost along the way, simply head back to the main DigiScrap Parade site to view the master list and get back on track.

Here's my contribution this time:


You can download it HERE.  Hope you have a wonderful time collecting all the pieces, and I hope to see what you do with them!


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Underlayers? Is she talking about underwear?

I'm sure you've seen them all around digiland.  Every designer has a different name for them, and some scrappers, too :)  I've seen "paint," "splats," "grunge," "smears," just recently, and I'm sure there are more.  I call mine underlayers, because I've created them to "layer under" a photo or elements to give the scrapper more creative options for grounding the photo or creating better contrast, or even for adding a touch of color to help the eye find the focus of the layout.  A little pedestrian term-wise, but a very useful tool!

What, you may ask (see how nice I am now that you know I'm not talking about underwear?) does one do with an underlayer?

I'm so glad you asked!

Here we have a rather bland layout of some elephants chillin' at the zoo using some papers and elements from my Menagerie Collection.  Nice enough, a few cute elements.  But just a little "blah.

 Here, however, I've popped a nice splattery underlayer under things, and see how it livens things up?  Adding texture, a touch of sparkle, and a bit of color to tie in the subtle red border, it adds some pizazz and also unites the elements with the background.
 Maybe, though, you don't care for the extra tension of the red, and would like a calmer look - after all, there were lots of screaming kids at the zoo (hopefully not yours) and you just want to remember the restful parts. Try clipping a paper to the underlayer - you get the same subtle interaction with the background, but not so much contrast.  I also changed the color of the border to continue the more subtle effect.

Maybe you like the color of the paper clipped to the mask better than the original, but want a little pizazz.  Not screaming yellow zonkers level, just a little pop of sparkle.  Here, I've layered another sparkly underlayer over the adjusted mask:


Sometimes a background can prove to be a little dark - in this version, I like the harmonious feel of the greens, but the elements seem a little lost and it's awfully zen.


 So I popped a light colored underlayer beneath it all for this look:

 While I like the lighter color for some contrast, I think it's too bright and stark, so I lowered the opacity of the underlayer a bit (you can also play with blending modes for different effects).  And then I thought it would be fun to add the red layer, too, for a smooshy good time (without getting my fingers dirty, LOL, I love digi!)

This one might be my favorite of all.  See how you can change things up?

OK, now You give it a try!  I've packaged up the underlayers I used here and you can put the tricks to work in your own layouts:


You can download them HERE.

Menagerie will be on sale 20% off through Friday, so if you have your own chillin' elephants to scrap, now's a great time to pick it up:


And til next time, happy scrapping!


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

60% off Moving Sale :)


I have been at the Digichick for almost three years, and I have loved being there amongst warm and supportive friends and talented folks.  I have learned so much along the way, and I value the friendships I have made.

June 13 I will be starting a new adventure at Scrapbookgraphics.  I'm so looking forward to meeting new friends and being inspired by the amazing artists in residence there!  I hope you will join in the fun along with me.  I will be updating further here on my blog, and you can also keep in touch with my newsletter and Facebook Page so you don't miss out on any of the freebies or special goodies along the way.  In the meantime, I'm retiring some of my products to make the "journey" a little easier :)  This is your chance to snap them up, and then they will retire to the depths of my hard drive forever.  

Friday, May 10, 2013

A new obsession. You knew there would be one.

For a long time, I've gazed longingly at the photo trays at the scrap store.  Like, LONGINGLY.  What is it about little squares and rectangles that fills my heart with longing and makes my fingers itch to put stuff in 'em?  Of course, that last part is "figurative" because that would involve scissors and glue and coordination.  Not that it changes anything, they still fascinate me and I still want one every time I go in to Michaels or Hobby Lobby or {insert harp glissando here} Archiver's.  

I spent a little time (ok, an hour - but that IS a little time where pinterest is involved [why yes, this is another blog post that is going to blame pinterest for everything]) jumping from photo tray (or printer tray) photos to even more photo tray photos.  You get the point.  Obsessed.

And then it sort of hit me out of the blue (wham!)  Just make one digitally!

So I did.

First I started with one that had six 3x4 openings, thinking that they would be easy to pop journal cards and photos in and get it done.  Snip Snap.

I stopped and played with it for a few minutes:
Not gonna lie, it was a lot of fun.  But I realized two things - this is digi, so slapping a journal card in a spot isn't any easier than slapping something else in a spot.  And secondly, six openings all the same size is sort of boring.  LOL.  And when I showed it to my CT, they daintily stepped around saying that exact thing.  But they meant it.

So I made more.


And More.

This set is pretty spiffy because they are 8" x 10" so a finished tray will pop nicely into an 8x10 frame, and hey!presto you have a gift!  And they have lots of little hidey-holes that will be fun to tuck things into.

Then I finally decided to cut loose and make a big one, which was what I really wanted in the first place:

  And then I sat down and played to my heart's content:


And now I'm hooked.  I want to do another one, and another one, and another one... I can think of about sixty themes, LOL.  And as a paper lover - well, there are twenty spots in this one, and I only used photos in 3 of them.  That's a lot of paper I can play with!  ::happy sigh::

The interesting thing about these templates is the degree to which you can personalize them - by clipping a "wood" paper to the frame and adding a little bevel, I got a completely different rustic look than the sleek blonde wood veneer of the template.  However, one of my CT ladies, Dolores, used the blonde veneer frame and it looks wonderful with the papers and photos she chose:


I really like the combination of photos, journaling, and embellished title all within the tray.  And the banner beneath sets it off beautifully!

Anita took a different approach - she clipped a paper to the frame, and created a collage of homey sayings and cute little embellishments, which I love.

Jan took the first template and made this gorgeous tribute:

After I saw it I took back everything I thought before about six equally sized openings being boring!

Kristen also did a tribute page - I love the bits she chose to enhance the photos.


Last is Lexy's with a series of darling photos and lovely clustering around the frame.  She also used a bevel and clipped wood to the frame.

So, as you can see, there are lots of approaches to take - all are attractive and effective, and entertaining.  For the creator as well as the beholder!

The Photo Tray templates are on sale through Sunday at the Digichick at the introductory sale price, so pick one up and see how much fun you can have  :)  

Sunday, May 5, 2013

As it all winds down...

Whew!  It's been a busy few days in digiland!  I hope you have garnered all sorts of new goodies and are finding some time to scrap.  Or sort.  Or gloat.  I've done some of all three, LOL ;)

There's still a whole day left to pick up bargains at The Digichick.  I had two new kits in the Chick Blitz (where all items are only $2):




And of course there are separate paper packs and some additional papers (and alphas) to go along with them:



 


These fun kits are vaguely boyish and girlish, but they really work together pretty well.  I managed to scrap a couple of my own layouts this weekend:



I really liked the way that title turned out, so I made it into an alpha for you - sort of a "parting gift" for iNSD weekend ;)

You can download it HERE

Hope you enjoy it, and happy iNSD scrapping!