Under the Sea (there's a freebie, too!)

Hey there!  Hope everyone is staying cool (or toasty warm, depends on which part of the globe you're on) and enjoying life :)  Not to mention getting lots of scrapping done!

Today's release is a companion kit to the Menagerie collection.  It's designed for Aquarium photos, whether they are the sort you visit or the big glass bowl on the counter with goldfish.  Or even the one with sandy beaches (it's kind of big, LOL)!  The palette I chose overlaps with the Menagerie set, so if you have a combined project the layouts will flow together.  I'm kind of a fan of blue and green, so I've enjoyed my photoshop time immensely this week!

Part of the inspiration for the style came from these fabulous vintage sealife illustrations - I've previewed them separately so you can see the details, but they are included with the kit so you don't have to purchase them separately!

And lots of inspiration from my CT ladies and the team at The Digichick:

As you can see - lots of different looks and styles, and they all look fabulous!

The last layout with the Aquarium "window" was one I created with one of my daughters' photos from her recent visit to a Korean Aquarium.  I get a huge kick out of the photos because there are so many with dark silhouettes in front of a blue window looking at fish, LOL.  So I thought it would be fun to duplicate the look.  And because I don't like being silly on my own, I've packaged up the pieces so you can play along :)

You can download your "do it yourself" kit HERE.

Menagerie...Under the Sea will be at its introductory sale price through Friday, so stop by and get your inner mermaid to work ;)  Happy Scrapping!

Kitchen Tales

New in my shop this week is a collection that I've always had a secret hankering to do, but never gathered the intestinal fortitude until recently, LOL.  It's a kitchen-y kit with vintage overtones and lots of cozy touches.  I admit to a great deal of selfishness in choosing the palette.  It will look wonderful in my kitchen :)  One of my first digi projects was creating a cookbook for my younger daughter (she was still in college, and kept emailing me wanting to know how to make something).  While my heart was in the right place, my skills were not quite lined up with my intentions, and the book is, quite frankly, awful.  So I want to re-do it (with drop shadows this time, what a revolutionary concept!) and I needed the goodies to accomplish that task... the result is "Kitchen Tales:"

There's matching word art (so handy for titles!)

And a minimalist clean-style addition (this is going to really help with the recipe collection)

Plus a set of matching solids to increase the versatility of the set:

My creative team has provided their usual delightful examples:

Layout by Anita

Layout by Donna

Layout by Jeri

Layout by Kim

Layout by Michelle

Layout by Tropt (TDC)

Layout by Pamie


I also put everything together in a money-saving bundle, just in case you have a project to tackle like mine, LOL.  We can use all the help we can get, right?  Kitchen Tales is on sale through Friday in my Digichick store, so pick it up, plop down next to the air conditioner, and scrap in the cool air :)  Happy Scrapping!

Menagerie... Minimalist

Recently I read an article about one's changing taste in scrapbooking.  I have to confess, I was a little frustrated, because I feel like I am just finally finding my "groove" in designing, and the author was discussing how she no longer liked to cluster and preferred tiny prints and simplicity.  Which is so not me, LOL.  I love lush and rich and textural with shabby grungy goodness.  But I have to confess it made me start thinking about those who have slightly different tastes, and it also made me think outside the box.  How do I know I don't like tiny prints and clean  simple layouts?  I really hadn't tried to do much (although the Penelope bundle was close).  So I've been putting on my thinking cap and trying to develop additional items to complement my original style.  

I like this approach for one really big reason - I love unified pages, but I don't like too much "same-y-ness" within that group.  Contrast is a huge design principle, and I loves me some contrast, LOL.  But "controlled" contrast... well that's a beautiful thing ;)  And the contrast between big sweeping shabby patterns and smaller, cleaner patterns... well, I'm beginning to think that's a beautiful thing, too :)  And Menagerie seemed the perfect kit to augment - I've been to the zoo, and you take a lot of pictures!  Odds are you've got some of most of the different animals, and then pix of the kids, and maybe pix of the scenery...  all the more reason to have more options.  So here is the first "minimalist" add-on:

I have packaged the papers and elements separately as well, because everyone has different needs and I want you to be able to pick and choose what works best for your style.

And here are some examples:

My Layouts

 Layout by Pamie

Layout by Sondra

Menagerie ... Minimalist is available at the introductory sale price through Friday.  And if you are a facebook reader, you might want to check my Sherwood Studio Facebook Page - there's a coupon on there that is still good for a day or so :)

I'd love some feedback, too - what do you think about various styles, and what is YOUR favorite?

Menagerie

I seem to be a little stuck on the exotic, lately.  (Maybe my husband is right - I DO love drama, LOL!)  At least I like it in my digital scrapbooking kits!  One of my first projects when I discovered the magical world of digiscrapping was to scrap some fun pix my younger daughter and her best buddies took at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo just south of us in Colorado Springs.  It's a real mountain zoo (with hills, ) and so much fun.  The giraffes are spectacular, and as a visitor you are allowed (encouraged!) to interact with them.  To a Montana girl, that's not only exotic, but ever-so-slightly surreal ;)  Since it was my first project, I will be kind and say that it was less than spectacular.  And ever since falling short of my goal of scrapping perfection, I've yearned to make a zoo kit suited just for me and my style of scrapping.

I like the way it turned out - I gave it a quick whirl with some of the photos (from 2007, oh my!):

And a few from my team...

 Anita

 DJ

 DJ

Sondra

And since the whole idea grew from The World Bazaar, and the palettes overlap, I put together a $$ saving bundle, as well:

I love having kits play nicely with each other - this way you virtually double the elements, because they work together :)

I also put together a little freebie that coordinates:

You can download it HERE.

So there you go.  With Menagerie in your stash, you are prepared to scrap everything from your fierce kitty cat to the Urban jungle - grab it while it's on sale (20% off through Friday), and enjoy the adventure!

Colorado Springtime... In the Canyon

This week I've added the second installment of the Colorado Springtime mini-collection, inspired by our little trip through Western Colorado not long ago.  The scenery in this state is SO diverse, and the colors are so magnificent.  This particular palette was chosen not only to blend with Colorado Springtime and increase its usability, but to bring in the wonderful rich amber and red-orange of the cliffs that can be found in many Colorado and Utah landscapes (well, probably the entire Southwest, I don't wanna hog the pretty, LOL).  The colors and textures also lend themselves to scrapping more masculine pages which is always useful to have in one's stash ;)

My two-pager (and the inspiration photos)

 Layout by Lexy

 Layout by Pamie

 Layout by Sondra

  

Layout by Kim

 Layout by Anita

I've also bundled the companion kits for convenience/ added savings  :)

And the good news is that due to a little glitch in getting the store newsletter sent, we've extended the introductory sale price through Saturday!  So pop in and get your Colorado color on :) 

Also, in case you haven't seen it, I've been featured at The Daily Digi this week!  Be sure and "read all about it" - there's a tasty coupon at the end of the feature that would come in pretty handy, just sayin'!

You've been framed! (well, you WILL be...)

It has been a while since there has been a new addition to The Photo Project collection.  I may have fallen off the P365/52 wagon a bit (insert sheepish grin HERE).  The nice thing about Instagram (or your phone camera app of choice) is that it's right there with me (when I remember my phone) and I can climb back on that wagon any time I want to :)   I thought a new collection of "gallery" styled frames with snazzy mats might help the process:

Here's a close-up so you can see the texture on the mats

Frames in action.  I really do have a bit of a floral instagram obsession, don't I?

Also new this week - more brushes!  I've been meaning to make more for ages because they are really handy to use under photos or on papers to add the right touch.  Try clipping papers to them, or adding a style for a different look.  You can play with blending modes, too!

As always, new products are on sale through Friday night at the introductory sale price, so stop by and give the new goodies a whirl!  Happy scrapping!