hey guys :o)  SP here to share the new DECEMBER desktop…free for you to download!  I tried to give it a festive feel with a little touch of the holidays…but still keep it verstaile.  So, i hope you like it…and enjoy having it as your desktop!  You can find the download links below…and here is a little preview!  Is my niece the cutest or what?  lol…this was last Christmas and she had so much fun going through all of the gifts :o)

CLICK HERE to download the 1024×768 version

CLICK HERE to download the 1280×800 version

 Thanks for stopping by!  I’ll be back tomorrow (well, Thursday…as this is technically Wednesday’s post – but I am sharing early :o)) with a fun, holiday-related post!

Shabby PrincessFree Desktops, Uncategorized 42 Comments

Hello…it’s Kylie! December is just around the corner and the holiday season is well and truly upon us. How exciting!! I love this time of year, and to get a jump start on the festivities, today, I’m spotlighting Joyful Tidings.

 This week at the Shabby Shoppe the Joyful Tidings digital kit will be on sale for only $4.25!

Joyful Tidings is such a sweet little Christmas kit. It has the classic shades of green, the all important “Santa” red and a little splash of aqua – a Shabby Princess twist on the traditional Christmas color palette – LOVE IT!!! This fun, festive and ever-so-pretty kit has all the right pieces to craft pages and pages of happy holiday memories. The papers are magical, buttons and brads aplenty, vintage frames, wonderful word art, pretty swirls, a ribbon, a bow, some string and quite a few other nice things! :o) And, I think you’ll agree, this collection is without a doubt…FULL OF JOY! It makes me smile every time I use it! :o) 

Take a look at all the beautiful and inspiring layouts created by the wonderful Shabby Artists!

The joy doesn’t just stop with the digital kit. If you’re looking for some fantastic coordinating products using the festive Joyful Tidings then you can’t go past these:

• Joyful Brag Book – a lovely way to share all those memorable holiday pics, not to mention fabulously quick & easy too with the “piece-a-cake” album pages already lovingly designed by our incredibly talented Nicole!
• JOY Confection Collection – I love these!! How could gift-giving get any better!!
• BLOGwear – how about updating your personal or family blog with a little joyful tidings and get right into the holiday spirit.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s product spotlight and it has brought a little piece of joy into your day. SP will be with you tomorrow and is certain to bring a little more shabby joy to us all (read:  FREE DESKTOP)! Bye for now! :o)

KylieProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 3 Comments

Happy Monday, ya’ll (Lu here)… hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We had such a good time with family & friends, it’s hard to get back into the routine. But one part is always fun… selecting LOTW! And wow, there were soooo many wonderful layouts in the gallery this past week! My choice for this week is mommy2two and her oh-so-precious layout, My Sleeping Baby.

This layout is so seriously sweet. Oh my, I have so felt those tender (peaceful) moments of a sleeping child, that wants nothing more than to be in their mama’s arms. Those moments just catch my breath… and mommy2two captured it so beautifully. Simply (but wonderfully) embellished, she lets the photos of  that sweet sleeping angel tell the story, but the journaling completes it. Now I could just wrap it up here, but I also want you to check out all the other awesome layouts that mommy2two shared with us this week. I loved them all, but My Sleeping Baby was truly the icing on the cake! Everything is so soft & sweet. I felt it was just perfect that she used An Affair to Remember for this memorable moment.

Congratulations, mommy2two & enjoy your $10 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe. Have a wonderful week, everyone… can’t wait to see more gorgeous layouts in the gallery this week!  Kylie will be back tomorrow with a fabulous product spotlight :)

LuLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Hey everyone! It’s Lu here and… did you know it was National Game & Puzzle Week? And what a wonderful week to celebrate this, as many families gather together for Thanksgiving. There are lots of family traditions during the holiday season, and inspired by game week, I’m hoping to start a new one this year! I did a post on a checkerboard in July, but the game I really enjoy is BACKGAMMON.  I first learned how to play a few years ago when teaching my oldest daughter.  But we learned on a small travel size set & I wanted to play with something a little more comfortable. I also wanted a side table, so one thought led to another and I decided to make my own backgammon table. I started looking  online for unfinished tables, but really couldn’t find what I had in mind. I needed to take into account the game design size that I would create, and knew that it would be a rectangular shape rather than a square shape. The height of the table was something I considered as well~ I didn’t want it to be too uncomfortably low for hovering over & moving pieces.  A trip to a local “junk store”  provided me with just the perfect sized accent table. As I was planning to refinish it, I wasn’t too concerned with the appearance… it just needed to be the right size & relatively good shape! I loaded it up, brought it home & pulled out my sanding tools.

Before I go any further on the refinishing details, I’ll give a bit of info on the game itself. Each side of the game board has a “row” of 12 long triangles, called points. The object of the game is to remove all of one’s game pieces (checkers, draughts, pawns, chips, etc) before your opponent does. To ensure that I designed the game correctly, I studied my little set, as well as did an online search of game sets. It was a bit more tricky than I had imagined (it always is)… so I’d recommend starting with a small sketch first, labeling the papers, embellishments that you’d like to use. When it comes to projects of this size, it’s good to keep in mind the motto: “Plan your work & work your plan”.  There will probably be revisions, but it’s nice to have a “game plan”, lol (pun intended). Once I had my table, my overall design dimensions were set for me. And here is what I did:

First, I created my new document size considering my table dimension as well as my printer’s paper size options. The largest paper size I could print (with Fed Ex Office) was 11″ x 17″.  My table top was 15-1/2″ x 17-1/2″, so I knew I’d need to print (2) pages separately, then join together. I created my new document at 5100 x 5100. I know this sounds large, but the final step will be to create duplicates of this master working psd file, then crop in half for the top & bottom of the game “board”. It’s also a good idea to turn on your grid & snap, as well as rulers, to make sure everything is even. (Before placing even one item, remember to consider your printer’s bleed area. You do not want anything too close to that perimeter space & have it cropped off in printing).  I wanted to establish the overall size of  my game layout, so I drew out a background rectangle, sized 15-1/4″  x 17- 1/4″ (I sized it down 1/4″ overall from the table top dimension. This allows a 1/8″ perimeter of  “wiggle” room” around the entire game, for placement).   After that,  I needed to determine the height & width that I wanted to assign my twelve alternating points (triangles), as this would affect how much space I’d have for the middle & borders. I planned to use the 1″ round chips, so that pretty much determined my triangle base width. I made the base of the triangle just over 1″ and the overall height approximately 6-1/2″ , to accomodate 5-6 chips at once on one triangle. I duplicated my original triangle & changed it’s color (remember, the triangle color alternates). After that, it was just a process of duplicating & alternating the triangles until I had 12. I made sure that they all lined up (holding down the shift key when moving) & then I linked them all together (so nothing would shift as I worked). Next, I duplicated the triangle layers, rotated (flipped) vertically & moved above my bottom triangles (again, holding down the shift key to keep them aligned), then with everything still linked, rotate them horizontally. This will keep the triangle colors alternating. Then I went through the “copy triangle” layers & renamed them to “top triangles”. For me, the most difficult part is finalizing the triangles, as everything builds around them. But from here on, it’s easy-peasy!

With my triangles completed, I now knew how much space I would have for the background & borders. I drew another rectangle out, layered underneath the triangles but above the “background” rectangle. This is the “field”, so to speak, and I inset approximately 3/4″ from my background rectangle (this can vary according to your design preference). At this point, I started to layer on my papers & add embellishments. However, since my “clipping masks” were so large I needed to increase the size of my papers. I couldn’t just enlarge them, as that would cause them to print out blurry. I’m certain there are different ways to approach this, but this is one way I “enlarge” papers when doing oversized projects. First, I place my paper in one corner, then I duplicate that paper, flip it horizontally, move (holding down the shift key) & align with my original. If all looks good, I merge the two layers. Then I create another duplicate (of the now-joined papers), flip it vertically, move (hold down the shift key) & align with the bottom copy. If all is properly aligned, I then merge down again. Now I have a large piece of  “paper” that I can clip onto my field rectangle shape. I do the same thing with any other large expanses (such as the inner border & background rectangle). With your perimeter borders now determined, you can now move the triangles into their final position (keeping the top set linked together & the bottom set linked together) and clip on their papers.   As they are already in alterning  colors, it’s easy to just clip on alternating paper patterns. Basically, your board is now complete, just add  borders or embellishments until your heart’s content (staying within the background rectangle perimeter, of course). For my board,  I used a combination of Autumn Medley & Bountiful, as those kits work best with my home’s color scheme. It’s perpetually fall at my house, lol!   It’s up to you how much detail you want to give your board~ I’d say I was in the middle. Just enough detail & definition to see clearly, but not too much that the design would be a distraction. I added the “Family Traditions” tag from Autumn Medley, as I feel games are just that… a wonderful family tradition!

At this point, I save the master (well, I’d say save every 5 minutes, lol), then make a duplicate & rename it bottom. Then, duplicate this copy & rename it top. Merge visible these copies (don’t flatten yet). Now you are ready to separate them for printing. If you need to, since you merged rather than flattened, you can move your board around to line it up and use your rulers to measure. Then, draw out your crop tool around the portion you need to remove… then, delete! Remember to move the board back away from the bleed area, then flatten it & save. Now go on to the other document & delete the opposite section of the game board. Move the image away from the bleed area. Flatten & save. Now you should have (2) separate, top & bottom files to send to the printer.

Creating the chip “covers” was super easy. On a new document, I drew out a 1″ circle shape & made a copy. I then clipped on the alternating papers that I’d used for the triangles. I also layered on the circular stitch from Barefoot (resized) &  the (2) different colored flowers from Bountiful. Once I had the chips designed, I saved the master. Then I created another 11″ x 17″ document for the game pieces. I duplicated the flower “masters” & flattened them. Dragging them over to the new document, I created the 30 (or more) of each color that I would need for the game. (You need 15 chip pieces of each color, but remember, you need to do both sides of the chips). I then flattened this document for printing.

Once you’ve printed your documents, it’s just a matter of trimming! However, I put this on the backburner & turned my attention back to the table. This refinishing step is basically the same as the checkerboard post. The only thing I did differently with this project, was to use spray paint instead of a latex paint. Typically, I would not spray paint furniture, lol, but you’ll notice there is a “pierced” design on the table’s side panels. I didn’t want to fight with a brush to get in & out of these spaces, nor did I feel a small roller would be the easiest route. So, using several even spray “strokes” with the can (I practiced on cardboard first), I was able to achieve nice coverage with no drips! Just a note here: it’s a great idea to apply a primer over dark wood before your paint color. But other than that, you can follow the finishing details on this post.

After I had the refinishing complete, it was now time to apply the backgammon game to the table top. I won’t kid you: this step makes me nervous. Anytime I use glue, I get nervous, lol. (It’s very helpful to have another pair of hands, as well). Before I glued anything down, however, I made guide marks in light pencil. I just laid down the top & bottom papers,aligned & made sure there was equal spacing around the perimeter. Then I lightly drew in corner guides. I applied my adhesive (I use Mod Podge), held my breath & placed each piece within those guides. I used this neato rubber “squeadgy” to smooth out any air bubbles.  The rubber is awesome, it didn’t tear my paper! (I’ve also read that it’s a good idea to spray on an acrylic sealer prior to applying to Mod Podge to reduce wrinkles). Once everything was in place, I covered my tabletop with wax paper & then piled on some heavy books. I let it sit for several hours (although I did keep checking to make sure the air bubbles weren’t popping up). After everything had dried, I sprayed on Mod Podge clear acrylic sealer. For further protection, I had a piece of glass cut from a local glass company so that we could use the table when we weren’t playing on it.  As for the chip pieces, I also spray painted those, then applied the covers with Mod Podge. When dry, I sanded the edges. And here’s the final outcome:

And because I never can remember how to set up the table, I also created a handy little “rules” book, with a thumbnail of my gameboard. It fits nicely inside the little round box that I put together to house the game’s checkers. So convenient!

Now, I know this was a rather detailed project. But I can truly say the most difficult part is getting the game design accurate.  The most nerve-wracking part is gluing it down, lol! Just take your time & go for it! Remember, files can always be reprinted, furniture can always be sanded & repainted. Keep in mind the goal: a unique, custom piece of furniture that will also provide hours of wonderful family time.  But whether or not you take on this project, try to fit in some “game time” this weekend! And if you’d like to learn more about backgammon,  you can read about it here.

Thanks for checking out my project & I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! See you back on Monday for LOTW!

LuHybrid Projects, Uncategorized 13 Comments

Hi guys, SP here!   First…for all of our friends who celebrate the holiday…HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING :o)  I truly hope you have a wonderful and blessed day with family and friends (and lots of  YUMMY FOOD!) :o)

Now…I’ll quickly get on to the new TEMPLATE CHALLENGE (seven)…so I can get back to the kitchen, lol!  Thanksgiving dinner isn’t going to make itself :o)

We are not including a piece-a-cake (quickpage) this time around :o)  That doesn’t mean we never will again…it just won’t be EVERY time, lol!  Thanks for understanding!

This fun and unique template was a collaborative effort by myself and Karen :o) You will have a little bit of extra time to scrap with this template…because of the holiday season and our somehwat limited schedule!  So…the ‘deadline’ for this challenge is December 23rd :o)  I will announce the template challenge winner on December 30th (layouts and comments MUST be posted by the 23rd, please)!  We are re-arranging the schedule a bit for Christmas (I would generally announce the winner on the 25th…but i’m not going to be working Christmas weekend, lol).  The ‘winner’ of the challenge will receive a $25 gift card to the Shabby Shoppe!  Please note that for our template challenge…we select the ‘winner’ randomly – so everyone has a great 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).

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 December 23rd, and again…the winner will be announced the morning of December 30th!

We hope you have TONS of FUN scrapping with this new template!  Don’t forget that I 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 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.

So…here’s 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

Now, how about some more inspiration from the girls (visit the Shabby Artist Gallery for more information about each layout)…

 So, now you have seen the template and some of our ideas…we will be anxiously awaiting YOUR version of this challenge :o)  I hope you enjoy the template – Happy Scrapping…and again, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  We’ll see you back here tomorrow with an AMAZING project that Lu has been working on and is excited to share!

{Remember to link up to this post only to enter template challenge seven}

Shabby PrincessFree (not desktops), Template Challenges, Uncategorized 44 Comments