GOOD MORNING everyone! :o) Kylie here… here to share the NEW (and free) desktop for the month of JULY!

Hope you enjoy it! – we certainly had lots of fun putting it together for you! A little summer cottage, its super-cool SEASONAL additions (…I feel a product spotlight coming…shhh!) and a sprinkling of hopscotch happiness… our fresh and cheery take on all July has to offer. A nice blend of summery goodness, a hint of stars and stripes… and I even think it will work just fine with one of my recent winter happy-snaps… blue skies and rosy-red cheeks – perfect!

CLICK HERE to download the 1024×768 version

CLICK HERE to download the 1280×800 version

As always, the text (in this case ‘celebrate’) is on SP’s beautiful example only – yours will be blank :o) That way – you can add your own names/sayings/message/etc. And why not personalize your calendar by marking all your special dates… just as SP did with that cute little red star!

And remember that you can always find our latest free desktop by clicking the FREE DESKTOPS category located on the right side of the blog!

I also wanted to mention that if you are interested in our free desktops, but have no idea how to insert your own photos – please visit our TUTORIALS page and refer to the USING THE PIECE-A-CAKE .PNG FILES TO CREATE AN ALBUM titles :o) We offer this tutorial in both screen shot and video format, for both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. And, while the tutorial is not specifically for the desktops – the concepts are very much the same…and should help out a lot!

THANKS SO MUCH for stopping by the blog… we’ll be back on Monday with LOTW! :o) Enjoy your weekend - especially if you have celebrations planned!

and, P.S. Just a quick reminder that the Template Challenge 13 deadline is this SUNDAY, 3^rd of July, for those still wishing to join in the FUN! 

KylieFree Desktops, Uncategorized 23 Comments

 Hi guys :o)  SP here and I am so excited to bring you another GALLERY GIRLS feature!!  I am forever admiring the gallery and layouts of our next Gallery Girl…she has the sweetest little girls, her pages are always packed with adorable pics…and her scrapping style just rocks!  She is CASHARINA (isn’t that a gorgeous name? – love it)…known as MOMMY2TWO in the Shoppe’s gallery :o)  I’m thrilled to let you all get to know her better!  She is a total JOY and I have had a lot of fun emailing back and forth!  So, without further ado…let’s meet Casharina!!!

Be sure to scroll down so you don’t miss the new layouts Casharina created specifically for this feature!  I also had to include one of my fave layouts from her gallery :o)  She will also be uploading all of these new layouts to her gallery…so you can see larger images and more info about each there :o)

I can’t think of a better way to start this post…than to share Casharina’s first NEW layout with you guys…it’s all about FAMILY (and what a beautiful family they are)…which is obviously everything to her!  And, also, you get to ‘see’ Casharina in the family portraits (along with her hubby and girls!)!

 TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF…

I’m the mommy of two princesses, a wife to my high school sweetheart, and a daughter to the King of Kings. I am currently a stay at home mommy, which makes me busier than ever! I love photography…I’ve loved it since I can remember. I’m a former teacher, I LOVE kids and I really miss them but I wouldn’t trade this time with my girlies for anything! Scrapbooking is my form of “my time” and I love it, as well as spending time with my family!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SCRAPPING DIGITALLY…AND DID YOU EVER GIVE PAPER SCRAPPING A TRY?

I was a paper scrapper until my first daughter was about one. At that time I was running out of spots to put up everything out of her way. It got to be a pain to get all the stuff out and work on a page. I put together a baby book for her and that’s the last thing I’ve completed (although it’s missing her first birthday layout…I really need to get that done!)  I’ve been digitally scrapping for about three years now. I started with making photo invitations for my little girls’ birthday party and it’s grown since then. I love how digital elements can easily be saved/put away/and changed, oh and re-used…that’s the best part!

 a couple more new layouts from Casharina :o)

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR SCRAPPING STYLE?

I’m not sure! I love to look through the SP gallery and find pages that I can relate to, most of my layouts have in some way been inspired by either a page someone else has done or by a theme/idea. I do like to have more photos than one, I can’t seem to just do a page with one photo…I always have too many to choose only one. lol

WHAT IS THE FIRST COMPONENT OF EACH PAGE YOU CREATE…OR DOES IT VARY FROM PAGE TO PAGE?

I actually almost always start with a design and then find the pictures. Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s probably completely backwards, but that’s the way I do it. I like to decide what color scheme I’m going to go with and what kind of design/template and then I design it and put in the pictures. It’s not very often that I start with the pictures and go from there; however I usually have in mind the pictures/occasion I want to scrap.

Seriously…aren’t her girls simply GORGEOUS?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LAYOUT (TO DATE) AND WHY?

 Shew…this is a hard one, but I think my favorite is my spring layout with my kids…this is just “us” – it’s what we LOVE!

WHAT TIP/TECHNIQUE DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISH YOU HAD KNOWN WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED SCRAPPING DIGITALLY?

I have two, one I only found a few days ago! My first is how to re-color items in a kit. This has made a HUGE difference in what I’m able to create and use on my pages. It makes the kits so much more versatile since I can mix/match items in different kits. The other is the use of brushes. I’m just now learning (like in the past few days) how to use a brush like a mask. I love it…it gives the page so much more texture. I know I have lots to learn but those are my two favorites at this time!

another new layout…and one of my absolute faves!  as per her style, Casharina got so many PERFECT pics on this page – love it…and it really tells the story of the day :o)

WHAT IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR SCRAPBOOKING?

Of course I’m mainly inspired by my beautiful babies/family. If it weren’t for them I’d not have a lot to scrap about. I’m also very inspired by those wonderful scrappers here in the SP gallery. There are so many talented scrappers and I try to learn from their pages and ideas. When designing new pages I try to think about what I will want to remember forever, what’s the most important part of this event? Those are the things I try to transfer to my pages.

TECH STUFF :o)  Tell us about your camera and software!

My husband/former boyfriend bought me my first real camera, and I was hooked. Since then he has supplied me with a better camera every few years (yes I’m lucky!!) He bought my first digital camera when I had our first daughter and then when our second daughter was on the way he bought me my Nikon D-40 DSLR. I love it. I’ve learned so much about photography. I study all the time trying to learn how to make my images better. I started out my scrapbooking in Digital Scrapbook Factory and quickly found I needed a way to use PNGs so I went with Paint Shop Pro. I’m now using Adobe for almost all of my work.

I just had to fit in a couple more new layouts, lol!  So many fun pics on these two pages – looks like a WONDERFUL day!

FAST FIVE FACTS! 

• Favorite COLOR:  turquoise (if I have a second: pink/turquoise!)
• Favorite FOOD:  umm…anything sweet!
• Favorite MOVIE:  Yours, Mine, and Ours…I watched it a hundred times with my Mommy when I was growing up!
• Favorite SONG:  I love old time Hymns, Just as I am…
• Favorite MEMORY:  The first time my boyfriend/husband kissed me (back in highschool!) and my babies being born, I don’t think it can get better than that!

 and last but not least…this is one of my FAVE layouts from Casharina’s Gallery…so I’m calling it SP’s PICK, lol!  the photo, the design…and most importantly – the journaling – WOW :o)

THANK YOU SO MUCH for having fun with us, Casharina :o)  It has been a total pleasure and I look forward to each and every layout you share with us…always anxious for more!  Of course, I’ll be bringing you another new GALLERY  GIRLS post next month…so stay tuned :o)

Be sure to join us back here tomorrow, as Kylie shares July’s FREE desktop :o)  THANKS for stopping by…have a beautiful and bless day/night!  xoxo –SP

Shabby PrincessGallery Girls, Inspiration, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Hello to all of our awesome blog readers. It’s Anna here with another fabulous product spotlight!

giggle box is on SALE for only $5.00 (for a limited time only)

What do I love about this collection? Basically- EVERYTHING!!! But my favorite thing is its colorful alpha. The first time I saw those letters, I had to have them!!!  See how cute they look in my layout – aren’t they FUN?!

I love the way SP described her awesome kit:  “he he…GIGGLE BOX :o) even the name makes me smile! this super duper fun and cheery kit was inspired by our little man – he is sooooooo full of laughter all the time and it is a joy to watch! i was often called a ‘giggle box’ as a child (still am LOL)…and the name has stuck with him, too! so, this kit had to be made :o)  the collection is full of shabby and richly textured papers, a fun and colorful alpha…and lots of embellishments including some great buttons, ricrac, paper word strips, epoxy buttons (my fave), digi stamps, journaling blocks, strings and more! there is so much in this collection to keep you scrapping page after page and laugh after laugh!”

Look at SP’s layout of her little man! INCREDIBLE right?

AAWWW – This sweet layout by Rachel melts my heart! She also used the new easy as pie templates ::: garden party

Mariquita created this fantastic two-pager as a little tribute to her children’s  kindergarten called “Quiquines.” All of her kids went there at 2 years old including her youngest “Catalina” who is going right now because she is 2 and 1/2.  Mariquita plans to print these pages and give them to the owner as a special gift! Fabulous idea!!!

And last, but definitely not least (as I always like to end my posts on a perfect note), we have the uber-talented, Kylie!!!

She created two inspiring layouts. Take a look:

For more details on all of the above layouts, check out the Shabby Artist Gallery.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your giggle box!  Join us tomorrow as SP features one of our favorite Shoppe scrappers in her latest edition of GALLERY GIRLS!

AnnaProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 3 Comments

hey guys…SP here on this cheery (well, at least i’m TRYING to feel cheery, lol) Monday morning, to bring you a new LAYOUT OF THE WEEK :o)  As per usual, it was so fun to go through all of the AMAZING layouts posted this past week in our gallery!  I saw LOTS of project SCRAP pages, template challenge pages…and more!  All bring a SMILE to my face – you girls are just SUPER talented and inspiring!  But, alas – as is the whole point of LOTW, I had to choose ONE layout to hold this week’s title :o)  While it was a TOUGH decision…in the end – I just HAD to go with this FABULOUS page…and I think you’ll see why, lol!

See?  lol – I told you it was GOOD :o)  I love this ‘prince(ess) and the pea’ layout by the incredibly talented KathyCanuel!  Her interpretation of his ‘tree bed’, and turning it into a princess and the pea layout was nothing short of genius, especially since he likes to pretend to be a princess, too – lol!  The journaling is so fun and cheeky…and the picture couldn’t be any better!  I bet he had SO much fun building that tree bed…and I know mommy had to enjoy scrapping it :o)  GREAT JOB – thanks for the smile and inspiration!  and, CONGRATS, Kathy - you should have received a $10 Shabby Shoppe gift card via email (be sure to check spam folders) – have fun shoppe-ing :o)

Again – THANK YOU to each and every one of you who post in our gallery and make the Shoppe such a fun place to hang out :o)  Keep posting and sharing your creations with us…we enjoy and appreciate every single upload!

Hope everyone has a great week…I’ll be back with you on Wednesday with our June GALLERY GIRL post (yay!)…tomorrow, Anna will be bringing you our next PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT…and on Thursday, Kylie will be here to share July’s free desktop (it’s GORGEOUS!)!  So, we’ll see you back here soon!  XOXO –SP

Shabby PrincessLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 5 Comments

Hi everyone!! Kylie here! :o) I can hardly believe we are already here… at the halfway mark of project SCRAP 2011! Time really does fly when you’re having lots of scrapping-FUN!  You guys are doing an unbelievable job with getting your month-to-month memories scrapped. And, even if you have gotten a little behind… it’s NEVER too late… the templates make it so easy! I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I get so excited when I think about having a printed 12-month album to flip through at the end of the year – my VERY FIRST! What a wonderful feeling… three cheers for project SCRAP!! Hip-hip-hooray!

Today, I’m sharing the JUNE templates with you all – YAY! :o) Aren’t they just lovely… and they’re both itching to be filled with all your summer (or, like me, winter!) photos and memories! Two separate templates to create a ‘spread’ in your project SCRAP album.

You can click on the image above…or, CLICK HERE to download the JUNE templates!

Project SCRAP ~ bundle ONE is now available for purchase at the Shabby Shoppe…CLICKING HERE will take you straight there!

PLEASE NOTE: if you participated in project SCRAP 2011 right here at the Shabby Shoppe’s BLOG…you do not need to purchase this product. Be sure to check your hard drive before purchasing :o)

New to project SCRAP?  …well then, if you are not familiar with our little scrap project (if you ARE familiar with it, skip this paragraph, as always, lol)… THIS POST is a great place to learn more!  Also, if you click on the PROJECT SCRAP 2011 category (on the right side of the blog)…you can ALWAYS easily find ALL posts related to the subject!  It’s your go-to place if you want to keep up with everything!  But, as a quick little reminder… here is the project in a nutshell:::

Be sure to post your completed June pages (and any of the other months, if you haven’t already done so) in the project scrap GALLERY!  We LOVE to see how you work with our project SCRAP templates and all those gorgeous Shabby Shoppe products! :o) We’ll be doing a June ‘check-in’ soon…  and will, of course, be sure to include some wonderful gallery inspiration with the latest templates!  Until then, have fun scrapping (and photographing)!

We’ll be back on Monday with LOTW… so, it’s bye for now, and, lots of wonderful weekend wishes to y’all! :o)

KylieFree (not desktops), project Scrap 2011, Uncategorized 17 Comments