Stuff To Scrap Blog - a online digital scrapbooking store and community

New Blog

2012-01-12T18:37:00.001-07:00

Oops, if you came here, we've moved our blog to wordpress, please visit us at www.stufftoscrap.com/wordpress See you there.

Challenge Me

2012-01-12T09:30:00.002-07:00

Our weather is supposed to turn south today so I think I'll bet getting a lot of scrapping done while watching the snow come down!

A great way to see how layouts can turn out so different from the same set of instructions is the Recipe Challenge. Every has such a unique take on the recipe given, it's really quite neat to see the finished layouts. This month's recipe comes from Adriana of Adriana's Cafe & is as follows: (1) One HUGE photo that takes at least 60% of your layout; (2) 2 papers; (3) 12 elements; and (4) write a little journaling, make sure you use the words LOVE and DREAM.

Remember that you need to include all the recipe elements, post your finished layout in the January Recipe Challenge thread. For completing the challenge you'll earn 10 points for this challenge & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Catching Bugs at Twilight by Jcb5600 using Family History I am Doing It by Scraps N Pieces; on the right is Sew Sweet by BriannasScrapper using Stitched with Love by This Little Missy.

When you're pressed for time, it's great to use quick pages to get a layout done quickly & a way to get a lot of free quick pages is to participate in the Quick Page Exchange. The designer hosting the exchange will pick out one of their kits & you are challenged to create a quick page with the kit [you may only use the featured kit to avoid copyright issues]. Don't know how to make a quick page? Go to this thread in the forum to download a free action for PSE & PS; you can find some great tips on making quick pages in this thread.

This month the featured kit is Winter Elegance by Misty of Designs by Snowlady. Misty has put the kit on sale for just $2.00 the whole month! Post your completed quick page in the January Quick Page Exchange thread & don't forget to send your quick page to Misty! For participating you'll get 10 points plus at the end of the month, Misty will email you all the quick pages that have been submitted! On the left is Mdkscrapper's quick page& on the right is Gluvsc's quick page.

Everyone loves doing the Scavenger Hunt Challenge as you get to see lots of great layouts that help inspire your own layouts. You'll find the list of 30 layouts to find in the January thread, your challenge is to find a layout that fits each description & leave a comment on the layout. Keep a list of all the links to your comments & when you've found all 30 items, send a private message to the challenge host for verification. Once your comments have been verified, you'll earn 15 points! Do NOT post your completed lists in the thread, as that would make it easier for others to just copy your list & we want y'all to work for your points!

If you're ever stumped for ideas, one great way to get inspiration is to take a peek in the gallery; that's where the inspiration for the Scraplift Challenge comes from each month. This month, Tracy has chosen the layout I Love That Boy by Gyurgyik for us to scraplift. Go check out the layout & then post your interpretation in the January Scraplift Challenge thread. Completing this challenge will result in 10 points earned & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Beautiful Girl by Stacielk using Denim and Daisies by Scraps N' Pieces; on the right is Basketball by Scrappinmama using Nothin' but Net by Scraps N' Pieces.

Find yourself using the same font over & over & over? It's not a bad thing but it's always good to try out some new fonts & if you participate in the Font Challenge, you'll get a chance to play with a font that you might never have seen otherwise. This is a hard challenge for the designers as there are so many great free fonts to chose from; for January, Sarah of In The Small Things has chosen Paper-Mache. Head over to the January Font Challenge to download the font & get started. This challenge will earn you 5 points & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Mega Race Car by LilyAnn using Start Your Engines by Designs by Snowlady; on the right is A Good Book by Filandstef using A Good Read by AmyDane Designs.

The Word of the Week Challenge runs until Saturday, January 14th & this week's word is Humor. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set by Sgroenke using Going Buggy by Seal Scraps; on the right is First Haircut by Kimberly27 using Spiffed Up by Scraps of Ellay.

The Challenge of the Week runs until Saturday, January 14th & doing a Mash-Up. This is where you take two layouts & scrap them into one layout, go to this week's COW thread to find out what layouts you'll need to combine & post your layouts by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is Sweet Child of Mine by Sgroenke using Our Love Story by Scraps by Andrea; on the right is Bubbles! by Ellay using Adventures in Learning by Scraps of Ellay.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Adriana of Adriana's Cafe & her whole store is on sale for 30% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up! Here's Monkey Hat by Kendra using Packing My Bags.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the January Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Tutorial of the Week

2012-01-11T09:30:00.004-07:00

Welcome to Part 2 of getting your photos organized for the new year! Last week I showed everyone how I organize my photos, hopefully that inspired you to start sorting through your digital photos. Remember that it really doesn't matter what system you use as long as it works for you & that you are consistent with the sorting. This week is going to be a little short as the hard work will be next week.

Now that you've gotten a few folders set up & sorted, we need to talk about what you need to get rid of. Yup, we're going to get rid of pictures. I know that is a little nerve-wracking but really, how many copies of the same shot of Fido do you need? One feature I love to use on my camera is the rapid fire & I'll sometimes end up with a few hundred photos at the end of the day. Taking the time now to sort photos will really help you out in the future.

Chuck all those photos that are beyond hopelessly blurry, any that you really didn't mean to take & those ones that have a close of up your kid's nose. Unless that's what you were going for! Got ten shorts from that recent family photo session? Tossing all but the best one will prevent you from doing a mad search during a speed scrap. Go through that miscellaneous folder & get those photos culled & into the right folder.

One extra step I like to do when I've been given photos taken by other people ['cause I'm a total organizational nut] is to put all the photos in chronological order by renaming a those bonus photos. For example, at the boys' birthday party I got photos from the grandparents & cousins that didn't conform to the naming convention of my camera. Once I got all the photos culled, I took the grandparent pictures & renamed them to match my files so when the photos were dropped into the folder, they would be in a close to chronological order as possible.

If you take a look at my file below, in the third row you'll see that the file names go from IMG_9923 which was taken by me to IMG_9924_01 which is where the grandparents & cousins took over the taking of pictures. I figured out what the rough order was & then renamed them so that when I sorted by name, everything would be in the correct order. You'll also see in the second row of photos how the image names get higher very quickly, that's a time I took about 30 pictures & only kept the best ones of my cousin spinning the kids around on their backs. Don't ask why they found that so much fun, I don't get it either but they loved it.

I know this method is not for everyone but I love doing it to keep things in the right order. I'm a little too organized sometimes.

Once you've gotten the pictures culled, it will be time to rename everything so that you'll be able to find the pictures easily in the future. But that's going to take a little more work so come back next week & I'll tell you how to rename several hundred pictures at once!

$2 Tuesday

2012-01-10T00:00:00.001-07:00

It's that time of the week again!! Time for $2 Tuesday! Check out a little of what our Designers have in the $2 Bin!

A colorful kit summer themed, this kit is perfect for creating beautiful pages of summer, beach, sun and fun.

Looking for the perfect kit to show off your own little diva? Look no further. Divalicious is perfect with the shades of pink, black, and gray and fun elements.

Monkey See Monkey Do by Scrappin Serenity is the perfect kit for scrapping those wild child moments that all kids have. And there's plenty of variety in this kit that it's good for scrapping just about everything! And the color palette suits boys or girls!

Do You have too many pictures to scrap and not enough time? Then pick up the Monkey See Monkey Do Quick Pages!

Quit Bugging Me by Scrappin Serenity is the perfect kit to scrap those little bug catchers in your life! It's also good for scrapping those moments where siblings just won't quit bugging each other! It's filled with lots of little bugs and tons of basic things, so you can scrap anything with it!

Get your scrapping done quickly with the Quit Bugging Me Quick Page Set!

Autumn Comfort was created using a beautiful, warm, autumn color palette. This kit is perfect for your outdoor fall family pictures, football games, family gatherings, Thanksgiving pictures, and so much more!

The perfect kit for all your perfect pictures! This kit is made using red, black, gray and whites and it just beautiful! It is so versatile and can be used for just about anything, from romantic wedding pictures, to play dates with friends!

Have a baby on the way, or haven't gotten around to scrapping those baby photos. Pick up Bundle of Joy and get those pages scrapped.

In those cold months you need a great kit to help you scrap all those photos. This kit is full of all that you need scrap them.All the soft colors of the kit are perfect with the snow.

Playful and fun, this kit is perfect for scrapping girls and their toys and pets! Full of flowers, hearts and cuteness, this kit is sure to help you build lots of cute layouts!

This doodled kit is all winter romance, perfect for scrapping those chilly winter and holiday days!

Featuring blocking and lots of photos, these templates are perfect for your creative team assignments or your scrap for hire business.

For only $2, you'll want to snuggle up with this cozy kit, that is full of quilt & fabric textures, as well as plenty of sewing supplies & knick knacks!

Merry Christmas and Happy Scrapping! Ho Ho Ho is packed with fun papers and elements in cheerfully bright colors that can be used for your digital scrapbook pages, holiday cards, and projects. You'll find yourself coming back to this Christmas holiday themed kit time and time again!

Scrapping Sales & CT Calls

2012-01-09T09:30:00.007-07:00

While we don't have many sales going on this week, there are three creative team calls going on! If you're interested in joining a team, Becky of B2N2 Scraps, Lahni of Queen Wild Scraps, & Sarah of In The Small Things are all looking to add some scrappers to their teams. Check out the fliers below & email them if you're interested!

Check out what This Little Missy has put in her Kit Rewind category, you can pick up Stitched With Love for just $2.00 all of January or snag the bundle for only $3.00!

This month your free gift with a $10.00 purchase is the Rosy Cheeks Quick Pages set from January Mega Collaboration, which will make scrapping your winter pictures a snap!

The January Build A Kits are now out & the color palette is so cute the designers went a lot of different ways! There's movie night, snow day & sleep over elements plus lots of paper packs & a few quick page sets. If you buy 3 or more in a single transaction, use the code JANBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF at checkout to get 50% off!

Finally, this is the last month that you can pick up the November Mega Collaboration, Thankful for November, the Thankful for November Quick Pages & the November CU Grab Bag. If you've had your eye on any of these, be sure to snag them before 11:59 PM MST on January 31st when they'll go away for good!

Weekly Challenges & Speed Scraps

2012-01-08T16:30:00.005-07:00

While this warm weather in the beginning of January is very odd, I'm loving that I was able to go to the zoo today with my boys & my aunt! But snow soon would be nice as I want to show them how to make snowmen. Until the snow starts here are the weekly challenges!

First up is the Word of the Week Challenge which runs from Sunday, January 8th to Saturday, January 14th. This week's word is Humor. Totally on board with this one as I need a lot of humor to deal with twin boys! Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

Next is the Challenge of the Week which runs from Sunday, January 8th to Saturday, January 14th. This week's we are challenged to do a Mash-Up. This is where you take two layouts & scrap them into one layout, go to this week's COW thread to find out what layouts you'll need to combine & post your layouts by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Adriana of Adriana's Cafe & will run from Monday, January 9th to Sunday, January 15th. Here's some fun information about Adriana & for participating in the challenges you'll be able to win coupons to her store!. Even better, Adriana has put her whole store on sale for 30% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up!

To complete this challenge, you simply need to create a layout using any current kits that are for sale in Adriana's store [retired kits will not count]. Please refrain from combining kits/parts from other designers for this challenge, but if you would like to use more than one kit by Adriana on your layout that would be fine. Hurry & get those layouts done to earn the participation prize!

Since Adriana's challenge starts tomorrow, you've still got a few more hours to submit a layout for the current week's challenge hosted by Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs & earn the participation prize!

Here are the Speed Scraps for this week. The week's first speed scrap will be January 9th at 12 PM PT / 1 PM MT / 2 PM CT / 3 PM ET & will be hosted by Amanda of A-Manda Creation. Come join Amanda & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread for a fun filled speed scrap! The prize will be a coupon to Amanda's store for $2.49!

Our other speed scrap will be Tuesday, January 10th at at 5 PM PT / 6 PM MT / 7 PM CT / 8 PM ET & will be hosted by Heidi & Lori of Scraps N' Pieces. Come join Heidi & Lori & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

December Layout of the Month

2012-01-07T20:30:00.001-07:00

Near the each of each month, a new thread will pop up in which you can submit a nomination for the Layout of the Month. This is a great way to bring attention to a fantastic layout as well as earning a free kit for the layout creator if her layout wins! The rules are very simple, any layout can be nominated [with the exception of layouts made by STS designers] & the layout has to have been uploaded during the current month. I'm always eager to see what's been nominated, often I'll see layouts pop up that I never noticed before; it's a great way to get inspiration for your own layouts. Head on over to the December nomination thread to see all the amazing layouts nominated this month.

This month's winner is Christmas 2010 Family Photo by Stephanie [AKA filandstef] & I think it was well chosen! Just look at all that fabulous clustering of elements & papers behind the photo. I'm also a sucker for rounded photos & I think the word art Stephanie used for the title is super cute. Stephanie used A Christmas To Remember by Meagan's Creations & click on the layout to go leave Stephanie some love in the gallery!

Be sure to check out the Layout of the Month section of the forum near the end of January & nominate your favorite layout for a chance to win!

Inspiration Station

2012-01-07T09:30:00.004-07:00

I always seem to start out with one idea for Inspiration Station & then do something totally different! This week we're going to take a look at some journaling layouts, I hope these give you some great inspiration for your own journaling layouts.

December 2012 | LilyAnn
Love this layout by Lily, the monochromatic look gives off such a calm feeling that I could just stare at it for hours. OK, not really but Lily's done a great job in splitting up the journaling with the title & elements; the picture gives you a glimpse at her family but doesn't overwhelm the layout. Lily used the kit You Give Me Wings by 3 Li'l Monsters Designs.

Interview with Brayden | sgroenke
Sometimes you can get great journaling ideas from your kids which also serves the dual purpose of remembering all the cute things they said for when they're all grownup! Love how Sheri has asked Brayden a bunch of questions & then interspersed them throughout the layout. That cute picture of Brayden with the little picture of Sheri is a great touch; Sheri used the huge kit ABC by AmyDane Designs.

I am Thankful | Scrappingirl
If doing a lot of journaling is a bit intimidating, then try to break it up into sections like Dana did with this layout. While this is actually a list, Dana's made it look like several paragraphs separated with the ribbons & title. Love the large elements! Dana used the kit Our Home and Native Land by Meagan's Creations & a template from the I'm a Journalist Template Pack by Queen Wild Scraps.

Blessed | Wtunison
Now this is a list! Love Wendy's idea to separate the list onto two papers with just the tiny picture & minimal elements. When doing your journaling keep in mind how the finished product will be printed. While a layout with a lot of journaling might be hard to read in the forum, this will look great when printed out in 12x12 format. Wendy used Sophistichic by Scraps N' Pieces for this layout.

O' Christmas Tree | Kimberly27
Got a lot of pictures but still want to do a good amount of journaling? Try out a two page layout where you have one page focused on the pictures & one on the journaling like Kimberly's Christmas tree layout. The pages perfectly complement each other without being overwhelming; Kimberly used North Pole by HD Creations.

Ireland | Pisgah13
Lastly, here's another great example of a two page layout with lots & lots of journaling & beautiful pictures. Both sides of the layout are great on their own but they need to be together to really get the full effect. Those pictures are just stunning! Pick up Irish Eyes by Seal Scraps if you need a little bit of Irish luck!

'Tis all for this week! Head on over to last week's thread, the Gallery, & the Stuff to Scrap Inspiration Blog to see what else our forum members have been up to & leave some love on your favorites. If you happen to see a layout that you would like to see featured on the blog, post it in this week's thread; I want to know what inspires you!

Designer Darling Competition

2012-01-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm sure no one has forgotten about the Designer Darling Competition! This is not only a way to win a spot to sell your kits at Stuff to Scrap but also a great way to improve your designing skills. I'm always so excited to see what the participants do with each challenge, if you're interested in participating, head over to the forum for more information & to sign up; you have until January 31st to do so. The competition will start on February 1, 2012 & will run for 6 weeks, come & give it a try!

New Release Fridays

2012-01-06T09:30:00.003-07:00

Welcome to the first set of new releases for the new year! The designers have released a lot of cute stuff this week so let's take a peek.

Planning to do the January Quick Page Exchange? Then you'll need to pick up this month's featured kit by Designs by Snowlady, Winter Elegance. This kit has soft browns and greens with a splash of navy that are perfect for your winter photos; for the rest of the month you can pick up the kit for $2.00 & the coordinating templates for just $1.50.

If you've been to a sea park lately or have a little one who just loves everything to do with the ocean, then you'll want to pick up Deep Sea Adventures by Scraps N' Pieces. I love the look of this kit & that is one cool shark element the ladies have included!

For those of you with a girly girl & tons of pictures with her trying on your makeup, Vanity Fun by Scrappin' Serenity is the perfect kit to get those pictures scrapped. Christie has some coordinating freebies up for grabs on her blog & you can pick up the kit & quick page set for just $2.00 each for a limited time.

If you're like me & still haven't scrapped your Thanksgiving pictures then the Gobble Til You Wobble Quick Page set by Scraps N' Pieces will get the job done fast. Not as fast as eating the turkey but pretty close!

Andrea [AKA Scraps by Andrea] had so much fun with the palette for the December Color Challenge that she turned it into a full sized kit! Believe has so many fun Christmas & winter elements that it's a must have to add to your stash. If you missed the free add-on, it's now available for sale as well. Andrea also has a freebie frame up on her blog for everyone!

Planning on making a winter themed kit? Then the new CU Chill Out Pack from Scraps N' Pieces is a great buy with its polar bear & Eskimo elements. All three elements come in layered files & doodles & have been quality checked.

Did you miss picking up Country Christmas mini kit by Queen Wild Scraps on last month's Road Trip? Now you can pick it up in the store for just $1.99; plus Lahni has a great freebie up for grabs on her blog!

Sarah of In The Small Things has a really fun CU pack out today for all you animal lovers. CU Playful Pals has 10 fun elements that come in both PNG & PSD formats & have been quality checked. Just look at those adorable eyes!

Remember that the new January Build A Kits have been released, if you pick up 3 or more kits in a single transaction you can use the code JANBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF at checkout to get 50% off!

Need a super mega kit to scrap winter photos? Then look no further than the January Mega Collaboration, Rosy Cheeks chock full of all the elements, papers, templates, styles & glitter sheets you'll need for a fabulous winter scrapbook! And if you purchase $10.00 or more in a single transaction, you'll get the Rosy Cheeks Quick Pages set for free.

The wonderful designers at Stuff To Scrap have created another great monthly commercial use grab bag! This great grab bag contains 36 general and winter themed items; including elements, templates, paper patterns/textures, & more. You won't want to miss this terrific grab bag!

Challenge Me

2012-01-05T09:30:00.007-07:00

There are so many great challenges going on this month to help you get all your pictures from 2011 scrapped. I know I've got way too many left to scrap & I'm hoping that I'll actually get them all done!

Have you ever wanted to participate in the Stuff to Scrap Road Trip? It's a great way to work on your designing skills & get some traffic to your blog; this month's palette was submitted by Lahni of Queen Wild Scraps & is called All You Need is Love.

Anyone can participate in the Road Trip from experienced designers to newbies. Even if you're not a designer you can still participate by using any of the mini kits already submitted to make a quick page to offer, just send the designer a private message. To participate you must post your preview & blog code in the February Road Trip thread by January 25th at 11:59 PM MT. Your contributions must remain a freebie until the 15th of the month, after that you are welcome to expire your kit, sell it, or leave it as a freebie on your blog. Please read through the Information Thread for general instructions & the February Road Trip thread for specific information on the upcoming Road Trip. Come & join us!

Looking to spice up your desktop? Then check out the Desktop Challenge where you'll get a prompt for creating a new background to enjoy. This challenge runs from the 15th to the 15th of each month, so hurry on up to January thread to post your desktop. This month's prompt is to scrap something you're looking forward to in the new year & Christie of Scrappin' Serenity has also provided a calendar for you to use on your desktop but it's not required to earn the points. Completing this challenge will earn you 10 points plus an extra 5 points if you use 90% or more of any current STS products for your desktop. On the left is Castangs's desktop using It's a Party! by 3 Li'l Monsters Designs; on the right is Jcb5600's desktop using Frosted Berries by Seal Scraps & Winter Wonderland by In the Small Things.

Everyone loves getting a free kit & for the Use It or Lose It Challenge our designers offer a new mini kit for each month for the challenge. The catch? You need to use everything in the mini kit on your layout! It's always so much fun to see how different all the layouts turn out using the same item. This month, Andrea by Scraps by Andrea has provided us with the mini kit, January Use It or Lose It. Head over to January Use It or Lose It Challenge thread to pick up the free mini & post your layout. You'll earn 10 points for completing this challenge. On the left is Junfunkie's layout & on the right is Hivart's layout.

Another way to flex those designer muscles is the Color Challengewhere a color palette is posted for everyone to play with. Your first option is to make a mini kit to share with the other forum members; the kit needs to remain free for the entire month for members to grab, after which you can sell it or expand it. You'll earn 10 points if you go this route. If you like making quick pages, you can do so with any of the minis provided in the thread & then post it to share with everyone. This option will net you 5 points. Please post download links for kits & quick pages in the thread; do not direct people to your blog for the download.

The last option is to make a layout that uses colors that match the palette, you can use any of the mini kits provided or use any kit that features the colors. This last option will earn you 5 points. Head over to theJanuary Color Challenge thread to see the palette! On the left is Cake Face by Scrappingirl using It's My Party by Meagan's Creations and Queen Wild Scraps & a template from the All About the Photos template pack by Queen Wild Scraps; on the right is a free mini, Sweet Tweets by Designs by Snowlady that you can pick up in the thread!

The Word of the Week Challenge runs until Saturday, January 7th & this week's word is Purpose. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

The Challenge of the Week runs until Saturday, January 7th & this week you can create a layout of your 2012 resolutions or goals OR create a layout about something you're looking forward to in the coming year. Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is Tammyshere's layout using Love n' Laughter by B2N2 Scraps; on the right is 10 Year Wedding Anniversary by Megvill using Gallimaufry by Shel Belle Scraps.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs & will run until Sunday, January 8th. Amy has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up! On the left is Abigail & Rudolph by JanieinMN & on the right is Awesome by Kmshep01. Both used the new kit Sunggle Bug.

Tutorial of the Week

2012-01-04T09:30:00.006-07:00

It's the new year & many of us find our thoughts turning to organization, especially if you didn't reach the goals set last year that would get your life organized. Not that I'd know anything about that ... say where did that huge pile of receipts under the desk needing to be shredded come from?

One part of your life that you may not think about re-organizing are your photo files but trust me, it can come in handy to take a look back at all your files & do a little sorting. After all in the age of digital cameras we take more pictures & videos than ever before, filling up our hard drives to capacity. Sure you can get a bigger hard drive but when you're trying to find a picture quickly organization is key.

As with my tutorial a few months ago about organizing your scrapping stash, these are just things that I have found useful. The Stephanie Method^TM is not for everyone but if you discover something useful from my ramblings, then I've done my job! This is going to be a multi-part tutorial as it'll be about three miles long if I didn't break it up. To start out we're going to talk about getting photos sorted, then next week about how to get those 1,500 pictures you took one month down to a more reasonable number [yes, I have taken that many in a month darn that rapid fire feature!], then how to rename the files to finish off the process.

To start off, find an sorting method that fits you best. You could sort by events like holidays, vacations, etc or just by date. Whatever sorting method you chose make sure that you like it & you stay consistent as you get everything sorted; after all, if you change your method half way through it'll just make your life more frustrating & we're trying to lessen the frustration. I like to sort photos by year rather than event, it fits my way of thinking better. This is what my Picture folder looks like, as you can guess the year 2000 is when we got a digital camera so the years before 2000 are grouped by decade & after 2000 are grouped by year.

If we go into my folder for the years 1940-1949 you'll see how I organize the older photos. Each photo is labeled with the year [& month/day if known] along with who's in the picture & where it was taken.

Labeling pictures this way does make for some long file names which can make your computer grumpy. An alternate way of labeling the pictures would be to assign each photo a unique code & then keep a separate document where you list all the important details. Another way is to right-click on the photo & in the window that pops up you can put all the information you'd like in the comments section. That's my Papa on his & Grandma's honeymoon, wasn't he handsome?

These methods will help not only you remember who's in all those pictures but are a great way to not lose your family history for future generations. I can't tell you how many old pictures are at my parents house that we have no idea who the people are, it's quite frustrating!

Taking a look in my 2011 folder, you can see how I sort things out for more recent pictures. When I download pictures off my camera or phone, I dump them into a folder for the month they were taken. I also put all the pictures I get from grandparents & other people in the correct month's folder; if I've got a bunch of pictures from several months at once & I don't have time to sort, I drop them into the Misc folder until I've got time for sorting.

Next week we'll cover how to sort through all those pictures to get rid of the duds, it'll take some work but it's worth it!

$2 Tuesday Time!

2012-01-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

I hope your New Year is off to a good start!! And hopefully you have plenty of new pictures to scrap...and maybe you'll need a new kit to scrap them with! And you can pick one up today during $2 Tuesday!

Take a look at a few things our designers have in the bin today!

Did you just recently add a new addition to the family? Or do you need to catch up on scrapping the everyday moments of their tiny lives? Newbie by Scrappin Serenity is the perfect kit for scrapping those all baby memories! And the color palette makes it perfect for a baby boy or a baby girl!!

Pick up the Newbie Quick Page Set to get your scrapping done fast!

Vanity Fun by Scrappin Serenity is a pretty girly kit filled with all things to help you scrap your make over memories! It's filled with super cute make-up elements that will make your pages fun! And it's got enough basic elements you can make any kind of layout with this kit!

If you want to get your scrapping done quickly then pick up the Vanity Fun Quick Page Set.

This kit is a "sassy" colorful fun kit! This kit can scrap anything and can also be used for elegant photos! You will fall in love with the colors and realize this kit goes a long way!

Standing in line for hours, waiting up all night, getting some great deals and having fun doing it. We have a great kit to scrap your Black Friday pictures.

This kit is perfect for all those Boy Scouts out there! Every year, the Boy Scouts have a Pinewood Derby and this kit will help scrap all those fun photos!

This is a great kit to scrap all of your snow pictures! It is so versatile- it's a must have for your stash!

This kit is perfect for your more subtle winter photos with it's soft browns and greens and a splash of navy.

Need some help creating your layouts? Here are some layered templates for you. Just clip your papers and photos to the templates for a great start to your layout. You can delete the parts you don't want to use and add your own embellishments.

Penguin Palooza is a fun filled kit that is perfect for penguin lovers of all ages. Perfect for photos from the penguin exhibit, kids playing in the snow, or just those fun pictures that don't need a specific kit for!!! The layout possibilities are endless.

Scrapping Sales

2012-01-02T09:30:00.004-07:00

Not much going on for sales this week after the holidays but we've still got a few things to show off. This month your free gift with a $10.00 purchase is the Rosy Cheeks Quick Pages set from January Mega Collaboration, which will make scrapping your winter pictures a snap!

January Build-A-Kit

2012-01-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

This month for Stuff to Scrap's Build-A-Kit, the designers have created a nice, cozy compilation for you! Inspired by the cold weather, these kits are all about staying warm!

Don't forget that, as always, you can get BAKs 3 for 50% off (priced $1.99 or greater) by using code JANBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF!

Happy Scrapping!

Weekly Challenges & Speed Scraps

2012-01-01T16:30:00.005-07:00

Happy New Year everyone! I'm sure many of you are taking the day to reflect on the last year & prepare your resolutions for this one. No? That's OK 'cause I've got no resolutions either ... well other than to try & get all the challenges done each month which is a rather hefty goal but it can be done! So let's get started with the weekly challenges.

First up is the Word of the Week Challenge which runs from Sunday, January 1st to Saturday, January 7th. This week's word is Purpose. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

The Challenge of the Week which runs from Sunday, January 1st to Saturday, January 7th. This week Shel has given us two options for the challenge. You can create a layout of your 2012 resolutions or goals or create a layout about something you're looking forward to in the coming year. So many possibilities with this but since I don't have any resolutions I'll have to do a layout of the new puppy we'll be getting! Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs & will run from Monday, January 2nd to Sunday, January 8th. Even better, Amy has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up!

To complete this challenge, you simply need to create a layout using any current kits that are for sale in Amy's store [retired kits will not count]. Please refrain from combining kits/parts from other designers for this challenge, but if you would like to use more than one kit by Amy on your layout that would be fine. Hurry & get those layouts done to earn the participation prize!

Since Amy's challenge starts tomorrow, you've still got a few more hours to submit a layout for the current week's challenge hosted by Susan of IvoryKeys Digital Dreams & earn the participation prize!

We'll be having a speed scrap on Friday, January 6th at 7 PM PT / 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT / 10 PM ET that will be hosted by Sarah of Cabana Girl Designs. Come join Sarah & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

The other speed scrap is TBA so I'll update when it's scheduled!

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the January Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

January Road Trip ~ Winter Formal

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the New Year & the new Stuff to Scrap Road Trip! This month we have a cool yet formal theme, Winter Formal, to scrap all those party or snow pictures. With 26 mini kits, templates, & word arts you're sure to find something fun.

Here's the list of designers taking part in this month's road trip. If a designer doesn't have her potion posted yet, please check back as we're spread out across the globe! Also, be sure to grab each portion by the 15th of the month. After the 15th, designers are free to take down their portion of the road trip. Don't forget to check out the Road Trip section of the forum for information on the January Road Trip, participating is a great way to get traffic to your blog!

Have a great trip!

JMC Designs
Scraps by Andrea
Busy Crafting Mommy
Just For Fun Designs
CutieFruity
Scrappin Serenity
Saphira's Scraps
The Scrappy Kat
Tinadell's Tags
scraphannah
Monkey'sMusings
Leaving a Legacy
The Digi Scrapping Mama
DoubleTrouble Scraps
Queen Wild Scraps
Shel Belle Scraps
A Fish Design
Pizazz Pixels
Note-able Scraps
HD Creations
Let Me Scrapbook!

Inspiration Station

2011-12-31T09:30:00.003-07:00

Busy, busy week around here & I'm so glad that all I have to do tonight is order a pizza & watch the New Year ring in! Here's some great layouts to check out if you're planning on doing some scrapping while watching the festivities on TV tonight!

O' Christmas Trees! | The Scrappy Kat
I'm really bummed that we didn't have a white Christmas so I loved seeing this layout by Kat of her cute son. Very cool how Kat used different papers for the trees & I'm digging the glitter splats that look like snow! Kat used the new kit, Most Wonderful Time of the Year, by Gettin' Scrappy with Britt for this great layout along with the template for this month's Template Challenge.

Little Piggies | Purplesparkly
This was posted in the Inspiration Station thread by Becky with a note about how she loved the extraction but it took me a minute to spot the extraction becuase it's done so well. Do you see it? JJ did an amazing extraction on the colored picture so that the hat & part of the piggy's ear is poking out above the frame. I think the shadow she added to the extraction makes it just perfect ... & now I want a piggy! JJ used the kit Khaki Splash by B2N2 Scraps for this fun layout.

Boys and Trucks | Jeneric
Ah, little boys with toys what could be better? Well, I'd say Jennifer's ability to use a background paper is better, I never would have thought of using it like that! The layout looks so busy but your eye is drawn to the picture with the frame & then you realize the layout is really not that busy at all. Fabulous job Jennifer & if you love that paper, pick up Planes, Trains, and Automobiles by Manda Lane Scraps.

Kenyan Train | Filandstef
I just love seeing Stephanie's layouts of her life in Kenya, it's so wonderful that she can share all her family's adventures with us through scrapbooking! Love the journaling & the typewriter font she used, gives it a very retro feel. Stephanie used a template from the Year in Review Templates set by Meagan's Creations & the kit Are We There Yet? by Meagan's Creations and Digital Harmony Design Studio.

Tiffany | Michelle
Another great photo editing trick is selective coloring, can you spot it in this layout? I'll give you a minute ... tick, tock. If you're still stumped take a look at the eyes, just a tiny hint of blue. Gives me the chills! Michelle did an amazing job & that is some cool background paper she used; pick up Michelle's kit Darling Dots & Damask for a similar look.

Chillin' Out | Wtunison
Lastly we have a fun layout by Wendy of one of her kids being silly. As always, Wendy's clustering is fabulous but I really like all the different papers she used behind the top paper which give the layout such a fun look. Wendy used several different products check out Greatest Snow On Earth by Scraps N' Pieces, Winter Words by Scraps N' Pieces & Peek-A-Boo Template Pack by Queen Wild Scraps to create a similar fun layout!

New Release Fridays

2011-12-30T09:30:00.006-07:00

We're a bit light on the new releases with everyone having fun celebrating the holidays but remember that the new Build A Kits, CU Grab Bag & Mega Collaborations are releasing on Sunday! Until then, check out the new releases for the week; be sure to read through the post carefully, there may be freebies available for you to snag & sales going on.

Gettin' Scrappy with Britt has released a fun Christmas kit called Most Wonderful Time of the Year; I'm really digging those chubby Santas & snowmen, too cute! You can pick this kit & add-ons up for 30% off for a limited time plus Britt has a little freebie on her blog.

For those of you needing to scrap pictures of Christmas flowers, you'll want to take a look at Xmas Traditions by IvoryKeys Digital Dreams. This would be just perfect for scrapping fields of poinsettias! Don't forget that Susan is this week's Featured Designer so everything in her store is 50% off!

A more country Christmas look can be found in Magical Holiday's by Growing Pains Scrapped. Love the color scheme & fun elements Tracy's included plus you can pick it up for 50%! Tracy & her CT also have some cute freebies so head over to her blog to pick them up.

If you missed picking up Simple Holiday by Mommy Made This while it was a blog freebie, no worries you can snag it in the store for 50% right now! This is another great country Christmas kit, I admit that I have weakness for the chipboard elements.

Finally, since we're in the middle of basketball season Scraps N' Pieces have released a new slamming kit Nothing But Net. Great for all your game & practice pictures, it's versatile enough to use for both mens & womens games!

Hope everyone has enjoyed the new releases, don't forget that there are a lot of sales going on this weekend so head over to the store to start shopping!

Ring in the New Year!

2011-12-29T20:30:00.004-07:00

While you're waiting for the ball to drop this weekend, why not check out some of the sales going on at Stuff to Scrap? There are some great sales going on that will help you get all those holiday pictures scrapped!

MDK Scraps' store is on sale for 40% off until January 1st, 2012!

Scraps N' Pieces store is on sale for 30% off all this week!

Challenge Me

2011-12-29T09:30:00.007-07:00

Looks like 2012 is fast approaching but there's still a few more days to finish up the December challenges before we get a whole new set on Sunday. If you're anything like me & been way too busy this month, you'll be doing challenges right up until midnight on Saturday!

The December Layout of the Month nominations are now open, head to the thread to nominate your favorite layout by Friday, December 30th!

Working with digital products all the time can make one long for the scent of fresh glue. If that describes you, then check out the Hybrid Challenge where you are given a project each month that will use both digital & traditional scrapbooking products. Usually all you'll need for the projects are your printer, cardstock, a good pair of scissors, & glue. This month Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs has challenged us to make a gift card holder; to help us out, there's a template you can download & use! Post a photo of your completed project in the December Hybrid Challenge thread for everyone to see. If you complete this challenge, you'll earn 15 points! On the left is BlueCat's submission using The Reason for the Season by Just So Scrappy; on the right is Crystal's submission using Ho Ho Ho by The Scrappy Kat.

If you're ever stumped for ideas, one great way to get inspiration is to take a peek in the gallery; that's where the inspiration for the Scraplift Challenge comes from each month. This month, Carissa of This Little Missy has chosen the layout Love by Shauna (AKA Tomosia) for us to scraplift. Go check out the layout & then post your interpretation in the December Scraplift Challenge thread. Completing this challenge will result in 10 points earned & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Sleigh Ride by ILuvCrush using Winter Nights by Knittinjen; on the right is Mini Wonderland by love2learn using Funky Wintertime by Jensen Motley Crew Designs.

Sometimes it's hard to find just the right words to include in your layout but the Quote Challenge can give you a good jump start. Each month will feature a great, inspirational or just a really silly quote to use. The December Quote Challenge is All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them by Walt Disney; you'll need to use the whole quote in your layout to earn the points. Completing this challenge will earn you 10 points & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Dreams by sparagus using Denim and Daisies by Just so Scrappy; on the right is Dream by megvill using Serenity by Shel Belle Scraps.

Ever had a song that you just couldn't get out of your head? It happens to our designers all the time so the Song Lyric Challenge was created. Each month a new song is posted & then you'll need to use some or even all of the lyrics in your layout. This month's song is Silent Night; head over to the December Song Lyric Challenge thread for all the lyrics & start scrapping. This challenge will net you 10 points & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Peaceful When You Sleep by Andrea using Emma's Room by Scraps by Andrea; on the right is Christmas at the Kindergarten by gyurgyik using Magical Holiday's by Growing Pains Scrapped.

The Word of the Week Challenge is running until Saturday, December 31st & this week's word is White. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

The Challenge of the Week will run until Saturday, December 31st & this week we are challenged to make a Year-at-a-Glance Calendar; a template is provided in this week's COW thread. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is loaner's calendar using Greatest Snow on Earth by Scraps N Pieces; on the right is Becky Roy's calendar using Remember When by MDK Scraps.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Susan of IvoryKeys Digital Dreams & ends on Sunday, January 1. Susan has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up! Plus there's a scavenger hunt going on & if you find everything you'll be entered to win a kit! On the left is Chinese with Small Group by Kendra using Meadowlark; on the right is Tasha Faces 2004 by KatherineWoodin using Strike a Pose.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Tutorial of the Week

2011-12-28T09:30:00.002-07:00

I admit it. I got nothing up my sleeve for today, with the holidays I haven't even had time to think much less come up with a cool tutorial. But I'll be back with something fun next week, promise!

Until then I just wanted to mention a few important things. Many of you have noticed some changes going on around the Stuff to Scrap world. Nicole is revamping the store, forum, gallery & blog with a new look & features to shake things up for 2012. I think everyone is going to like the changes, head over to the store where you can get a look at the great new theme!

While the changes are taking place, you may find broken links or features missing; don't worry they'll come back online as soon as updates are implemented. Of course Stuff to Scrap would be nothing without all of you & Nicole would love to hear your ideas! Head on over to the You Matter! thread in the forum & share some of your ideas for new challenges, store features, & anything else you think might be a great addition to the store, forum or blog.

One new feature is that the Stuff to Scrap forum has now been enabled to be used with the Tapatalk application! What is Tapatalk? Well, it's a forum application that can be used with the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, BlackBerry devices, & any device that runs Chrome which allows forum members to view the forum on the go. I've been using it for a few days now & it's great for keeping up with all the goings on it forum while out & about. Please note that this is a paid application but I'd have to say that it's totally worth the few bucks & if any other forums you participate in are activated for it, you can add them all! Check out the Tapatalk thread for more information on this great new feature.

That's all for today, I've got a couple of preschoolers begging to decorate cookies; everyone have a great day!

$2 Tuesday!

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend (for those of you who celebrate)! And now that it's over...you'll have time to scrap again! So don't forget to see what we have in our $2 Tuesday Bin today!!

Stuff to Scrap Scrapalicious Digi-Retreat

2011-12-26T20:30:00.002-07:00

I hope no one has forgotten about the awesome retreat that is going to be taking place in the spring! The Scrapalicious Digi-Retreat 2012, hosted by Stuff to Scrap, is taking place on April 27 & 28, 2012 at the Comfort Suites in Schaumburg, Illinois. Click on the flier to go to the retreat section of the forum to find out more information.

If you're planning to join us in Schaumburg (located just 30 miles northwest of Chicago), tickets for the retreat are on sale for $99.00 until January 7, 2012! Nicole has extend the deadline for the lower price to let everyone who's expecting Christmas money & are away for the holidays take advantage of the deal!. After January 8, 2012 the ticket price will go up to $125.00 so this would be a great Christmas present to yourself! Nicole has arranged for a block of rooms at Comfort Suites in Schaumburg at $79/night (+tax) which is a great rate for Chicagoland. For more information on booking hotel room, please see the information posted in the store. If you plan on flying into Chicago, the closest airport to Schaumburg is O'Hare & there are always plenty of taxis & shuttles between the airport & hotels.

We hope to see a large turnout of forum members & designers, I know that most of us living within a reasonable driving distance are planning on attending. If you want to know who's attending, take a look at the For Sure! thread & post there if you've bought your tickets! Check out the FAQs thread for general information & the Roomie Wanted thread if you're looking for someone to share a room with. The Chicagoland members have started a thread with stuff to do in & around Chicago; we'll keep it updated as the date comes closer.

Curious about what type of classes will be going on? Check out the Retreat Classes thread, there will be classes on clustering, shadowing, extracts, journaling & more. Nicole has also lined up some great prizes that you could win including one of 2 Wacom Bamboo tablets, a copy of Photoshop Elements 10, a copy of Adobe Premiere Elements 10 or a copy of Adobe CS6!

There are also a lot of great sponsors already signed up for retreat but there's always room for more! If you own a business or know someone who does who would like to be a sponsor for this retreat, email stufftoscrap.com[at]gmail.com to get more information on sponsorship. Here's a list of the current sponsors, click on the logos to go to their websites for more information!

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Digi Scraps Drive-In
Designs by Snowlady

Class Sponsors

Scrappin' Serenity
Designs by Snowlady

We hope you can come join us at
the Scrapalicious Digi-Retreat 2012!

Scrapping Sales

2011-12-26T09:30:00.004-07:00

And now on to New Year's week! This time of year just never stops going does it? LOL. In case you've got some free time this week [hah!] to do some scrapping, here's the sales that are still going on today, we'll have more sales up later in the week to help you ring in the New Year!

Hello everyone, I have an early Christmas present for all of you! Some of our designers are having Christmas sales just through this weekend so if you'd like to get yourself some presents, check out these great deals!

Don't forget that your free gift with a $10.00 purchase this month is the December Mega Collaboration, Pine Cones and Holly Berries Quick Page Set & you'll want to grab the Pine Cones and Holly Berries while you're at it! In addition there's also a great add on to the kit that you'll get for free if you sign up for the Countdown to Christmas with Templates course over in the forum. Don't worry if you forget to sign up, it's open all month long & you can go back & snag days you missed; go here for more details.

The December Build A Kits are now out & have a cute shopping theme, if you buy 3 or more in a single transaction, use the code DECBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF at checkout to get 50% off. This is the last week you'll be able to get the BAKs at 50% off so hurry up! Plus you'll want to pick up the December CU Grab Bag so you can add some great holiday products to your designer stash.

Finally, this is the last week that you can pick up the October Mega Collaboration, At the Pumpkin Patch, the Quick Page set, & the October CU Grab Bag. If you've had your eye on any of these, be sure to snag them before 11:59 PM MST on New Year's Eve when they'll go away for good!

Weekly Challenges & Speed Scraps

2011-12-25T20:30:00.003-07:00

A good evening & Merry Christmas to everyone! We've just gotten back from a whirlwind trip to visit family, more family is expected tomorrow & even more this weekend. Whew! Not sure if I'll get much scrapping doing this week but I'm going to do my best, here's your weekly challenges!

First up is the Word of the Week Challenge which runs from Sunday, December 25th to Saturday, December 31st. This week's word is White. Ack, this is going to be a hard one for me as we don't have snow … we've got rain! Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

Next is the Challenge of the Week which runs from Sunday, December 25th to Saturday, December 31st. This week's we are challenged to make a Year-at-a-Glance Calendar. This looks like it will be fun especially since Amy of AmyDane Designs has given us a cute template to use, just go to the this week's COW thread to pick up the template & post your layouts by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Susan of IvoryKeys Digital Dreams & will run from Monday, December 26 to Sunday, January 1. Here's some fun information about Susan & the participation prize you'll get if you post a layout by next Sunday night is a set of stacked papers! Even better, Susan has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up!

To complete this challenge, you simply need to create a layout using any current kits that are for sale in Susan's store [retired kits will not count]. Please refrain from combining kits/parts from other designers for this challenge, but if you would like to use more than one kit by Susan on your layout that would be fine. Hurry & get those layouts done to earn the participation prize!

Since Susan's challenge starts tomorrow, you've still got a few more hours to submit a layout for the current week's challenge hosted by Becky of B2N2 Scraps & earn the participation prize!

Here are the Speed Scraps for this last week of 2011! The week's first speed scrap will be Monday, December 26th at 11 AM PT / 12 PM MT / 1 PM CT / 2 PM ET & will be hosted by Jennifer of Knittinjen. Come join Jennifer & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

Our other speed scrap will be Thursday, December 29th at 4 PM PT / 5 PM MT / 6 PM CT / 7 PM ET & will be hosted by Amy & Dana of AmyDane Designs. Come join Amy, Dana & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 25

2011-12-24T20:00:00.009-07:00

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday & enjoying their time with family & friends. Today is our last day of freebies & since I've been rambling about holiday memories all month, I figured I'd show off a holiday picture of myself as well! Here's me & my twin brother at our first Christmas, I'm the one in pink LOL.

Weren't we adorable? Ah memories. OK, not really I can't remember a thing about the first meeting with Santa but I remember the Christmas when I got lost [as in I was playing hide-and-seek with my brother & wandered away from Mom] at the mall. When security found me wandering around, I saw Santa again, got a candy cane & coloring book with crayons to play with while my parents were paged over & over. Boy, were Mom & Dad happy/mad when they finally found me, happily coloring & eating my candy. I may have gotten put on a leash at the mall after that little stunt. Yes, I was a troublemaker!

And speaking of troublemakers, here's the last of our Countdown to Christmas freebies brought to you by Kat of The Scrappy Kat!

So very cute, here's what Kat has to share with us.

"I thought I would share a couple "vintage" Christmas cards with you. The one is our family Christmas card from 1975, my first Christmas. The other card is from 1979 and shows my brother and me in our footy pajamas. I believe that is Astro from The Jetsons on my pajamas, I can remember being a big fan of The Jetsons and The Flintstones. Is it just me or did your feet get all sweaty in those footy pajamas too? Who thought polyester and vinyl covering the feet was a good idea?!?

One thing that always made Christmas Day unique for my family, is my little brother being born on Christmas Day. This meant that I celebrated my 3rd Christmas morning with my grandparents, while my parents were at the hospital. It didn't matter much to me though, as I got a pair of cowboy boots and a Big Bird toy that talked when you pulled the string....so I hardly noticed that the folks were MIA. ;) Anyway, each Christmas since my brother was born, we have had a day long celebration. We open up our presents from Santa in the morning, have a big Christmas lunch, then in the evening we have a nice supper and birthday party for my brother. My parents were always careful to make sure my brother's birthday was a separate celebration and that it didn't get just blended in with the rest of the Christmas celebration and activities. However, I just have to tell you, that we always had some cheapo relative that would just get him one small "combo" gift and say it was for both his birthday and Christmas present. I always felt sorry for him when that happened. Those jerks...it is ruining my Christmas spirit right now just thinking about that. lol To get back on track...we've celebrated Christmas Day the same for 33 years and will do it this year for a 34th time. It is my favorite day of the whole year!

Hope you all enjoy my little present for you today, Merry Christmas and Happy Scrapping!!!"

Another family with a Christmas baby! My mother-in-law was born on Christmas, it's always hard when that happens but it sounds like Kat's family had the right idea about keeping things separate, that's what our family does as well. Here's your last freebie, click on the preview to head to the store & have a wonderful day!

Inspiration Station

2011-12-24T09:30:00.003-07:00

Since today is Christmas Eve, I've decided that we need to see some fabulous Christmas layouts! There were so many to choose from, I had such a hard time narrowing it down but here are my final picks.

For Eating Gingerbread | Kandiced
Naturally, one of the big events of any holiday is eating, eating, eating & what's better than decorating your very own gingerbread man? Judging by the look on the face of Kandice's son, I'm going to have to say nothing! Kandice used Up on the Rooftop by Scrappin' Serenity to this layout so much fun to look at.

Kats Kids Christmas Picture 2011 | Stacielk
Anyone else have trouble getting their kids to pose for holiday photos? I had such trouble this year but I only had two to pose, I can't imagine trying to get 4 kids looking in the same direction! But Stacie shows us that it doesn't matter what direction the kids are looking in, they will look adorable no matter what; those dresses are to die for! Pick up the free-for-this-month-only kit The Best Time of the Year by Scrapeam2008 if you've got cute kid pictures to scrap.

Lucy | Junfunkie
Sometimes it's just best to give up on the fancy outfits & backgrounds & just go for the au naturel look. After all, a kid enjoying a fuzzy stuffed animal makes for a great picture, just look at how cute this little one is in Laura's layout! Love the clustering behind the photo, snag A Merry Celebration by Digi-Designs by Nicole if you love it as well!

Visit to Santa | Becky22
After getting the kids dressed up, it's time for a little fun by visiting Santa. I'm lucky that my kids love visiting Santa but if your kiddos won't go near Santa, then just get a family picture like Becky & her husband did! For a funky layout like this one pick up Becky's kit A Little Christmas Whimsy.

Christmas Lights | Queen.wild
To wind things down, a drive to see the Christmas lights around town is always in order. One benefit of viewing Christmas lights via car is that it's much warmer & you can get some funny pictures like Lahni's family did! They look nice & warm, & the black & white photos go so well with Lahni's new kit, Deck the Halls.

Winter | Gluvsc
Finally, isn't this what we are all hoping for tomorrow? Simple, lovely & white ... Gluvsc has put together such a beautiful layout using Blue Christmas by Shel Belle Scraps with just a picture & a few papers. Stunning.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 24

2011-12-23T20:00:00.006-07:00

Almost there! You are going to love what Becky of B2N2 Scraps has to share with us today so let's take a look at her picture.

What an adorable Nativity set but wait until you read what Becky has to say about it!

"One of my favorite things to do around Christmastime is to set up nativity scenes. Ever since I can remember setting up the nativity scene was a very important part of decorating the house for Christmas. We would place my parent’s scene on the mantle surrounded my freshly cut pine boughs. As a Sunday School attendance prize one year (when I was maybe 5), I selected my own nativity scene and ever since then I’ve been collecting them. My collection started small and could fit on the buffet in my parent’s living room. Gradually my collection started to get bigger and bigger and I needed more and more space in my parents house to display my scenes. There came a point where I couldn’t get them all out every year and I had to pick and chose the ones I wanted to see.

After growing up, getting married and moving out of my parents house, I started to look for venues to display my nativity scenes so that more people besides my family could look at them. I’ve displayed them at my grandmother in law’s retirement home, my grandparent’s nursing home, and at my mom’s church. I did have an open house at my house one year and invited all my family and friends to come see them spread throughout my house. It’s a lot of work to haul them to a location, unpack them all from their boxes and tissue paper and then rewrap them all at the end of the day. But it’s worth it when I see the enjoyment on people’s faces. Everyone has so many questions about the scenes and loves to talk to me about them! It makes me feel so good that I gave someone a little bit of joy.

My collection has grown to be over 200 nativity scenes from all around the world. I have scenes from 6 continents. Family members and friends have brought them back from vacations, the farthest traveled was with my sister who purchased one in Australia for me. Family members have scoured the internet for unique ones to add to my collection. I have purchased very few of them myself! Some of the scenes are handmade by people I know and are one of a kind. Some are as small as a penny and my largest is the one in my front yard that my husband hand drew and cut out of plywood for me last year and surprised me by having it in the front yard when we came back from our Thanksgiving trip. I have a database to keep track of the country of origin, the year I received it and the giver of the scene plus a short description. But I normally don’t need the list to tell me who gave me what scene or the story behind it (I do mix up my countries though). Each and every scene is special to me and I can’t pick a favorite. I have a favorite because of it’s meaning, a favorite because of its uniqueness, and so on.

For the past 3 years, I haven’t been able to display my scenes (being pregnant with twins and then having young twins!) and I miss seeing them. This year I decided on my first day of winter break and being home with my children again that I would get some of them out and show them to my kids. I want them to see my collection and to appreciate them as much as I do. I want them to know the true meaning of Christmas. I lovingly unwrapped 23 scenes (out 200+) and showed them the figures, allowing them to touch and hold the ones that are not fragile. Then I placed them high on my bookshelves so they can’t reach them! I hope next year to display my collection at a venue where more people can appreciate them and where I can get all of them out at one time.

I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas!"

Wow, 200+ Nativity scenes? That is amazing & I can see why Becky is so protective of them but I know her little ones will love them as they grow older. Thank you for the wonderful memory Becky! Here's Becky's freebie, a hanging alpha for all your layouts; click on the preview to go to the store & enjoy. I think we're going to spend the day hanging with family & eating ... what could be better?

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Christmas Sales!

2011-12-23T12:30:00.006-07:00

Hello everyone, I have an early Christmas present for all of you! Some of our designers are having Christmas sales just through this weekend so if you'd like to get yourself some presents, check out these great deals!

New Release Fridays

2011-12-23T09:30:00.002-07:00

Everything is done around our house, all that's left is to enjoy the holiday! Before we get to the actual holiday, how about some goodies to pick up? Be sure to read through the post carefully, there may be freebies available for you to snag & sales going on!

A yummy new kit that will have you wanting to make cookies is Sugar Cookie by Mommy Made This. Love the bright colors & all those cute elements ... & now I'm hungry! Colleen has several freebies up on her blog for you to snag, hurry on over & get them now!

In need of a Christmas kit that's a little funky & fun? Check out A Little Christmas Whimsy by B2N2 Scraps; I got to work with this kit & it has lots of great papers & elements to play with! Since Becky is this week's Featured Designer, you can get the add-on for free by participating in the layout challenge over at the forum. Plus everything in Becky's store is 45% off until Sunday!

Becky has also released a set of quick pages to get your 2012 calendar scrapped fast. This set of 2012 4x6 Desktop Calendar Quick Pages is made using Becky's Everyday Moments kit & is the right size for a desktop. Check out this post on Becky's blog to find out how to make your calendar!

If you prefer making your own calendars, then you'll need to pick up the set of 2012 Calendars just released by Meagan's Creations. This set of png files gives you an easy way to add months to your calendars & each month comes in two different font styles. Pick them up while they are 30% off!

Another fun new Christmas kit is Deck the Halls by Queen Wild Scraps is Deck the Halls. I'm loving the puffy elements & darker colors of this kit, would be great for your holiday party photos! Lahni's creative team has put together some cute freebies, so head over to her blog to pick them up.

If all you need is a cute little mini kit to scrap some photos fast, then pick up Cozy Winter by This Little Missy. With a traditional color scheme & great elements, this mini can work for so many different types of layouts!

We don't have any snow yet but if you do, take a look at Ice Magic by Scrapteam2008, this would be just what you need for those winter layouts! Hannah has also made a little add-on for the kit that you can pick up for free!

Can't get the song Blue Christmas out of your head? Then Shel Belle Scraps has just the kit for you with her Blue Christmas mini! Love the funky papers, especially that snowflake one!

More Christmas fun can be found in A Merry Celebration by Digi-designs by Nicole which is 30% for a limited time! This fun kit has all the traditional elements that you'll need to scrap your pictures of Santa or opening presents. Plus there are some great freebies to pick up on Nicole's blog so hurry on over there now!

Finally, you'll need to check out the very different Christmas kit, 'Tis the Season by Scraps by Andrea. Such a different color scheme for a Christmas kit but I'm totally digging what Andrea has done with it! Love those fun elements, especially that cute snowman; Andrea also has some freebies up on her blog so check them out now!

Make sure that you are checking out the Freebie section & RAK section in the forum all the time for fun stuff to snag or win! And stay tuned later today when I'll show off all the sales that will be going on this weekend!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 23

2011-12-22T20:00:00.003-07:00

Almost to Christmas! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still ... which is a good thing as I've got some packing to get done so we're ready to go for the weekend. Today's freebie comes to us from Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs & she has a fun memory to share with us all.

"We had so many great times at Christmastime when I was a kid. My favorite memory was a tradition that we did every year. Christmas Eve before we went to bed we would listen to Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" on National Public Radio. My brothers and I would never sleep very well the night before Christmas, so we would wake up early, early in the morning. My mom made a rule that we couldn't wake them up until 6:00 am, so we would watch the clock until 5:50, and jump up and run to their room to wake them up! Then while they were getting ready, we would tiptoe into the living room, where somehow the candles were all lit, and we would open our stockings. Then someone would pass out the gifts, and we would open our gifts by candle light. After all of the gifts were opened, my mom would make breakfast, and after breakfast we would all go back to bed for a few hours. It seems that every year it was always the same tradition, and I have such fond memories of Christmas. There were years when things were tight, and years when things were plentiful, but it was always a special time for family at Christmas time!"

I'm cracking up at the mental picture of Amy & her brothers sitting, watching the clock, ready to spring into action right at the appointed time! Love it! Thanks for the fun memory Amy & here's her freebie, a set of templates to get some of your holiday memories scrapped. Click on the preview to go to the store for the download & enjoy. I know a lot of people are going to be traveling this weekend so stay safe while you're out on the road or in the air!

Challenge Me

2011-12-22T09:30:00.006-07:00

Wow, has this month gone fast! Can you believe there are only 9 days left until the new year? That means just 9 days to finish the December challenges so let's take a look at some more challenges today.

Don't forget that you've got 3 more days to participate in the January Road Trip Winter Formal. You'll need to post your preview & blog code in the January Road Trip thread by December 25th at 11:59 PM MST. Your contributions must remain a freebie until the 15th of the month, after that you are welcome to expire your contribution, sell it, or leave it as a freebie on your blog. Please read through the Information Thread for general instructions & the January Road Trip thread for specific information on the upcoming Road Trip. Take a look at some of the cute submissions so far; come & join us!

A really fun challenge is the Scrap What? Challenge where we are often challenged to scrap things we might never have thought of before. This month, Shel of Shel Belle Scraps is challenging us to scrap a favorite memory of 2011, this is going to be hard! Post your take on the challenge in the December Scrap What? Challenge thread. For this challenge you can earn 10 points plus an extra 5 points if you use 90% or more of any current STS products. On the left is Titanic by Kendra using Chill Out by Scraps N' Pieces; on the right is Year in Review 2011 by ljacobsen using Those Were The Days & Year In Review Templates by Meagan's Creations.

When you're pressed for time, it's great to use quick pages to get a layout done quickly & a way to get a lot of free quick pages is to participate in the Quick Page Exchange. The designer hosting the exchange will pick out one of their kits & you are challenged to create a quick page with the kit [you may only use the featured kit to avoid copyright issues]. Don't know how to make a quick page? Go to this thread in the forum to download a free action for PSE & PS; you can find some great tips on making quick pages in this thread.

This month the featured kit is Perfect Winter Day by Susan of IvoryKeys Digital Dreams. Susan has put the kit on sale for 50% off the whole month! Post your completed quick page in the December Quick Page Exchange thread & don't forget to send your quick page to Susan! For participating you'll get 10 points plus at the end of the month, Susan will email you all the quick pages that have been submitted!

Since many of us are on Facebook, naturally there is a Facebook Challenge to complete. But I'm going to make you do a little work for this challenge; you'll have to go to the Stuff to Scrap Facebook Page & look for a post around December 1 for the instructions. Post your layouts in the December Facebook Challenge thread to earn your points. This challenge will net you 5 points & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points. On the left is Walking in a Winter Wonderland by sgroenke using The Greatest Snow on Earth by Scraps N' Pieces; on the right is GGparents zip line by jptaylorfamily using March of the Animals by Scraps By Andrea.

The Word of the Week Challenge runs until Saturday, December 24 & this week's word is Excitement. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here. Here's Christmas Visit by BriannasScrapper using A Little Christmas Whimsy by B2N2 Scraps.

The Challenge of the Week is running until Saturday, December 24 & this week we are challenged to scrap a holiday event. Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is a layout by love2learn using Most Wonderful Time by Scraps Of Ellay & Xmas Templates by MDK Scraps; on the right is All I Want for Christmas by LilyAnn using Pine Cones and Holly Berries a STS Designer Collaboration.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you by Becky of B2N2 Scraps & runs until Sunday, December 25. Becky has put her whole store on sale for 45% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up! Be sure to check out the scavenger hunt for a chance to win a coupon to Becky's store! On the left is Thumb Sucking Goodness by smodi65 using Sweet Tooth; on the right is November by lwyant using Autumn Bliss.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 22

2011-12-21T20:00:00.004-07:00

Three more days ... three more days! While I'm sad to know the freebies will be ending soon the prospect of Christmas Day is more than enough to compensate for the sadness. Heehee, I'm weird, I know! Let's see, today's freebie & story come to us from Crystal of Digital Scrap Fun.

Love the pictures, that's Crystal in the left photo on the right. Did that make sense?

"My favorite holiday memory is going to grandma’s house for Christmas. We would go Christmas Eve (sometimes we got new pajamas) and spend the night. Of course my sister and I would be all excited and up early (my mom too :) but we had to wait every year for grandpa to shave before we could open any presents. He would purposely go quite slow just to torture us a bit."

That is so evil of Crystal's grandpa but I can totally see my grandpas doing that as well; must be a grandpa thing! Fun memory & Crystal's got a cute mini kit today, click on the preview to go to the store for the download & enjoy! I think it's time to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol with my boys, love that move!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Tutorial of the Week

2011-12-21T09:30:00.004-07:00

Today's tutorial comes via a question in the Tips, Techniques, & Questions section of the forum. A while back I had posted a link to a great tutorial on how to make a siggy that could be linked to multiple websites. However, that tutorial has gone away so I've whipped up one for the Stuff to Scrap blog!

To start, you'll need to make your siggy. When making the siggy, be sure to put text in it to direct people where to go, in my siggy I'm going to direct people to the blogs of my CT bosses. In addition, you'll need to have a background that is not transparent, white is a good solid choice. If you need to add a background layer go to Layer --> New Fill Layer --> Solid Color & place it at the bottom of your layers.

Once your siggy is how you like it, you'll need to merge all the layers together; do this by going to Layer --> Merge Visible. I'm kind of a picky person so I would then rename the merged image Layer 1.

Now comes the fun part, slicing up the siggy. You'll need to select the Marquee Tool which is similar to the Crop Tool but allows you to make layers. Using the Marquee Tool, select the area which will make up the first website link. As you can see in the example, I have selected an area to just past the end of "Scraps." Marching ants will appear to show you what the layer will look like when it's cut.

Next you need to go to Layer --> New --> Layer via Cut which will turn the selected area into a new layer. As you can see in the example on the right, there are now two layers & if you turn off the visibility on the new layer/Layer 2 you can see the rest of the siggy that needs to be sliced up. Continue using the Marquee Tool to slice up your siggy but make sure that before you select a new area you have your bottom layer/Layer 1 selected! Don't worry about making your selection perfect, the Marquee Tool will only cut visible images so if there's some transparent pixels in your selection, it'll just ignore those.

Once you've got the siggy sliced up, you'll want to save each layer as a separate JPG file. Starting with the left side of the siggy, turn off the visibility on all the other layers. Go to Image --> Trim to get rid of all the transparent pixels. Save the trimmed file as a JPG. Now backtrack two steps by either using Ctrl + Z or Edit --> Step Backwards to get those transparent pixels back. Turn off the far left section & turn on the visibility of the next section. Trim, save & repeat for each layer until you've got JPGs of each layer.

Upload your siggy files to your preferred image hosting site, then head into the Settings section of the forum. You'll see a link called Edit Signature, clicking on that will bring up the area to upload your signature to. Click on the Insert Image icon & paste in the links to the siggy images one at a time, starting with your far left image. When you highlight one of the images you can see that it's not connected to the other images. With each image selected, click on the Insert Link icon & paste in the website you want that section of the siggy to link to.

You can tell the link has been accepted by clicking on the Preview Signature button & then hovering your pointer over a section of the siggy. You should then be able to right-click & open the link up in a new tab or window to make sure the link is working. Once all the images in your sigggy have been linked, hit Save Signature & you're done!

A quick note about siggys. You are welcome to link your siggy to your personal blog/Facebook/Twitter, any Stuff to Scrap Designer blogs or your Stuff to Scrap Gallery but please do not link them to other stores or non Stuff to Scrap designer blogs. Have fun!

Disclaimer for Tutorials: I use Photoshop CS 8 for Mac so I can't speak to how things may work in a different program. However, I've posted this tutorial in the forum & if you have any other general tips or tips for different programs, please post them in the thread for everyone to see!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 21

2011-12-20T20:00:00.006-07:00

A fine good evening to everyone, it's chilly out here in the Midwest but no real snow yet. That's a good thing since my boys are still in school. Today's freebie from Amanda of Manda Lane Scraps let's take a look at Amanda & her men.

Such a cute family picture & here is Amanda's favorite holiday memory.

"I guess one of my favorite Christmas memories is also one of my most recent memories. This is a picture from last Christmas. It was the first Christmas that Jeff and I were married. It was so wonderful to be able to be a family and to begin our own Christmas traditions. We were all so excited to have our own tree and stockings. We made reindeer food and cookies for Santa (that we forgot to put out) and had a great time our first Christmas. And, we didn't know it at the time, but little Noah's there, too. We'd find out just a few days after this picture that we'd have a house of 4 this year. I can't wait for this Christmas to be able to spend it together again."

Finding out you're expecting another little one is such a great gift! I hope Amanda & her family are enjoying their first Christmas as a family of 4. Here's Amanda's freebie, a set of 6 brag book templates; click on the preview to go to the store & enjoy! I've got to get moving on finishing up all the teacher gifts I need to make!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $2.49**

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday! Which means it's time for some great $2 Kits!! Check out some of what our designers have in the bin below!

This week I have for you two top sellers!
Mexican Fiesta and Sizzling Hot.

This fun whimsical Christmas kit is perfect to scrap all your Christmas pictures whether they are of visiting Santa or opening presents. The colors are bright with some traditional colors mixed with whimsical and merry colors.

Are you looking for the ultimate Christmas kit? Then look no further. Christmas Love by Scrappin Serenity has from Stockings to Snowflakes to Santa and his Elf! It's the perfect kit to make your Christmas cards with, gift tags with, and scrap those special Holiday moments!

Need to Scrap your Christmas pictures in a hurry?! Grab Scrappin Serenity's Christmas Love Quick Page Set!

Twas The Night Before by Scrappin Serenity is based off that classic Christmas book, The Night Before Christmas. This kit if is filled with all things that happen the night before Christmas; from hanging the stockings on the fireplace, to setting out cookies and milk for Santa, and getting the sleepy kids into bed!

Do You have too many pictures to scrap and not enough time to scrap those Christmas pictures? Then pick up Scrappin Serenity's Twas The Night Before Quick Page Set.

This kit, with it's soft colors, is such an elegant kit and can be used for any wedding, or maybe a photo with your loved one! It is also very versatile and can be used with anything! You will fall in love with the colors and the elements!

A beautiful kit to scrap anything from Christmas to those elegant Christmas party photos. You will fall in love with the gorgeous embellishments and papers in this kit!

This doodled kit is all winter romance, perfect for scrapping those chilly winter and holiday days!

With traditional colors and some additional soft hues, this Christmas kit is elegant and enduring like all your Christmas memories. Grunge meets classic in this Christmas kit packed full of the elements you need for all your Christmas pages.

This mini kit will leave you feeling anything but blue! This fun kit will help you scrap all of your holiday pictures. Kit includes seven papers (four patterned, three solid) and 13 elements (all unique). Scrap for Hire and Scrap for Others friendly.

Does the time of year have you dreaming up a White Christmas? I have the perfect Holiday kit for you. White Christmas combines beautiful creamy white papers and elements with bold reds, greens, and silver touches for a dramatic holiday kit. You'll love the glittery elegance and fabulous clustering elements.

Inspired by The Scrappy Kat's family and their love of music, Turn It Up! contains 20 papers and 62 rockin' elements. Perfect for scrapping pages of your favorite guitar legend, music lover, or rock n' roll video game addict.

Merry Christmas and Happy Scrapping! Ho Ho Ho is packed with fun papers and elements in cheerfully bright colors that can be used for your digital scrapbook pages, holiday cards, and projects.

Do you want Christmas layouts in a snap? Look no further! My Ho Ho Ho Quick Pages are what you want.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 20

2011-12-19T20:00:00.005-07:00

I'm in complete baking mode right now, gotta get cookies made & in the freezer so all I have to do is take 'em out & decorate them. Let's take a break & see what Paula of CutieFruity has for us today, a wonderful holiday memory.

"During Christmas, most families have traditions of setting up a tree, lights, having a big dinner, etc. My family growing up is a little strange in that we just don't get into the holidays that much, add to that the fact that we were pretty poor, and we made do in some interesting ways. Any Christmas cheer was usually brought by my sister and I. One year we had to make a tree from cardboard because we never got around to getting a tree. Some years my dad would go out on Christmas Eve and pull a tree out of the dumpster, or get the last one for free from the tree lot. One year he cut a huge piece of sagebrush down from the desert and brought it home. I don't recommend that, by the way, we had moths that ate our clothes for a year. They came into our warm house and thought that hibernation time was over. This all sounds awful now, but at the time, it was what we had, and that was okay.

Something my mom would always do that I've carried on in my own family is making most of the gifts. I don't remember ever getting that hot new toy (except a Cabbage Patch doll in '84), electronic gizmo, or bicycle. We always got clothes and toys sewn by mom. My sister and I got matching dresses, and the best part, our dolls would, too! Sometimes it was the aforementioned Cabbage Patch that would match, or it would be a new outfit for our Barbies. We LOVED having matching outfits for our dolls and I really wish I had the picture of us in our froofy taffeta dresses, awesome ponytails and headbands, and matching Barbies. I'm sure you'd all get a good laugh out of that. The other tradition is that my Dad always got Old Spice aftershave. It got harder ever year to keep him from knowing which gift it was, but he was always able to guess.

I hope you all have the best of Christmases this year. Get creative (that isn't that hard for all the awesome people who will read this, I know how creative you are!). Things are difficult for many families this year, but I know that we can use our talents to our advantage. I'm off to sew all my children some pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve, and some matching dresses and Barbie clothes for my daughters. In the meantime, you can pick up an alpha set from me, 85 pngs: uppers, lowers, symbols, and contact sheets. I like how these turned out, like glistening snow! Enjoy!"

I think Paula's family had it just right, it's not about what you get or how much you get but the wonderful memories that come from being together as a family. It sounds like Paula's family had plenty of love to go around, thanks so much for sharing! Today you get a alpha freebie to go along with all the other parts of the countdown; click on the preview to go to the store & enjoy. Remember to keep wishing for snow on Christmas!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.49**

Scrapping Sales, CT Calls & Freebies!

2011-12-19T09:30:00.009-07:00

A good morning to everyone, I'm in full panic mode right now so let's get this party started! I'm very pleased to start off your week with a Download-A-Day from Colleen of Mommy Made This. All this week you can pick up parts of her adorable Christmas kit, Simple Holiday! Total score! But you need to act fast as each part is only available for 24 hours. If you miss any parts of the kit you can pick it up in Colleen's store for 50% off; hurry over to Colleen's blog now as the first part is up for grabs right now!

Our Featured Designer of the week is Becky of B2N2 Scraps & there are several fun activities going on so check out the thread for more information. Of course Becky had to have a sale so check out her store where you can get 45% off all her products!

For those of you looking to start off the new year on a new creative team, why not apply to be a part of Mom2Moo's team? Check out the flier below & send Jessica an email if you're interested!

Have you been following the blog & picking up the Countdown to Christmas freebies? No? TWell we've only got a few more days of freebies, they're going to end on Christmas! Each portion will only be available for 24 hours & I'll be posting a new freebie each night at around 7 PM PT / 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT / 10 PM ET.

If you don't want to have to remember to come back to the blog each day, why don't you add us to your feed reader? Check in the sidebar for the Follow This Blog section & add us to your Google, Netvibes, Newsgator, My Yahoo!, or Atom reader! Keep in mind that the freebies were all made with the same color palette so if you collect all the parts you are going to have one huge, mega holiday kit. Oh & I just [cough] might know [hint] that a full-sized kit is going to one of the freebies this week so keep your eyes peeled!

More freebies can be found on The Scrappy Kat's & Adriana's Cafe blogs hop on over every day to grab your presents! Each day Kat will have two different freebies from her kits while Adriana is offering freebies that coordinate with her lovely Christmas kit, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

On to our ongoing sales! Designs by Snowlady is celebrating the season by putting everything in her store on sale for just $2.00 until Sunday, December 25! And don't forget that everything in Scrappin's Serenity's store is just $2.00 every Friday in December & January! Click on the preview to head to their stores to start shopping.

This Little Missy is having another Kit Rewind sale this month featuring her kit White Christmas; you can pick up the kit for just $2.00 or the bundle for 25% off for all of the month of December!

Amy of 3 Li'l Monsters Designs is having an amazing retirement sale to make room for new kits in 2012. You can pick up eighteen, that's right, 18 products for just $5.00 until December 31. In addition, Ashley of Seal Scraps is also retiring some of her products, check the kits you can get for just $1.00 each. Click on the previews to head to Amy & Ashley's stores & grab these products before they go away forever!

The December Build A Kits are now out & have a cute shopping theme, if you buy 3 or more in a single transaction, use the code DECBAK_BUY3_SAVEHALF at checkout to get 50% off. Plus you'll want to pick up the December CU Grab Bag so you can add some great holiday products to your designer stash.

Finally, this is the last month you can pick up the October Mega Collaboration, At the Pumpkin Patch, the Quick Page set, & the October CU Grab Bag. If you've had your eye on any of these, be sure to snag them before New Year's Eve when they'll go away for good!

I'm sure more sales will start popping up as we get closer to Christmas & New Year's so keep your eyes on the blog!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 19

2011-12-18T20:00:00.004-07:00

Working hard or hardly working? I think most of us are working hard right now so let's take a look at the next freebie, this time from Jodi of JMC Designs, to give everyone a little scrapping break.

Oh my, I am dying of laughter here, check out what Jodi has to say about the picture.

"This is a picture of me at Christmas time in 1968, I was 3 and completely in love with this scary looking paper mache Santa Clause. I carried it with me everywhere. I didn't care about the presents or goodies or any of that I just wanted to play with Santa. I don't really remember if I thought he was from Santa or not, but it was a sad day when mom made me pack him away until next year. They finally went out and bought me a new Doll because, I just wasn't getting over missing my friend and of course the new doll made everything better. Also it is funny that I still stick my tongue out when getting my picture taken. I think I won't look into it to far and just decided it is probably because I love to make my family laugh, even at my own expense. LOL. This is probably one of the first Christmas memories I can remember from my childhood."

Too funny & I stick out my tongue when getting pictures taken as well, much to the chagrin of my Mom! Here's Jodi's freebie, a cute little mini; just click on the preview to go to the store for the download & enjoy! We are in full holiday prep mode right now, not sure if I'm going to get everything done by Christmas or not but I'm sure trying my hardest!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Weekly Challenges & Speed Scraps

2011-12-18T12:30:00.001-07:00

OK spending three hours in urgent care to get told I have strep again was not how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning. But now that I'm confined to the house for the rest of the day, I'll get cracking on all the weekly challenges!

First up is the Word of the Week Challenge which runs from Sunday, December 18 to Saturday, December 24. This week's word is Excitement. Oh my, so much to be excited about how does one choose?. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

Next is the Challenge of the Week which runs from Sunday, December 18 to Saturday, December 24. This week's we are challenged to scrap a holiday event. There are so many different events you could scrap for this but you do need to put a song title somewhere on your layout!. Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you by Becky of B2N2 Scraps & will run from Monday, December 19 to Sunday, December 25. Here's some fun information about Becky & a preview of the participation prize you'll get if you post a layout by next Sunday night. Even better, Becky has put her whole store on sale for 45% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up!

To complete this challenge, you simply need to create a layout using any current kits that are for sale in Becky's store [retired kits will not count]. Please refrain from combining kits/parts from other designers for this challenge, but if you would like to use more than one kit by Becky on your layout that would be fine. Hurry & get those layouts done to earn the participation prize!

But of course there's more! Tonight there will be a designer chat with Becky at 5 PM PT / 6 PM MT / 7 PM CT / 8 PM in the chat room where you'll have a chance to learn more about Becky & pick up some great prizes. Becky will also be having a scavenger hunt, if you participate you'll be entered into a drawing for your choice of kit from her store!

Since Becky's challenge starts tomorrow, you've still got a few more hours to submit a layout for the current week's challenge hosted by Christie of Scrappin' Serenity & earn the participation prize!

Here are the Speed Scraps for this week! The week's first speed scrap will be Monday, December 19th at at 5:30 PM PT / 6:30 PM MT / 7:30 PM CT / 8:30 PM ET & will be hosted by Becky of B2N2 Scraps. Come join Becky & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

Our other speed scrap will be on Wednesday December 21st at 1 PM PT / 2 PM MT / 3 PM CT / 4 PM ET & will be hosted by Carissa of This Little Missy. Come join Carissa & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 18

2011-12-17T20:00:00.007-07:00

One week to go until Christmas, everyone got their presents wrapped & gingerbread houses made? No? Then you'll need to check out this picture & memory from Heidi & Lori of Scraps N' Pieces, it's sure to get your creative juices flowing. Or just make you really hungry.

I need to learn how to do that! As you may know Heidi & Lori are sisters so they have a joint memory as told by Lori.

"Our favorite family holiday memory growing up was making gingerbread houses. Each year my mom would make homemade gingerbread houses, one for each of us. We would then decorate them and then give them to our elementary school teachers at the beginning of December as a Christmas gift. Three out of four of us had the same kindergarten teacher and she was always so excited to have us in her class so she could get another gingerbread house. She would sit down on Christmas Eve and eat hers with a cup of milk. I've [Lori] carried on this tradition with my own boys and now that they are out of elementary school, they still want to do houses every year, they just eat them by themselves now that they don't give them to their teachers."

Thanks for the memory guys! Here's the Scraps N' Pieces freebie, a great template to add to your stash; click on the preview to go to the store to download it. Now I'm going to go bake some gingerbread & see if I can make a house of our own. I'm thinking we need to bug Heidi & Lori for good gingerbread house making tips since they've had years of practice!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Inspiration Station

2011-12-17T09:30:00.003-07:00

Yea for the weekend. Just one more week to go until Christmas & two weeks off of school! Wait ... I like the kids in school! Heehee, before I start freaking out about what to do with my boys during their winter break, I'd like to show off the lovely layouts I found in the gallery this week.

Pinewood Derby | SAHM Scrapper
Ah, the Pinewood Derby a rite of passage for all Boy Scouts! I didn't realize the track was that long, not sure I ever attended any of the ones that my brother participated in. Becky did a fab job with the paper & picture blocking but the tilted stacked papers give the layout a funky feel. Should you have derby pictures to scrap, pick up Pinewood Derby by Designing Divas & All Things Blue and Gold by AmyDane Designs for all your racing needs!

2011 in Review | LadySilver
Love this layout by Mary using one of the new templates from Meagan's Creations. Such great pictures & I love how instead of the full month names, she used just the first letter; a full year compressed into just 12 photos. Very, very cool! Mary used a template from the new Year in Review Templates set by Meagan's Creations & the kit is Denim and Daisies by Just So Scrappy.

All Is Bright | ChristieDawn
Some more wonderful holiday templates can be found from MDK Scraps & here's a great example by Christie. I'm digging that funky pink star & all the little ornaments on the paper strip tree, such a fun layout to look at! Christie used a tempalte from the Xmas Templates set by MDK Scraps & the kit is Most Wonderful Time by Scraps of Ellay.

Happy Girl | Meleahg
Meleah has scrapped some cute pictures that show us a Christmas kit can be used for non-Christmas layouts! When you've got a funky kit like A Christmas to Remember by Designs by Christi you can use it to make all sorts of layouts since there are tons of non-themed elements & the color scheme is not traditional. But that's a good thing as you can see below!

About Alli | Allielli
It's layouts like this one that make me want to take a peek inside of some of the brains of our forum members. Alli has done an amazing job with this kit, she's made this layout look busy but simple all at the same time. How did she do that?!?!? Love cluster right in the middle which breaks up the layout beautifully. If you want to scraplift Alli's layout, pick up Thankful Blessings by Queen Bee Scraps.

First Snow | Purplesparkly
JJ is another member I would love to watch in action, her layouts are always do different & fun, I'm really envious of her talent. But if I can't have her talent I'll just settle for ooohing & aaahing over her layouts. Love the blended photos as the background with the offset papers filling up the bottom. This is one layout I am so going to scraplift once we get some snow! JJ used the new kit Merry and Bright by 3 Li'l Monsters Designs.

'Tis all for this week! Head on over to the Gallery & the Stuff to Scrap Inspiration Blog to see what else our forum members have been up to & leave some love on your favorites. If you happen to see a layout that you would like to see featured on the blog, post it in this week's thread; I want to know what inspires you!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 17

2011-12-16T20:00:00.004-07:00

Getting more & more excited as the days go by! Let's take a look at what Misty of Designs by Snowlady has for us today. Here's a picture of Misty & her sister in 1974, Misty's the cutie on the right!

I think Santa looks a little tired in that picture, what do you all think? Here's Misty's memory!

"One of my favorite Christmas memories was from Christmas 1974. When my sister and I went to the living room Christmas morning, we found our gifts from Santa including a Wizard of Oz Emerald City play set. The set included the yellow brick road and all of the characters. My mom could not just leave it in the box. She set up the whole play set including posing the dolls along the yellow brick road. My sister and I played with that set forever."

That sounds like such a fun gift, wonder if the set had that little gatekeeper on his ladder at the door? Misty's got a set of cute edged paper that would go great with any of the minis; click on the preview to go to the store to pick them up. I'm bet that this weekend is the one with the most Christmas parties of the season, don't forget to be safe if you're out & about having fun!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

New Release Fridays

2011-12-16T09:30:00.007-07:00

Good morning everyone, so many fun holiday kits to show y'all today! Have you been picking up all the parts of the Countdown to Christmas? You really should check out today's freebie, Sarah of In The Small Things has a full sized kit as her part, it's such a funky & fun kit but it's only free for today! Here's your new releases for the week, be sure to read through the post carefully, there may be freebies available for you to snag & sales going on.

Been to a concert recently & have a lot of pictures that you need to scrap fast? Then check out the new Rock On Quick Page set by Scraps N' Pieces. These 12 pages have space for 38 pictures & would make a perfect memory book of the concert!

Did you miss last week's Featured Designer challenge? No worries, Queen Wild Scraps has put her kit, Back to Basics, in the store for everyone to grab. You can pick up each part of the kit separately or snag the bundle which is on sale for 25% off for a limited time!

Got a hankering for some gingerbread these days? You'll love the new kit, Gingerbread Lane by A-Manda Creation which is full of cookie goodness. As always, Amanda has ton of add ons for this kit & if you just can't decide which ones to get, pick up the Gingerbread Lane Big Bundle which nets you the kit & several of the add ons!

Another yummy kit is Gingerbread and Peppermints from Designs by Snowlady. Great for scraaping all your baking photos or any gingerbread houses you make, it's a must have for your stash. You can pick up the coordinating alpha for free & remember that all of Misty's kits are on sale for just $2.00 until December 25th so check out what else she has in her store!

Santa's on the mind of a lot of us these days & the next few kits will help get your visit to Santa scrapped or some of those holiday lights excursions. First up is Up On The Rooftop by Scrappin' Serenity a homage to that wonderful Christmas song. This kit is just adorable & if you pick it up today, it's just $2.00 along with everything else in Christie's store. But just for today! Plus you'll want to participate in this week's Featured Designer Challenge to get an add on, there's a freebie for grabs if you like Christie's Facebook page, & there's a freebie up on Christie's blog! Snag 'em all!

For a Christmas kit on the funky side of things check out Ho Ho Ho by The Scrappy Kat; with this kit you can make a traditional layout or head into the funky Christmas zone. Both the kit & quick page set will be on sale for 25% for a limited time & don't forget to check out Kat's blog for her 25 Days of Christmas freebies!

Also along the lines of the funky Christmas is Merry and Bright by 3 Li'l Monsters Designs which has a great retro feel to it. At least that's what it feels like to me! Love the fun elements & the papers look so cool; you can pick this kit up for 30% off!

Heading to a winter wedding or formal event? Scraps N' Pieces has just released the perfect kit for all your elegant photos, 4 Seasons Winter with a lovely color palette. This kit would be wonderful for just about any type of layout including pictures of kiddos in the snow.

Finally, for those of you who really want to get funky with your photos, check out Funky Wintertime by JMC Designs. This is such a cool looking kit with greens, blues, & purples to give your layouts that funky fresh look!

That's all for today, see y'all next week with more goodies!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 16

2011-12-15T20:00:00.009-07:00

I have to say I'm loving the pictures from the designers, it's really quite amusing to see how a lot of the stuff that other people got/wore for Christmas were so similar. Case in point, here's Sarah of In The Small Things at age 3.

OK, who remembers Pound Puppies? I do! Check out what Sarah has to say about this adorable picture.

"I was three in this photo, and I was so excited about getting this Pound Puppy for Christmas. It became my favorite toy that I couldn't sleep without. I still have her up on a shelf in my bedroom, ragged and thread-bare. I haven't had many out-of-the-ordinary Christmas experiences. My family has a very predictable, very vanilla, very family-centered Christmas celebration every year, so the craziest thing I can remember was when I was younger (maybe 5 or 6) and on Christmas Eve our furnace quit working. Needless to say, our house was freezing, so we piled in the car and drove the hour to my Grandma's house to spend the rest of the night (we were planning on going there Christmas morning anyway). I just remember so excited and feeling like I'd never be warm again after waking up so cold in the middle of the night. Amazingly enough, that's the most out of the ordinary that my Christmases have been! LOL."

Hey, nothing wrong with having ordinary Christmases; sometimes that really what people want! And as to the Pound Puppies, I actually have a handmade one that I got as a birthday present from a neighbor around the time they were popular & that picture of Sarah brings back so many great memories. Here is Sarah's freebie, a full sized kit! Hurry up & click on the preview to go to the store for the download, it expires in 24 hours! If you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, why not take a drive around your city to see the lights?

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $4.99**

Challenge Me

2011-12-15T09:30:00.009-07:00

Trying to plan kid crafts & baking all in the same day is just not the most logical thing to do as it leaves little time for me! I'm thinking I need to put the husband on kid duty this weekend & get some scrapping done, I am way behind on challenges for the month. Speaking of challenges, here's some for you to check out!

A great way to see how layouts can turn out so different from the same set of instructions is the Recipe Challenge. Every has such a unique take on the recipe given, it's really quite neat to see the finished layouts. This month's recipe comes from Crystal of Digital Scrap fun & is as follows: 1 patterned paper, 2 solid papers, 3 pictures, 4 words, 3 elements, 2 ribbons or string, & 1 small cluster or scatter or spatter. Remember that you need to include all the recipe parts in your layout, post your finished layout in the December Recipe Challenge thread. For completing the challenge you'll earn 10 points for this challenge & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Gingerbread Houses by Megvill using Countdown to Christmas by Shel Belle Scraps; on the right is Festival of Lights by Lwyant using North Pole by HD Creations.

Find yourself using the same font over & over & over? It's not a bad thing but it's always good to try out some new fonts & if you participate in the Font Challenge, you'll get a chance to play with a font that you might never have seen otherwise. This is a hard challenge for the designers as there are so many great free fonts to chose from; for December, Heather of HD Creations has chosen Santa's Sleigh. Head over to the December Font Challenge to download the font & get started. This challenge will earn you 5 points & if you use 90% or more of any current STS products you'll earn an extra 5 points! On the left is Gracie and Madison by ScrapinMama using Thankful by Mom2Moo Designs; on the right is Hanging up the Lights by Kristal_Kreations using Up on the Rooftop by Scrappin' Serenity.

Another way to flex those designer muscles is the Color Challenge where a color palette is posted for everyone to play with. Your first option is to make a mini kit to share with the other forum members; the kit needs to remain free for the entire month for members to grab, after which you can sell it or expand it. You'll earn 10 points if you go this route. If you like making quick pages, you can do so with any of the minis provided in the thread & then post it to share with everyone. This option will net you 5 points. Please post download links for kits & quick pages in the thread; do not direct people to your blog for the download.

The last option is to make a layout that uses colors that match the palette, you can use any of the mini kits provided or use any kit that features the colors. This last option will earn you 5 points. Head over to the December Color Challenge thread to see the palette! On the left is Megvill's mini kit that you can pick up in the thread; on the right is a layout by Gluvsc using several of the minis.

Another social media challenge is the Twitter Challenge which is very short due to the distribution method! I'm not going to post it here, you're going to have to go to the Stuff to Scrap Twitter page to find your directions [check around December 1]. Once you've got your layout done, post it in the December Twitter Challenge thread & you'll earn 5 points with an additional 5 points if you use 90% or more of any current STS products. On the left is Christmas Tradition by KatherineWoodin using Believe by Jensen Motley Crew Designs; on the right is Thanksgiving Football by Loaner using Gobble till you Wobble by Scraps 'N Pieces.

The Word of the Week Challenge is going on until Saturday, December 17th & this week's word is Hectic. Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is a layout by Mjkohley using Toil and Trouble by Just So Scrappy; on the right is Stressed? by Wtunison using Pine Cones and Holly Berries by the Stuff To Scrap Designers.

The Challenge of the Week is running until Saturday, December 17th & this week we are challenged to use a Paper Title on our layout. Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here. On the left is Kiss Me!! by ILuvCrush using Ride It Cowgirl by Designing Divas; ; on the right is He really is All Boy! by Becky Roy using I'm a Big Boy Now by Scrapteam2008.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Christie of Scrappin' Serenity & will run from Monday, December 12 to Sunday, December 18. Even better, Christie has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up! On the left is Sweet Memories by Kendra using This Wonderful Life; on the right is Toes by Njacobson using Newbie.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 15

2011-12-14T20:00:00.008-07:00

Getting closer & closer to the big day, my kiddos are doing lots of fun holiday stuff in school & I'm loving all the cute crafts they are coming home with! This is really a time of the year to celebrate family no matter who you are & Tracy of Growing Pains Scrapped knows all about how to celebrate. First, here's a picture of her adorable kids at Christmas 2010.

Loving that deer in headlights look! And the memory Tracy has to share with us is very special, it's from her family's 2009 Christmas letter & the special announcement they had to make.

"Dear Family and Friends,  

This year for Christmas, we have decided to tell you a story. This story is about Christmas, family, love, miracles, surprise and joy! (All things “Christmas”…right?) So, pull up a chair, make yourselves comfortable and read on…  

T’was 3 weeks before Christmas, and all through the house, everyone was stirring and bustling and planning…except of course for the mouse. You see, we have not a mouse in this house! Mama had been busy online…doing her shopping the smart way this year and avoiding the crowds! Sister and Brother were making lists, and remaking lists, and adding to lists, and trying SO hard to be good so that Santa would grant them their hearts desires! And Papa, well Papa, was doing his “thing”…going to work, making threats to call Santa and eating all of the goodies that our neighbors were bringing our way!  

Well amid all this planning and eating and shopping, Mama got a feeling that something was “missing”. Something just wasn’t quite right! What could it be? Well, Mama being Mama, she thought and she thought, but she just couldn't figure it out. So, she did what comes naturally to her – she did some math! Some math, you say? Is Mama insane?  

Well, Mama did some math (just the basic kind - counting…backwards and forwards). Hmmm”, thought Mama. “I’m not quite sure, but I think this absolutely, positively calls for a test”. A test, you say, now Mama really is insane! She’s too old for tests!

  So, Mama put her feelings and her math to the test. “Hmmm…double hmmmm”! Mama was just a bit confused (I know, I know, Mama’s aren’t supposed to get confused)! “I think I will have someone else help me with this test”, she said! So, she did! Two more times, in fact! Could this absolutely, positively give mama her answer???  

Meanwhile, the children are nestled all snug in their beds. Nothing seems to be missing to them, you see. But, why would it? They’re dreaming of sugar plums, and skateboards and desks! And still trying their darndest to be good!  

Well, our story is nearing its end, and I’m sure you’re wondering, “did Mama ever figure out what was “missing”…or is Mama just crazy.” No, Mama’s not crazy! We promised you a story about Christmas and family, love, joy and surprise. So, without further delay, we’ll finish our tale…you see, Mama was right…something was missing! In this season of hustling and bustling and buying and giving, mama is sick, mama is tired, mama is ornery…mama is…well…mama is absolutely, positively pregnant!!!! See…we promised you joy and surprise and I’m sure that you can’t be anymore surprised, shocked or happy than we are! After all these years, another miracle has been sent to our family! "

Such a wonderful Christmas present to find out you are pregnant, thank you for sharing that wonderful letter Tracy! Here's your freebie from Tracy, click on the preview to head to her store to download the mini kit. I heard Here We Come A-wassailing on the radio yesterday & had to look up what wassailing was. It's similar to going caroling but did you also know that some people do Orchard Visiting wassailing where they sing to apple trees to promote a good harvest for the coming year? Amazing what you can find out via the interwebz!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Tutorial of the Week

2011-12-14T09:30:00.005-07:00

A happy Wednesday to everyone, anyone else got a head cold? No? Well, I've got a wicked one going on today so if anything in the tutorial doesn't make sense or you see pink elephants let me know & I'll get it fixed. Heehee.

Today I'm going to show you how to make a paper title which will be most useful if you'd like to do the Challenge of the Week where we need to make a layout with a paper title to earn the points. A paper title is pretty simple, basically it's where you clip a paper to a font, alpha, or word art to make it much more cool. Clipping a paper to an alpha or word art is pretty simple, just position your paper above the title layer, use Ctrl + G to clip the paper to the layer & Ctrl +E to merge them together.

But what if you want to clip a paper to a font? It's also simple to do but there are a few tricks you should know about. First, if you're going to clip a paper to a font, it's usually best to use a cardstock or paper with a light pattern. You can use a paper with a busy pattern if it's just the title but if you're going to use the paper on journaling, you really want something that not to busy. That's why if a kit has a cardstock add-on it's good to grab it so you've got some nice solid papers to use with your journaling.

To get started pick your font & type up your title/journaling. I always find it best to do the title/journaling last & get everything positioned/sized before I clip a paper.

Now you can either leave your text layer as is or rasterize the layer. Personally, I always leave the text unrasterized 'cause I'm a horrible speller; it also makes it easier to make changes to the text later. Pick the paper you want to use, position it above the text layer & then clip it using Ctrl +G. If you've left the text layer unrasterized, you won't be able to merge them together but that's OK.

If that's all you want to do, add drop shadows to your text layer & you're done! But what if you want to add a little border to your text? It takes a few more steps but once you get the hang of it, it won't take long.

First, double click on the text layer to bring up the Layer Style box. I always like to make sure there are no drop shadows when doing this. Now select the Stroke option. You'll see that there is now a thin red outline around your text. You can change the size of the stroke as well as it's position; for the purposes of this example, I'm going to change the position to the Inside option. Don't worry about changing the color as that doesn't matter since we'll be clipping a paper to the stroke.

Next, let's get that stroke on its own layer as you can't clip a paper to it when it's just a layer option. Right click on the layer, making sure that your pointer is over the far right side of the box. If you right click but don't get the full menu, just move your pointer over a little bit, it's just a Photoshop quirk.

In the pop-up menu, click on the Create Layer option. This will take all the different layer styles & put each one on into it's own layer. That's why I wait on drop shadows as if you had them on the text layer, it would turn the drop shadows into their own layer. But you'll notice a small problem, if you've got a paper clipped to text layer your stroke layer might seem to disappear. Don't worry, it's still there just hidden under the paper layer.

Quick side note: If you choose the Inside option back in the Layer Style box, the new layer will be above & clipped to the text layer. Choosing the Outside option will create the stroke on a layer below the text layer. Choosing the Center option will create the stroke on a layer above the text layer but not clipped to it. As there are so many different options, you'll need to have some fun playing around to find the one you like!

Back to the Inside option. Now you might be tempted to just drag the stroke above the paper layer so it's still clipped to everything & then clip the new paper to your stroke. Nope, won't work as you'll get the same problem where the paper covers up everything under it.

Instead, drag the stroke under the text layer where it's not clipped to anything. You'll notice that there's a huge red box now but that's OK as it's just what the stroke looks like when it's not clipped to anything. Position your paper above the stroke layer, use Ctrl + G to clip it to the stroke layer & Ctrl + E to merge them together; they need to be merged for this to work!

Drag your merged stroke layer up above both the text layer & the paper layer. Use Ctrl + G to clip your stroke back to the text & volia! A lovely paper stroke around your paper text!

If you want to add a drop shadow to your text, make sure to add it to your text layer & not the stroke layer or else it'll look really funky.

Keep in mind that if you want to edit your text, you need to do it before making the stroke. If you do the stroke & then find that something spelled wrong or missing a word [why yes I have done this!] you'll need to delete the stroke layer & start all over again. So make sure things are A-OK before doing the stroke! Now go have some fun & submit a layout using a paper title for the Challenge of the Week by Saturday night!

Disclaimer for Tutorials: I use Photoshop CS 8 for Mac so I can't speak to how things may work in a different program. However, I've posted this tutorial in the forum & if you have any other general tips or tips for different programs, please post them in the thread for everyone to see!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 14

2011-12-13T20:00:00.008-07:00

We're over half-way through the Countdown to Christmas freebies, I hope everyone's been enjoying the goodies & ~~hysterical~~ adorable pictures of our designers. Seriously, we all know we have pictures just as crazy lying around, I know I do! Let's take a peek at what Michele of MDK Scraps has for us today, a super cute picture of her & her brother from Christmas 1991.

Michelle has a really fun memory to share with us today.

"Many Christmases have been spent traveling to either my Grandparents' farm or my other Grandparents' lake cabin. I have several memories of driving on snowy, icy roads, including one when I was younger where our car broke down in the middle of nowhere. I love the many memories of eating, playing card games, and having a great time. One of my favorite memories was when I was maybe 10 years old. There was a huge present under the tree and our parents told my brother and I that it was a gift for my mom. I know my brother and I had many ideas of what could be in the box. One idea that I remember is that it was a huge griddle, since ours had recently broken. We thought mom could make some huge pancakes. When Christmas came our parents told us that the huge gift was actually for the two of us, turns out it was one of those 6-in-1 game tables. My brother and I played countless games of miniature pool and air hockey on that thing.

My husband and I usually don't exchange much for Christmas but this year I told him I really *really* want a DSLR Camera. In the beginning of October he told me to go buy one so I did! I told my girls that Santa came early for me this year because I was so good!"

Now I have to say it would be tossup this year if I had to choose between a new camera & a game table, can you imagine how much fun those tables are? Thanks for the memory Michele! Here's
today's freebie; just click on the preview to head to the store for the download. Do you think that you'll have some visions of sugar plums in your dreams tonight?

** This freebie has expired **

$2 Tuesday

2011-12-13T00:00:00.001-07:00

It's Tuesday! And the Designer Darlings have some great deals in the bin for you today! Check out some of them below!

Don't have time to put this year's calendar together? Well, don't you worry because it's already finished for you! Just drop your photos in and print! It couldn't be easier than that!

Do you love making gifts for friends and family? Everyone loves a calendar, especially those made just for them! Use these calendar templates to create personalized Calendars for your home or as gifts in a flash.

"Faith Hope, Love" by Scrappin Serenity was created in order to remember the true reason of this holiday season. That would be Jesus! It should help you scrap the true meaning of Christmas, and all those Christmas musicals you'll put on at church!!

Need to get your scrapping done quickly? Then pick up the Faith, Hope, Love Quick Page Set by Scrappin Serenity.

Up On The Rooftop by Scrappin Serenity is jam packed with North Pole goodies and Holiday elements to help you scrap your Christmas Memories this year! It's the perfect kit to make your Christmas cards, gift tags, and scrap those special Holiday moments!

Do You have too many pictures to scrap and not enough time? Then pick up the Up On The Rooftop Quick Page Set by Scrappin Serenity

Girly Girl is the ultimate kit for scrapping those precious sweethearts in your life! It is filled with all things girly!

This holly jolly kit is full of colorful Christmas colors! You will love the possibilities with this kit! Your holiday will be scrapped so cute with this kit.

Need a cute chore chart to make your children behave better? Well look no further! This kit includes a PSD file of a chore chart so you can create your very OWN! You will love all the cute elements to help motivate your children!

Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Just Dance, Madden Football, and Halo. So many fun games to play on so many gaming systems and computers! And everyone who has one of these systems has great pictures of friends and family playing these. This is the PERFECT for all those pictures.

It's a Girl! This baby girl kit is packed full of cuties from the babies to the animals and everything in between. With purple and brown tones, this kit is perfect for scrapping the baby girls in your life!

It's that time of year again! From the East Coast to the West and every town in between, the football frenzy has begun. The air is crisp, leaves are turning, and people are gathering for tailgate parties as they support their teams. This kit is perfect for scrapping photos of games, tailgate parties, championship competitions or casual gatherings at home for Monday Night Football.

Scrap all that you are thankful for with this stunning kit from Mom2Moo!

Snow Blue is the perfect winter kit, filled with tons of snowy fun elements!

Sometimes we just need a little peace and quiet. Solitude is perfect for scrapping those moments. This is a beautiful kit that is a must have for your stash!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 13

2011-12-12T20:00:00.007-07:00

So many holiday movies to watch, so little time! While you're watching some holiday movies, how about scrapping some layouts with all the great freebies from our designers? Upload your layouts to the Gallery, the ladies love seeing what you do with their kits! Here's today's holiday story, from Christi of Designs by Christi.

"My mom always told us that if we didn't believe in Santa Claus that he wouldn't bring us presents. So even after someone told me he didn't exist when I was in 6th grade, I still secretly believed. I think I will instill that in my kids- it just makes Christmas time a lot more fun when there's the magic of Santa!"

Santa really is something special, I can still remember feeling crushed when I found out the truth. Thanks for the great memory Christi & here's her sweet mini kit; click on the preview to go to the store for the download. I was looking through some Christmas quotes & found a funny one by Bernard Manning: "I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included." Evil but I love it!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99**

Scrapping Sales & CT Calls

2011-12-12T09:30:00.006-07:00

Got a couple of new things to show off today before we get to the regular sales. First off Adriana's Cafe is having a Creative Team call, love Adriana's kits & the requirements are pretty simple so check out the flier & email Adriana at adrianascafe [at] gmail dot com if you'd like to apply!

A few new sales are starting this week, Designs by Snowlady is celebrating the season by putting everything in her store on sale for just $2.00 starting on Wednesday, December 14 to Sunday, December 25! And don't forget that Scrappin's Serenity's store is 50% off all this week but also that every Friday in December & January is $2.00 day in her store as well! Click on the preview to head to their stores to start shopping.

I'm sure more sales will start popping up as we get closer to Christmas & New Years so keep your eyes on the blog!

Have you been following the blog & picking up the Countdown to Christmas freebies? No? Then you really need to as we have a new freebie up for grabs each day until Christmas! Each portion will only be available for 24 hours & I'll be posting a new freebie each night at around 7 PM PT / 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT / 10 PM ET.

If you don't want to have to remember to come back to the blog each day, why don't you add us to your feed reader? Check in the sidebar for the Follow This Blog section & add us to your Google, Netvibes, Newsgator, My Yahoo!, or Atom reader! Keep in mind that the freebies were all made with the same color palette so if you collect all the parts you are going to have one huge, mega holiday kit. Oh & I just [cough] might know [hint] that a full-sized kit is going to one of the freebies this week so keep your eyes peeled!

This Little Missy is having another Kit Rewind sale this month featuring her kit White Christmas; you can pick up the kit for just $2.00 or the bundle for 25% off for all of the month of December!

3 Li'l Monsters Designs is having an amazing retirement sale to make room for new kits in 2012. You can pick up eighteen, that's right, 18 products for just $5.00 until December 31! Amy's got kits & templates in the bundle so click on the preview to check it out & grab these products before they go away forever!

More freebies can be found on The Scrappy Kat's blog where Kat & her CT have put together 25 days of freebies. Plus each day Kat is putting two different products on sale for one day only, so hop on over to her blog every day to grab your presents & find out what that day's sale is!

Don't forget that your free gift with a $10.00 purchase this month is the December Mega Collaboration, Pine Cones and Holly Berries Quick Page Set & you'll want to grab the Pine Cones and Holly Berries while you're at it! In addition there's also a great add on to the kit that you'll get for free if you sign up for the Countdown to Christmas with Templates course over in the forum. Don't worry if you forget to sign up, it's open all month long & you can go back & snag days you missed; go here for more details.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 12

2011-12-11T20:00:00.005-07:00

Right now is when I really wish I either had a nice big fireplace in our house or that we lived on the Ecuador. How little kids can stay outside in the cold for so long I have no idea. But I still love the Christmas season & am really enjoying all these stories from our designers! Today's story & freebie come from Lahni of Queen Wild Scraps.

"My favorite memories of Christmas are the getting and setting up of the tree. We'd usually go out into the mountains with all my cousins and grandparents and chop down our own tree on the first Saturday in December. Unless it was too cold - but we were hardcore and didn't miss many years. It had to be blizzarding and at least -25 for us to miss out on this tradition. Anyway, we made a whole day out of the event. We'd drive out to the mountains, start a big bonfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows and drink hot chocolate. After we'd chosen the tree and the Dads had chopped them down, we'd get to go tobogganing. Sometimes we'd just slide down the mountainside (as if that wasn't scary enough) but sometimes our Dads would tie us to the bumper of the trucks and pull us around. We tried to carry this tradition on once we all started getting married but it's slowly died out. It's something I really wish my children could participate in...perhaps I'll have to revive the tradition!"

I have to admire families who cut their own trees, personally I like staying warm inside with a plastic tree! Thanks for the great memory Lahni! Here's your freebie for today; I think I hear my drummers drumming in the living room ... & that's not a good thing!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99! **

Weekly Challenges & Speed Scraps

2011-12-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

So chilly here today, I've got errands to run but the thought of getting myself & the boys bundled up is just not that appealing right now. Instead I'll show off the weekly challenges, remember that you only have one week to do these challenges, so you'll want to get them done as soon as possible to earn your points or prize!

First up is the Word of the Week Challenge which runs from Sunday, December 11th to Saturday, December 17th. This week's word is Hectic. A perfect word for this time of year, personally my head is spinning right now with everything that I need to get done over the next few weeks. Wonder if I can get a shot of my head spinning around & around & around … Post your layouts in this week's WOW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the WOW rules & point tracking thread right here.

Next is the Challenge of the Week which runs from Sunday, December 11th to Saturday, December 17th. This week's we are challenged to use a Paper Title on our layout. Basically this means clipping a paper to your title, it can be done with fonts or alphas. Personally this is my preferred method of coloring a title as it gives the title more texture than just using a solid color. Post your layouts in this week's COW thread by Saturday night to earn your points. Remember that to earn the bonus points, you need to complete each week's challenge, you can find the COW rules & point tracking thread right here.

This week's Featured Designer Challenge is brought to you Christie of Scrappin' Serenity & will run from Monday, December 12 to Sunday, December 18. Here's some fun information about Christie & a preview of the participation prize you'll get if you post a layout by next Sunday night. Even better, Christie has put her whole store on sale for 50% off until Sunday so if you don't have any of her fabulous products yet, now you've got a great excuse to pick one up!

To complete this challenge, you simply need to create a layout using any current kits that are for sale in Christie's store [retired kits will not count]. Please refrain from combining kits/parts from other designers for this challenge, but if you would like to use more than one kit by Christie on your layout that would be fine. Hurry & get those layouts done to earn the participation prize!

Don't forget that there will be a Designer Chat with Christie tonight at 7 PM PT / 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT / 10 PM ET where you can get to know more about Christie & win some prizes! Plus there'll be a scavenger hunt in the forum & if you participate in the hunt you'll be entered into a drawing to win $10.00 to Christie's store! Since Christie's challenge starts tomorrow, you've still got a few more hours to submit a layout for the current week's challenge hosted by Lahni of Queen Wild Scraps & earn the participation prize.

Here are the Speed Scraps for this week! The week's first speed scrap will be Tuesday, December 13th at 7 PM PT / 8 PM MT / 9 PM CT / 10 PM ET & will be hosted by Christi of Designs by Christi. Come join Christi & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread. The participation prize will be a $5.00 coupon to her store!

Our other speed scrap will be Friday, December 16th at 5:30 PM PT / 6:30 PM MT / 7:30 PM CT / 8:30 PM ET & will be hosted by Crystal of Digital Scrap Fun. Come join Crystal & other forum members in the chat room or follow along in the speed scrap thread.

The Fine Print: You'll earn points on almost all of the challenges & when you reach 500 points, you'll receive a $5.00 gift card to the Stuff to Scrap store to purchase anything that catches your fancy. Points roll over from month to month & do not expire! Please remember that to earn any extra bonus points, you must state in your challenge post that you've used 90% or more current STS products or you will not earn the bonus points. There is no double dipping with challenges, i.e. you cannot use a layout made for a speed scrap for one of the monthly challenges or use one layout for two challenges. The only exception is a double page layout where each side is for a different challenge. The use of quick pages for challenge layouts are not allowed, all layouts must be made from scratch or with a template. You are most welcome to make a post in the December Challenge Round-up thread to keep track of all the challenges & points you've earned. As always, any layouts featured in this post are linked to the gallery for easy love leaving.

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 11

2011-12-10T20:00:00.008-07:00

One of the fun parts of the holiday season are all the holiday concerts you go to! Well, unless you're a music teacher's child like I was & had to suffer through a month of being a sewing model, that was always a needling time [get it? needling? Hah!]. Right, I think it's time we play a game of find Meagan of Meagan's Creations! Here's a picture of Meagan during her 5th grade choir concert, can you guess which one she is?

Hint: Meagan's parents were taking the picture so she's the kiddo right in the middle!

Just adorable, I remember several concerts like this from my pre-high school days! Meagan has a really fun memory to share with us today.

"Probably one of the biggest Christmas presents I ever got was a go-kart. I was about 8 years old and my parents told me there was a present in the back of the truck. I went outside and they uncovered a shiny red go-kart. Only I called it a go-go-kart! It is still referred to as that to this day. I was so excited, I cried. My parents knew they got me the right present that year. Actually, now as I type this I recall that I was told this present was from "Santa". It was about 2 years later that my dad dropped the "No Santa" bomb on me by telling me they got the go-go-kart for me. I still remember the shock."

I would love loved a go-kart but given my driving record it's probably good my parents never got me one; I'm so jealous of Meagan. If you like word art, Meagan's got an adorable word art set as her freebie, click on the preview to pick it up from the store. There are some Pipers Piping right outside my door, think I need to go take a look!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99! **

Inspiration Station

2011-12-10T09:30:00.003-07:00

It's a very chilly Saturday & we're spending the day nice & warm inside. The boys are playing & I'm having fun scrapping & poking through the gallery. Check out these layouts that I found!

Highlights | Lawyerlyn
Love how different this layout is, Lawyerlyn used a new template from Megan's Creations. It's so neat how each photo & tag is a different shape, it gives the layout such a whimsical feel. If you'd like to make a layout like this one, pick up A Christmas to Remember & the Year in Review Template Set by Meagan’s Creations!

Don't Wake Me | Mattsmommy
Oh my gosh, this layout might be simple but it jumped right out at me from the gallery with that adorable photo! I love all the paper blocks Farrah used & that quote is just perfect for the look on the kiddo's face. Farrah used the super cute kit Jordan by Jensen Motley Crew Design for this fun layout.

Fun at Aunt Jeanne's | Becky22
This layout was made for the Template Challenge last month & I love what Becky's done with it. The pictures, elements, & paper circles just jump right out of the brown background paper which provides a perfect complement to the brown jacket Becky's daughter is wearing. The kit Becky used, Change by Gettin' Scrappy with Britt, would be great for finished up all your fall layouts.

Birthday Girl | Rainamoon
Not quite sure why this layout appealed to me, I think it was mostly the black & white picture against the soft colors of the kit. Or it could have been that adorable little one in the glasses, there's something about her look that's saying, "... take the picture & be over with it already!" Love the star scatter that Colleen used behind the paper blocks, she used her new kit Spectacular Spectacles which is a collaboration with Digital Scrap Fun & all about glasses.

Pleasure | Kladle
Simple yet perfect. This may just be a stock photo but looking at it made me want to run right out & get a peppermint hot chocolate right away! Loving the cluster with just few items & the ribbon separating the photo & paper. This layout used Chill Out by Scraps N' Pieces which is a must have for penguin lovers!

Jackson Square | Jptaylorfamily
Finally, we have Paula's layout for the Scraplift Challenge, again it's the black & white picture that jumped out at me. It's not the greatest picture ever but Paula does such a great job showing us how you can take a not-so-great photo & come out with a great layout. Take a look through your pictures & use the kit Serenity by Shel Belle Scraps to scrap some of those not perfect photos yourself!

Countdown to Christmas ~ Day 10

2011-12-09T20:00:00.009-07:00

So many freebies so little time! More goodies coming your way today this time from Andrea of Scraps by Andrea. No picture today but Andrea is making up for it with a fond memory.

"I will say that one of my favorite holiday traditions as a young child was going to church and watching the teenagers, including my brother and sister, participate in retelling The Nativity Story. When the play was finished we would go downstairs for snacks. Towards the end of the night, Santa would come down into the fellowship hall and pass out gifts. When it was time to go home each child was given a brown paper bag filled with fruit, nuts, and a little trinket ornament."

Such a wonderful memory Andrea! And here's Andrea's freebie, a lovely mini kit to snag; just click on the preview to go to the store. Can anyone explain why there are Lords-a-Leaping? It makes no sense to me!

** This freebie has expired but you can still pick it up in the store for just $1.99! **