Resources

Hybrid Halloween Projects | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

October 16, 2013
Hybrid Highlights / Resources
Sari

Hello Friends! Halloween is just 2 weeks away, it’s time to create some fun digital scrapbooking Halloween decorations for your house (if they aren’t already up.) Chelle has several kits you can use to make your house a spooky and scarey sight! Let your imagination go crazy. I’m not so creative, but our Creative Team came up with some great pictures to share.

Kayla (KeepScrappin) used Toil & Trouble to create a label for her Witches’ Brew.

Krisi made a sign to greet guests at her daughter’s birthday party. She used giant pixie sticks to thank their guest’s for coming to the party! She used Eeeeek!

Donna (djp332) Used Toil & Trouble & Eeeeek to create all of her bewitching designs. Donna tells me she uses WendyBird Designs for her some of the patterns.

They say a picture’s worth a 1000 words, and in the digital scrapbooking world, I imagine that’s akin to the Holy Grail! So, rather than list other ideas I found, I’m giving you pictures! I know you creative ladies’ will have no problem adapting them to your favorite Halloween elements from Chelle’s Creations. How about a Halloween colored pudding parfait, pretzel rods dripping with green ooze, rice crispie treat’s in shades of green and black, & a veggie tray with celery, green peppers, & maybe really dark grapes, could be a fun addition to your party. Love this idea for a drink (Candy Corn Punch), but please don’t try to drink it.

Hope you have some eerie good fun with your Halloween decorations and treats this year.

Chelle Recommends! Persnickety Prints | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

September 18, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hello Everyone!

Today I decided to interview Chelle about her favorite place to print her photo books, Persnickety Prints

Chelle, why do you like Persnickety Prints?

Persnickety Prints is printing FOR digital scrapbookers BY digital scrapbookers!

How do they handled bleed issues?

I love that they hand place each print to avoid any bleed issues.

Do they guarantee their work? What if I’m not home when my package gets delivered in a rain storm?

If I every DID have a water issue, I’d be thrilled that they have a 100% guarantee.

What do they charge for shipping?

$5 shipping in the US and they are FAST!

Anything else you want to tell our “peeps” about Persnickety Prints?

I’ve printed tons of layouts and product previews as well as my daughter’s graduation announcement!

Give persnickety a try!

Rad Lab | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

September 4, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hello Friends! Today I thought I’d tell you about one of my favorite digital scrapbooking resources, RadLab. (Warning Warning! If you aren’t already using it, you might want to purchase it. See below for a coupon!)

What is it?

RadLab combines intuitive browsing, gorgeous effects and a lightning-fast processing engine to bring you the cutting edge in image editing.

30 Brand new effects plus 50 classic favorites come together in RadLab for endless creative possibilities. Create and save your own custom filter recipes for even more options.

RadLab gives you incredible flexibility to define your vision. Use built-in custom controls to adjust every part of an effect, or hide the controls and keep it simple – it’s up to you.

RadLab includes 80 stylets you can layer and combine to create the perfect combination for your image. From basic edits to eye-catching color to stunning black and whites, RadLab has everything you need to make your photography stand out.

RadLab makes it easier than ever to define your own look and set your work apart. Use RadLab to create and save your own custom recipes. You can even import and export recipes with friends or other members of your studio.

Basic Adjustments & Sharpening, Optical & Lens Effects, Modern & Vintage Colors, & Black & White Styles

Legendary Photoshop Actions (The Totally Rad! Photoshop Actions have helped thousands of photographers take their images to the next level. We’ve got you covered with easy, one-click adjustments to color, contrast, saturation, and tone. Whether you’re adding a subtle pop to an image, or fixing a problem photo, the Totally Rad Photoshop Actions have powerful tools to help you get it done faster.)

Presets: Our Lightroom Presets are an arsenal of tools that sets a new benchmark for flexibility and creativity in raw converters.

The best part? They have a free 14-day trial. If you decide you love it? Well, there’s a coupon available. It was just used yesterday (Sept 4th) and it gives you a 15% off coupon.

Let me show you some “before” and “after” photos from the Creative Team. Leah (CatLady) starts us off with her before & after. She used One Year Older.

Jenn M (jk703) shares her before, middle & after.

Now for her completed layout.

Krista (kc71595) before and layout after.

Erica (stanworth) say she never scraps a picture without using RadLab. Before…

2nd before….

Now for her after… Erica used At the Park.

Kassie (kass_23) shows us this before…

Now for her after… She used Aviator.

Wow! I can’t believe all the different actions, styles & presets you can use. Give Rad Lab a try. I bet you’ll love it for your digital scrapbooking as much as Chelle’s Creative Ladies’ do. I can’t wait to play!

Hugs!

Favorite Shortcuts | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

August 21, 2013
Resources
Sari

Shortcuts! We all use them. Or wish we knew more of them. I can tell you many shortcuts for Microsoft Office, but I’m not as good at them when I create digital scrapbooking layouts. Thankfully, Chelle has a shortcut list for us. Here it is:

Some of our CT Ladies shared their favorite shortcuts with the layouts they created this week. I asked them to tell us the shortcut and why they like it.

Here’s Kayla (KeepScrappin) My favorite PSE shortcut is copying layer styles. It’s a fast and easy way to shadow lots of similar layers (ie paper or felt layers).
1. Apply your favorite Chelle’s Creations Me and My Shadow layer style
2. Right click on the layer and copy layer style
3. Select the layer(s) you want to copy the style to by holding down the shift or ctrl key and selecting the desire layers
4. Right click on the selected layer(s) and select paste layer style

Kayla (KeepScrappin) She used Letters From Home, Social Media Icon Felties & Me & My Shadow Styles

Next we have Donna (dgp332) My favorite PSE shortcut is using the holding the alt/option key while highlighting your item to duplicate it. For this layout, I duplicated several items using the above instructions. Highlight the item that you’d like to duplicate, then hold down the alt/option key while moving the item. If you add your shadows prior to duplicating, that’s one less step later. You can still re-size, and rotate if necessary. I duplicated the red bow, the staple, and the journaling lines. I like to duplicate the lines of journaling this way because I don’t have to remember what font I used, and it the line is angled like this one, it will be at the same angle.

Donna P (djp332) She used Ticket to Ride and a Google images for the park logo.

Jenn J (jmljensen) uses some of the shortcuts Donna uses. Great minds think alike, huh? To duplicate layers quickly, I hold down the alt key then click and drag on the thumbnail. It creates a duplicate quickly and easily. Also, if I hold the Shift key down at the same time, it not only duplicates the layer but it keeps it lined up perfectly. In this layout, I used ALT+SHIFT+click & dragged on the thumbnail of the layer and lined up my “nail heads” perfectly.

Another favorite short cut is clipping papers to shapes. I used Chelle’s In the Pocket {squares} templates and simply clipped my photos and papers to the squares. Simply position the paper/photo above the layer with the shape, hold down your alt key while you position the cursor between the two layers and click. Depending on if you are using PSE or CS, the cursor will change from a hand to a different icon. I use CS, so it changes from a hand to a down pointing arrow with a box to the right of it.

Jenn J (jmljensen) She used Under Construction & In the Pocket {Squares}

Our last shortcut comes from Kassie (kass_23). I love shortcuts and use a bunch on each layout. I think my favorite would have to be undo(Ctrl+Z) and redo(Ctrl+Y). Like with this layout….I wasn’t sure where I wanted the string, but I could try a bunch of things out and see which is the way I like it best 🙂

Kassie (Kass_23) She used Pizza Amore

Try ’em out. They’ll speed up your scrapping. Hugs!

Journaling with a Thesaurus | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

August 7, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hi Everyone!

Let’s talk digital scrapbooking journaling. Does your journaling seem boring? Using the same descriptive words? Is your journaling peppered with “very”, “good”, “nice”, “great”….etc? One simple way to fix that is to use a thesaurus. Tablet, IPad, Smart Phone, or Laptop, Google is our friend. Just type in synonyms for _________, and up pops a nice box telling us some alternate words we can use. Be careful about replacing too many words or replacing with complex words that don’t sound like you. But I believe you will find some replacements to make your journaling more interesting

Here are some great examples from the Creative Team, first up, Donna (djp332) She used Hole In One & Hole In One Wordart.

Original journaling – John and I are big fans of golf. Since we no longer play, we like to go to tournaments. This Senior PGA tournament was held close by our home, at the Fox Chapel Golf Club. It had rained all week, so the course was muddy. I’m glad I decided to wear my hiking boots! We got to see a lot of our favorite golfers. We found a place to watch at the 18th hole, so we got to see Kenny Perry win, which made me sad since I wanted Fred Couples to win.

Journaling with the thesaurus – John and I are huge followers of golf. Since we no longer play, we like to attend tournaments. This Senior PGA tournament was held nearby our home, at the Fox Chapel Golf Club. It had rained all week, so the course was soggy. I’m glad I opted to wear my hiking boots! We were able to see many of our favorite golfers. We located a place to observe at the 18th hole, so we were able to see Kenny Perry win, which made me dejected, since I wanted Fred Couples to win.

Here’s Leslie’s LO. She used Batter Up.

Leslie used: wager instead of ‘bet’; received instead of ‘got’; & complimentary instead of ‘free’.

I learned a bunch, sure hope you did too. Check out your digital scrapbooking journaling. Use a thesaurus and see how much more interesting your journaling becomes.

Father’s Day Layout Ideas | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

June 13, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hell;o Digi Friends!

I have a clever idea for you to use this Father’s Day. Since today is our resource post, I thought I’d give you two of the best resource ideas I have thought of: Academy Sports + Outdoors & Chelle’s Creations. I was flipping channels the other day and came across a commercial for Academy Sports + Outdoors. It was a great commercial with a catchy tune. It talks about different “types” of Dad’s, and I thought it might be fun to do a “Father’s Day” album about each of these types of Dad’s as they fit your needs. You could start now and add other themed pages throughout the year. Here are some ideas:

: Accounting Dad

: Air Force Dad

: Army Dad

: Barber Dad

: Baseball Dad

: Basketball Dad

: Camping Dad

: Chef Dad

: Clothing Designer Dad

: Conductor Dad

: Construction Dad

: Dentist Dad

: Doctor Dad

: EMT Dad

: Family History Dad

: Farmer Dad

: Fireman Dad

: Fishing Dad

: Football Dad

: Fresh Veggies Dad

: Golfing Dad

: Grilling Dad

: History Dad

: Hockey Dad

: Marshal Arts Dad

: Navy Dad

: On The Water Dad

: Police Dad

: Politician Dad

: Prehistoric Dad

: Professional Dad

: Race Car Dad

: Ranching Dad

: Scouting Dad

: Soccer Dad

: Stylish Dad

: Teacher Dad

: Techno Dad

: Winter Thrills Dad

I’m sure you can think of many others. To make it easier for you, I’ve linked up some of Chelle’s kits to each of the types of Dad’s listed above.

Accountant, Air Force, Army, Barber, Baseball, Basketball, Camping, Chef, Clothing Designer, Conductor, Construction, Dentist, Doctor, EMT, Family Historian, Farmer, Fireman, Fishing, Football, Garden, Golfing, Grilling, History, Hockey, Marshal Arts, Navy, On the Water, Police, Politician, Prehistoric, Professional, Race Car, Ranching, Scouting, Soccer, Stylish, Teacher, Techno, & Winter Thrills

Let me show you the ideas the Creative Team had:

Wanda (wanda) is guesting for us this month. She used Oh Snap! and Family Tree to emphasize her layout “Treasuring Memories With My Daddy.”

Jan (QuiltyMom) used Summer Lovin’ and Heroes {Fire} in her layout celebrating the 3 Dad’s in her life and her layout, “Happy Father’s Day.”

Leah (catlady) used Family Tree to honor the men in her life. Love the use of the washed out photos in the background of her LO, “Generations.”

Jenn S (jennschultz) used Zoopendous for her layout, “Dad’s Gone Wild.” This will be a LO her family will treasure forever.

Hugs!

Fave Apps for Preserving Memories | DIgital Scrapbooking Resources

May 30, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hey Friends! If you are like me, most likely your smart phone is filling up with apps. Little programs that help you with everything from losing weight to entertaining the kids. Some apps help with memory keeping. Just click on the image and we’ll hook you up. Here are some of our favorites:

Dropbox:

Did you know you can set up your phone to automatically upload your photos to your computer? I even have it set up to upload photos my husband or kids take on their phones. Yay!

A Beautiful Mess:

Add words and doodles to your photos for sharing. Bonus: Add the funny things your kids say…right on top of the photos. You can save the “with words” version to your camera roll so you’ll remember it when you are ready to scrap.

Instaweather:

Add the weather details to a photo on your phone. What a fun way to document the weather.

Big Lens:

Bring DSLR-Level Depth of Field to Your Device

Camera +

This is the camera app I use most on my phone. I LOVE the touch for exposure & focus. Backlit photos are no problem. Just touch the spot you want to be well lit & in focus and camera + makes the adjustment so you can shoot.

PicFrame

For quick and easy collages. Warning: results are med resolution, but not high resolution. They’ll work great for pocket scrapping, but not for a collage that fills your layout. For that you’ll want to see my collage templates.

Posterity: The Family Quote Book

Record audio snippets (either the actual quote or you remembering the quote). Add a time & a pic.

Socializing in the Forums:

Tapatalk:

Maybe you already knew about these apps, maybe not, but I hope we gave you some great ideas for what to look for.

Hugs!

Then & Now | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

May 16, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hello Friends! Have I got a great idea for you this week? Choose a favorite picture or layout and re-enact it.

You can do the same child in the same pose.
Ask a child the same questions year after year.
A young couple’s wedding photo contrasted with a picture of “today’s family.
A pregnant Mom holding her newborn contrasted with the newborn holding Mom
Here in Utah, we have Utah State University. On campus, there is a “famous” A-bench. On Homecoming Eve, if you kiss your partner on the “A”, you become a “True Aggie.” How about college sweethearts becoming “True Aggies,” contrasted with 25 years later, when they once again share the passion only a “True Aggie” can show.

Look how Helen (winipeg1) did her layout. Isn’t her little girl adorable?

Recreate the same photo year’s later. My Nephew, Chelle’s brother, got married in 1998. The little kids were a little bored while waiting for the next activity. So they all sat down on the same bench. 15 years pass by. Why not recreate the photo’s? They are hilarious! Chelle told me they did around 12 different re-enactments. I know these teenagers and I can only imagine the laughter going on as they snapped each memory again. These layouts will become your favorite digital scrapbooking layouts of all time. They may not remember the original photo, but I bet they’ll ALL remember the reenactment.

Last is my favorite photo. Big brother Daniel is holding Baby Lincoln. Fast forward about 15 years, and Baby Lincoln is too big for Big Brother Daniel’s lap. Daniel has to use both hands to hold Lincoln.

Every time, I look at these pictures, I laugh. What could be a greater reward to a digital scrapbooking aficionado, than knowing your efforts will create smiles (and tears) for generations to come. I know you must have several ideas of how you can use this idea in your scrapbooking. Go for it!

Hugs!

Scrappin’ On The Go | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

April 5, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hello Friends!

I love my laptop. I carry it around with me nearly everywhere…well, anytime I might end up sitting and waiting (carpool…doctor…etc). But it sure would be nice to be able to just grab my tablet. However, every tablet-based scrapping solution I’ve seen results in a web-sized (low resolution) layout. And I want to be able to print my layouts. 🙁

That’s why I was THRILLED when I saw that Steph (of The Daily Digi) found a high-resolution scrap on your tablet solution. You can check out her post here.

Can’t wait to try it out!

Green Layouts | Digital Scrapbooking Resources

March 7, 2013
Resources
Sari

Hey ladies! AumtSaro here with more digital scrapbooking LO ideas. Do you have your green on for St. Patrick’s Day? Maybe your not Irish, but this link from Katie the Scrapbook Lady will give you many ideas of how you can celebrate, make treats, ideas for photos you can take, games you can play, and just general green ideas. Give them a try.

Do you just love green? spring green, sprout green, pine tree green, olive green, kelly green, ivy green, moss green, wild grass green, grass green, & frog green? There are many shades to choose from. Here’s some layouts from our team and one from the SO Gallery to help spark your inner “greenness.”

This layout says Angela Coles in the bottom right corner. So I am giving credit for this layout to her.

Here are links to the products Angela used.

Karen (Karen32) created this lovely layouts of her daughter. The clustering is amazing and adds depth to the layout.

Karen (karen32) She used Cu Curled Paper Flowers, Marker Alpha & Gnome Sweet Gnome & GSG Add-On

Here are links to the products Karen used:

Ophelia (navaja77) created this sweet layout of her daughter. Love the layout, the “you are” list, and the use of the butterflies.

The flower & button are from Girl Power {reloaded}. Here are links to the products Ophelia used:

Last we have Ronnie (Ronnie_Texas). Love this “Very Irish Person” theme. What a great way to honor your “Irish” ancestry or St. Patrick’s Day in general. Love the use of the 3 fonts and the varying sizes. Love the overall appearance of the layout. It really pulled me in from first glance.

Ronnie used stiches from the Mane Event Collection & staples from Apple of my Eye Collection. Here are links to the products Ronnie used.