Hello everyone.  Jenelle here with a super quick and simple shortcut that I have only recently discovered and can’t believe I ever scrapped not knowing this!!!

A little birdie recently told me, that when scrapping using PSE, you can click anywhere on your layout with your move tool and it will automatically highlight that layer in your layers palette.  Oh, not fair for me who uses Photoshop – this would save me so much time!!  I am forever getting lost in my layouts, scrolling up and down trying to find the right layer for an element I want to move/edit etc.  I am so bad at naming all my layers (I usually do the first few and then forget!!!) so this can be really frustrating.  I end up ticking/checking the auto-select box to find  the layer I want but then I forget to go back and uncheck it and I end up moving things I didn’t want moved!!!

But alas, this happens to me no longer.  I have discovered a neat little trick for all the Photoshop users out there, like myself.  All we have to do is select the move tool and then right click directly on the element in our layout we are trying to locate (command-click on a Mac I believe also works).  A little dialog box then comes up with the names of all the layers involved in the specific area we’ve clicked on.   From there, we can then left click on the name of the layer we want and it will highlight that layer in our palette.  Oh the time I have saved using this trick!!

Here is a screenshot to illustrate.

I hope this little trick has helped some of you Photoshop scrappers out there and saved you some time when creating your layouts.  I use it all the time now and, if anything,  it encourages me to name layers, even if it is just with abbreviations.

Thanks for stopping by.  Please check back tomorrow when the wonderful SP brings you the next instalment of our Project Scrap Check-In.  Until then, happy scrapping everyone!

JenelleTips and Tricks, Uncategorized 10 Comments

Hi everyone!  It’s me, Casharina and today I have the honor of bringing you the Product Spotlight! YAY!!  So this week I get to spotlight one of my most favorite kits, the Bounce collection! ;)

The kit will be on SALE, for a limited time, at the wonderful price of only $4.75!!  That’s an extra saving from the special 25% off BIRTHDAY SALE currently running over at the Shabby Shoppe - YAY!

The Bounce collection is perfect for ALL sorts of projects.  I love the bright colors and fun stickers that the kit has to offer, as I said it’s one of my favorite kits from the Shabby Shoppe!  The bright colors are great for outside layouts, sunny day layouts and I especially love it for my art project layouts.  If I had to choose my favorite part of the kit I’d say it is the alphabet, I LOVE the crazy letters and they’re GREAT for re-coloring!  I also have to say that the stitched paper sun is probably my second favorite part of this kit, I think I’ve used it on just about every outside layout I have!  It’s so darn cute!  Just look how it adds the perfect touch of color to this page:

 I also chose to use this kit to create a goodbye present for the student teacher in my child’s classroom.  I made a custom name sign for her door that she can use when she gets a job!  This project would also be great to use for a baby shower gift!  To create this project I used the alpha from Bounce along with the Fun Flash Cards set. I actually extracted some of the clipart from the cards to use on the sign.  In addition, I used the cards for ideas on other embellishments I already had in other Shabby Shoppe kits…such as the watermelon from the summer cottage SEASONAL additions, the ladybug from the Twirl collection, and the key from Sprout.  Endless possibilities!  Now, back to Bounce!!

Need more inspiration on what you can do with the Bounce collection?  Well the Shabby Artists have designed some super cute layouts to share with you!

First up we have two from the wonderful Miss Kylie!  Aren’t these two pages just adorable. I LOVE the raindrops made from paper, and the little frog tucked in behind the photo, just perfect.  Her second layout shows how easily other kits such as the Blossom collection, coordinates with Bounce.

Here is an amazing vacation page by Shabby Princess!  100% pure FUN…and a perfect example of lots of space on a page to tell your story and preserve all those wonderful memories.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the talented Kim, who brings us another beautiful layout.  I love how her layout is pieced together…it really makes me think of how you stack legos together.  And Rosy shows how easily this kit can cordinate with others, even an Affair to Remember is being used here.  Beautiful layout Rosy!

To find out more about each layout shown here, and see them up close, check out our Gallery (we’ll be uploading them throughout the day/night)!

Don’t forget about the coordinating and super-cute Snips and Snails round label set…also on SALE!  They make a fun addition to any layout or hybrid project!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Tomorrow, Jenelle will share a cool little tip in her Tips & Tricks post.

CasharinaProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 3 Comments

Hello everyone!  Kim here and it feels like it’s been a long time since I was here with you on the blog.  The “vacation” was nice, but now there is a lot I’m enjoying on the blog… the birthday bash, a new template challenge, and lots of other fun inspiration coming up that the team has been working on.  And of course… it’s Monday, so it’s time for another Layout of the Week!

The gallery has been full of layouts using SP’s newest kit – Heartfelt.  And this week’s layout totally rocked that kit.  Congratulations to purplerara and the Pretty Ballerina layout!

I love so many of the little details in this layout – those paper strips in different angles, the layers of photos, the chipboard swirls that give the page some movement.  And, I like the use of a deeper shadow on the alphas.  It draws my eyes to this sweet girl’s name – Eva.  All together a beautiful little girl layout AND a beautiful little girl, don’t you think?

Congratualtions, purplerara, and thanks for sharing your layout with us!  You have been emailed a $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe (be sure and check your spam folder if you don’t see it).  Hope you have fun shoppe-ing!

That’s all for today, but stop by tomorrow as Casharina has a bright and cheerful product spotlight to share.  Bye bye!

KimLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Hello!  It’s Casharina here and I’m bringing you a new hybrid project and sticking true to myself, it’s another EASY peasy project that anyone can do, while still being beautiful and useful when finished!   Today I’m making a message board.  These can be done in a variety of ways and designs and can be used for all sorts of things:  I’m thinking a menu board, a dry erase calendar, simple personalized board to keep track of a schedule, or notes from a teacher!  I created this design to give to my husband’s host teacher as he just finished his student teaching (CONGRATS hubby!).  She was a wonderful mentor and very helpful to him.  I am also planning on making one of these for my little girl’s teacher as an end of the year gift!!  So let’s get started shall we…(that’s what my kiddo would say; in a deep but sophisticated voice!  Lol)

Items needed:

• Picture frame (WITH glass-to make it dry erase!)
• Photo paper & printer (or use a photo lab/professional printer)

 To make this you will need ANY picture frame…that’s right, this is your board you can make it as big or small as you’d like.  I have made up to an 11×14 design and sent it off to be printed, but you could make one to suit your needs and just have it printed at any photo lab.

 You will want to have your frame ready for a print…that means if you’re like me and you LOVE to find good deals at the Goodwill or junk store, you’ll want to clean, refinish, and paint your frame before creating the goodie to go in it!

 For this design, since I had put off creating a gift until the night before, yah I know BAD!!  But in my defense we went camping, and then had Easter stuff, and I just kinda forgot about it, please don’t tell me I’m the only one to do that, right!?  Anyway for this design I created mine as an 8×10 and placed it into a matted 11×14 frame.

 Here comes the EASY PEASY part!!  Just open a document to the size you need printed.  I opened an 8×10 document at 300 dpi. Create your design.  

For my teacher gift I used the Hopscotch kit.  The kit worked perfectly for what I wanted to accomplish.  SAVE your work and THEN highlight all layers.  I like to place all layers into a folder and then duplicate that folder and THEN merge the layers. I’m ALWAYS afraid that I’m going to merge the layers and then accidently press SAVE when I go to close it.  So this way even if I do, I will have only one group merged but still have the others open and adjustable for later use.

 After merging the all layers together, crop the outside of the layout, so that the image is exactly an 8×10.  I could have just printed from here, but you guys know me and I don’t like to cut anything that I don’t have to.  So, I decided to open a new page as an 8.5×11. I then duplicated the merged copy to the 8×5x11 layout.  I was then able to place the merged design at the top left hand corner, leaving me with only two sides that needed cut.

 Print your design.  Now, if you’re printing at home I recommend using your choice of photo paper.  I use Office Depot brand Standard Photo paper and have used their professional paper as well and highly recommend them.  They work GREAT for hybrid projects especially when using Mod Podge.  

 If your design is larger than your printer can print, you would need to follow each of the above steps and then save the design as a high quality JPEG and send/take it to your photo lab to be printed.

Once complete, place it in your preferred frame and voila, you’ve got a BEAUTIFUL personalized message board!!  I really don’t think it can get much easier than that!!

Make sure you place it under glass so that you can simply use dry erase markers on it! 

 In the past I’ve also made a calendar print for my BFF.  I used a BLANK calendar page from the Shoppes Two Page Calendar Vol. 4 July’s Bottom and had it printed…she can now use it all year long as a dry eraser calendar!

I hope you have all enjoyed this post and get some use out of it, be sure to share it in the gallery if you make your own DIY message board!! – We’d love to see it!!  Check back Monday for Layout of the Week!

CasharinaHybrid Projects, Uncategorized 6 Comments

Hi all!  It’s Kylie again!! (Getting sick of me yet? LOL!!! I’ve had a busy blog week this week, haven’t I?!)  Well, today it’s time to share our new Template Challenge…number 23!  We really hope you enjoy this latest challenge and have lots of fun scrapping with it… it’s all yours, so – GO FOR IT!!  And remember, a template is just a starting point.  A collection of shapes that need some love and attention!  So by all means, add to it, take off some elements, rotate it… SCRAP IT YOUR WAY!  I’m really looking forward to seeing how everyone brings this easy-as-pie template to life.  To help your page grow into something special – just add your precious photo/s and stories, your scrapping style, and of course, all those beautiful Shabby Princess products!

To download…CLICK HERE (or simply click the preview image below)!

Now, let’s go over the GUIDELINES for our template challenges here at the Shoppe?!  Then be sure to keep scrolling for some lovely inspiration from our talented Shabby Artists…that’s sure to get you motivated to scrap a page!

The ‘deadline’ for this challenge is JUNE 3rd – I seriously can’t believe I just typed “June”…already?? ;o)  We will announce the template challenge winner on June 7th, when we share Template Challenge TWENTY-FOUR!  As you probably know, we now announce the winner on the same day we debut a new template challenge.  The ‘winner’ of the challenge will receive a $25 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe!  Please note that for our template challenges…we select the ‘winner’ randomly (via random.org) – so everyone has a chance to win… beginners and experienced scrappers!  It’s a great way to jump in and give digi scrapping (and templates) a try :o)

In order to be entered into the template challenge – you must post your layout in the Shabby Shoppe’s gallery (in the SHOPPE BLOG CHALLENGES gallery) and then post a comment HERE at our blog (on this post only) with a link to your layout in our gallery.  This will enter you into the challenge :o)  Please keep in mind that all layouts must contain at least 75% SP product (purchased or free).  To be eligible for the challenge – you must scrap with the easy-as-pie layered template!

We also have several fun ways for you to obtain ‘EXTRA’ entries to the challenge (please note that in order to qualify for any EXTRA entries – you must first complete a layout with our easy-as-pie template and submit that to our gallery and blog) :o)

• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have one of our blinkies (available by clicking on the blinkies link in the sidebar) either on your blog or in all of your forum signatures (be sure to include a link to your blog or signature in your post).
• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have facebooked or twittered about our template challenge (don’t forget to include the link in your post).
• For an extra entry, leave a SEPARATE comment letting us know that you have blogged about our template challenge (again, be sure to add your blog link to your post).

So, that means that you have the possibility of entering the challenge up to 4 times!  Just be sure each entry is a separate comment, as we will be using a random number generator to choose the winner.  Be sure to get your entries in by MIDNIGHT (eastern time) on JUNE 3rd, and again…the winner will be announced in early June (the 7th to be exact)!

So again…here is your newest Easy-As-Pie Layered Template! <–click this to download OR click the preview image at the top of this post :o)

Your download includes:

• 12×12 Layered psd template with drop shadows (you can opt to turn them off or use your own)
• 12×12 Layered TIFF template with drop shadows

In the event this is your first time scrapping with a layered template – SP has created a quick and simple tutorial on how to use our Easy-As-Pie templates in PSE and PS.  You can find it HERE.  We’ve tried to cover the basics, but if you have any questions, please let us know and one of the Shabby Team Members will do their best to answer it.

I’m excited to share how the fabulously-talented Shabby Shoppe girls worked their own magic on the latest template.  A little bit of inspiration goes a long way and and these pages have boundless inspiration!! Check these beauties out! :o)  And please remember that you can always visit the Shabby Artist Gallery for more information about each layout – we will be uploading throughout the day/night)…

Here we have Kim’s beautiful bluebonnet layout!  How sweet is this page?  The spray of blue blooms and the mix of textures – WOW!!  Looks like a wonderful day and special memories…also lots of laughs!

Next with have a bright and colorful, and very, very pretty page from Casharina!  Bursting with Spring color…the page just brings a smile to my face everytime I look at it!  Cool framing of the pic, too!

Rosy did a wonderful job at using the template as a starting point and scrapping it her way!!!…PERFECT!  I love the addition of all the framed photographs… & did I mention what an awesome photographer Rosy is?!! :o)  And beautiful paper choices/combos on the layout…so soft!

Jenelle also scrapped it her way!!  Go Jenelle…a super-fun and perfectly scrapped page!! :o)  I actually prefer the photo space rotated this way when using a plain/neutral background paper…it has better balance and flow, don’t you think?!  And a big congrats to the STAR of the page…champion effort, Nick!

And here is my page! …in all it’s pink and green glory! LOL!

Thanks again for the fabulous inspiration, girls :o) Now that you guys have seen our layouts…we truly, truly hope you enjoy scrapping your own pages!  We sincerely ALWAYS look forward to seeing your pages in the gallery!  So – have fun SCRAPPING :o)

{ Don’t FORGET to link up to this post only to enter template challenge TWENTY-THREE }

And now it is finally time to announce the winner of TEMPLATE CHALLENGE 22! – saving the BEST for last! YAY!!  This time, the ‘lucky’ random number was 12… and that means that KKimberlee’s Easter Morning layout was selected! :o)  What a sweet, sweet page with some fun alterations to the original!  …and the photos are toooo cute!!  CONGRATULATIONS, KKimberlee!! You will be receiving a $25 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe in your email box (be sure to check spam folders) today…have fun shoppe-ing and thanks for joining in the template challenge fun!

And, as always…a huge THANKS to everyone who participated in the last template challenge.  We are thrilled that you did…and hope you are inspired to scrap some gorgeous pages with our newest template!

Thanks for joining us today…and if you missed yesterday’s fun & games Birthday Bash post and/or Tuesday’s FREE Mother’s Day card download…well just keep scrolling down!!  Casharina will be here tomorrow with a fantastic hybrid project that you’re going to LOVE!!! :o)

KylieFree (not desktops), Template Challenges, Uncategorized 13 Comments