hey guys…SP here with a super duper QUICK blog post…just to let ya know that we added a bunch of NEW STUFF to the Shabby Shoppe today :o)  Click the newsletter image below to see everything (along with inspiration, info, etc.)…or just CLICK HERE to go directly to the Shoppe!  Hope you like…and don’t forget that the five NEW PRODUCTS are on SALE for a limited time (sale pricing ends at midnight EST, April 1st)!  THANKS SO MUCH – hope everyone is having a FABULOUS week!  XOXO – SP

Shabby PrincessShoppe News, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Hi everyone!  Kylie here with our first GALLERY GIRLS feature for 2012! YAY! :o)  Over a year ago SP began sharing these wonderfully sweet and all-inspiring blog posts!  We haven’t had one for a little while, so I think it is a perfect time to remind ourselves what these features are all about…so here is a little explanation: all of our ‘regular’ gallery posters that we love and feel that we have almost come to ‘know’ – SP affectionately refers to as her ‘GALLERY GIRLS’ :o) – and every once and a while we spotlight a ‘new girl’!  To catch up on all our past ‘gallery girls’ (we absolutely adore each and every one of them and their outta-this-world scrapping talents) click HERE or on your visits to the blog you’ll find the Gallery Girls category down the right side of the blog…just a simple click away from friendly faces, a little chat and layout after layout of digi-scrapping delights!

These are such fun blog posts to work on…a definite fave, for sure!  I really enjoy getting to know everyone better and I’m always inspired during the process…and I hope you guys are too!  Of course, this time was no different and I’m so, so unbelievably excited to share our next ‘gallery girl’ with you!  For our first twenty-twelve feature, I got to work with the gorgeous Gloria…though you might know her better as chocochoco :o)

Gloria joined us over a year ago and regularly pops in with a gem of a creation!!  It has been lovely to watch her style evolve.  I always look forward to each and every beautiful page that hits her gallery!…they are a true feast for the eyes!  Time and time again she successfully marries her black & white photos with a flurry of richly patterned papers and tons of decorative elements.  Goodness me, soooo much time and effort put into each page!!  Her clustering is incredible and the depth she creates with her bold shadowing is amazing.  Her layouts always have this fabulous 3-dimensional feel (like a paper tole creation, in my opinion)…you can almost reach out and touch layer upon layer.  Works of art…little masterpieces…to showcase her precious family photos.  Gloria is such a sweetheart and her love of family comes across in every single page :o)

Be sure to scroll down so you don’t miss the new layouts Gloria created specifically for this feature!  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)

…a HAPPY page to begin with!  Ahhh-mazing huh?!

Now, on with the interview…

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF…

My name is Gloria aka chocochoco in the digiland. I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia with my beloved parents, charming little brother, and sweet little sister. Besides scrapping, I enjoy reading and listening to music.

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

I’ve been digi scrapping for almost three years and haven’t tried any paper scrapping before.  At first I was addicted to editing my photos with brushes and shapes and a friend of mine told me something new. She told me about Shabby Princess free kits and I have totally fallen in love with digital scrapbooking.

…creative beyond belief - Gloria takes our kits to a whole new level with these two beauties!  How cool are those layered frames!!

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR SCRAPPING STYLE?

I’m still trying to discover my style because it keeps changing as I try new things but I absolutely love clustering and using lots of pattern papers.

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

I usually start with a theme and designs and then choose the kit that I want to use.  Then I layer the papers and elements and then add a title and maybe some journaling. I find that journaling is the hardest part. As you see, I rarely do my own journaling. I usually use quotes or poems or song lyrics.

…no holding back with this layout for her handsome ‘super’ brother.  Who says you can’t use flowers for guy layouts!!  And Gloria always manages to create wonderful texture on her pages…what a sweet and sunny page on the right.

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

I think my favorite is The Fated Bond because I’m using my favorite kits and also two wonderful templates (Shabby Princess Easy-As-Pie Template Challenge Three and Shabby Princess Ad Inspiration Template One). I just love how everything came together :)

…and no surprise it’s our favorite too!!

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

I wish I knew how to add realistic touch to my page. When I first started scrapbooking (digitally, since I haven’t tried paper scrapping) I didn’t know how to set a drop shadow properly.  I just put some papers and elements and added some photos. I was a little disappointed when I saw the result. But now I think I’ve found my favorite drop shadow style :)

WHAT IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE INSPIRES YOU IN YOUR SCRAPBOOKING?

My inspiration come from magazines, songs, movies, and of course my little cousins and family. I also look through pinterest and galleries to get some ideas.

…more gorgeousness from Gloria!

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

I have Canon Digital IXUS 1000HS and I wish I could have my own DSLR asap. lol. I also have both Photoshop Elements 7 and CS4 but mostly use the CS4.

FAST FIVE FACTS!

• Favorite COLOR: I love white and any shades of blue. Please don’t make me choose. I just can’t. lol
• Favorite FOOD: Anything made from chocolate
• Favorite MOVIE: My Sister’s Keeper
• Favorite SONG: Any song by Owl City and Big Bang
• Favorite MEMORY: When I had a road trip with my whole big family, celebrated my grandpa’s 70^th birthday. It was so much fun.

…and no better way to finish off than with a whole lot of LOVE and a beautiful sentiment!!

—————————————

Gloria, a huge THANK YOU for being a part of the Shoppe’s community…and for  letting us get to know you a little bit more! :o)  It has been a joy!  We all adore you here at the Shabby Shoppe…and can’t wait for your next incredible layout to hit the gallery!!! 

THANKS for checking in with us today, so glad you did!  I’ll see you back here tomorrow…same time, same place…to share the free APRIL desktop!  See you then! :o)

KylieGallery Girls, Inspiration, Uncategorized 12 Comments

Hi everyone!  It’s me, Casharina, and today I have the honor of bringing you the Product Spotlight! YAY!!  So this week I was given the opportunity to spotlight not only one kit, but two wonderful kits…another YAY!! ;)  Most everyone that scraps has a lil’ prince or princess to scrap about, right?  Be it a son, daughter, niece, or nephew, grandson or granddaughter, they’re special and we want to scrap those special moments with them.  So to represent all of our lil’ prince and princesses, I’m spotlighting the Shabby Shoppe’s beautiful kits: Our Little Prince and Our Little Princess.  These two kits are absolutely adorable, and the best part is they have so many cute embellishments and colors that they lend themselves easily to layouts that may not even focus on “babies.”  Both kits will be on SALE in the Shoppe at the wonderful price of only $4.75 each (for a limited time!)

My favorite elements in these kits are the sanded chipboard pieces including: little crowns, stars, and hearts…they’re so adorable.  I also love the different papers with the neat little patterns on them.  Word art and a chipboard alpha are also included in each kit.  They are great for a number of different types of layouts!  So, are you looking for a little inspiration?  Continue scrolling to see some beautiful layouts from the very talented Shabby Artists using these kits.

First up are my own layouts, featuring my girlies!  I love the patterned papers in these kits and thought they’d be perfect to embellish a page all about a simple photo!

 For the next layout, I’ve used a mixture of the two kits along with the free template from the latest Easy-As-Pie Template Challenge #21…if you haven’t done so, check it out (entries close soon!!)  This page features my little princess and her first time tracing!  We were so excited; seriously this is a HUGE progress for us! Lol

To incorporate the purple into this layout I just adjusted the colors a little, you can find more details on how to do that in this post here!

 Next up are the beautiful pages from Kylie, I just LOVE the way she has altered the hearts and stars to make a lovely garland, so pretty!

Kim has also featured each of the kits in these two layouts! Such a beautiful way to again use patterned paper to help focus only on the photo. I LOVE her layouts, so sweet! The way she has added the words “welcome” in the tags using the alpha and bows is just perfect!

Another beauty to inspire you is a layout from Rosy showing off her beautiful baby girl. Her use of the alpha is perfect for her title, and what about those perfect little flowers cut from the papers, a great way way to coordinate!  And a wonderful way to use these kits is to create hybrid photo cards such as this one that the talented Jenelle has created.  Isn’t the banner just adorable, it adds the perfect touch of celebration to such a sweet image.

In addition to these lovely kits, there are also two beautiful PIECE-A-CAKE baby albums for those of you looking for a quick and simple scrapping option, or to use as a cherished gift for a very special Prince or Princess!  These items are also ON SALE for only $9.95 each (that’s a saving of $5 each), so grab them while you can! 

Thanks for dropping by!  Are you ready for even more inspiring scrapping?…Kylie’s bringing back our Gallery Girls feature tomorrow – do check it out!  And don’t forget to join us on Friday night for the FAST & FABULOUS speed scrap!

CasharinaProduct Spotlight, Uncategorized 5 Comments

It’s that time of the week again!  Hello everyone.  Jenelle here, with the great honour of choosing this week’s Layout of the Week winner.  And I have I got a winner for you!!  A stand-out layout from one of our stand-out scrappers…  The very talented Elisabeth (aka lego) with her wonderful layout titled ‘table manners‘.  Just take a look!

Just fabulous!  Well, maybe not so fabulous when you’re the darling Paulina’s parents and your heart is skipping a beat while she does her little standing dance in her highchair!  I just loved reading your journalling lego and can completely understand – my youngest used to do the very same thing!

I really love the monochromatic colour scheme lego has used here, but those circles would have to be my absolute favourite!  What a stunning design.  I have also played a little bit of ‘I Spy’ while studying this layout and tried to work out which pieces from which Shabby Shoppe kit lego has used to make this great page.  I believe Elisabeth had nearly every SP kit she owns opened while she created this layout!

Congratulations lego – you always inspire us with your amazing designs and creative flair.  You have been emailed a $10 Shabby Shoppe gift card, so we look forward to seeing what you create next with your new purchases!  (Please also check your SPAM folder if you can’t find your gift card in your inbox).

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  We’ll see you back here tomorrow ~ Casharina has a ‘royal’ product spotlight for you all you won’t want to miss.  Until then, happy scrapping everyone!

JenelleLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 7 Comments

Happy Friday everyone!  Jenelle here, with my first ever Food Friday post… a bit daunting really, given all the culinary talents of our wonderful team here at the Shabby Shoppe, but I will give it a whirl and see how we go!!  I do love to bake and my kids are always at hand to crack the eggs, mix the ingredients, lick the beaters and do a taste test.  Thus,  my end product always looks a bit ‘rustic’ shall we say, but I do believe the process is the best part and we always have fun together in the kitchen as we go.

So, with Easter fast approaching, I thought it would be a fun activity to bake and decorate some biscuits (a.k.a. cookies) with my kids.  We have a huge collection of plastic cookie cutters in our cupboards, so we sorted through them all and found some that would suit our Easter theme!  Here’s a photo of our finished biscuits, then I’ll talk you through how you can make some too.

One of my ‘golden rules’ when cooking in the kitchen with the kids, is to make sure I am all prepared before I even tell them we’re going to be cooking!  Otherwise they get far too excited and can’t wait to start while I am still running around trying to get everything out, find ingredients and more often than not I have my head stuck in the Tupperware cupboard and eggs starts cracking on the floor behind me!

So here’s what you’ll need to have out and ready to make these yummy Easter Biscuits.

• Mixing bowl
• Food processor
• Baking/Parchment paper
• Rolling pin
• Sieve
• Cookie cutters
• Piping bags
• Tea towels for sticky hands
• Baking trays lined with baking paper
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• 175 grams (6oz) unsalted butter
• 200 grams (7oz) caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 and a half teaspoons vanilla essence
• 375 grams (13oz) plain flour
• Royal Icing to decorate (or any store bought icing/frosting you can pipe onto your biscuits)
• A variety of confectionery/sweets for decoration

Hands are washed, equipment and ingredients are ready, so now it’s time to start baking!

1. Line 2 baking sheets/cookie trays with parchment/baking paper.
2. Blend the softened butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a food processor until smooth (I used the plastic blade on my food processor, but check the settings in your processor’s user guide if you are unsure).
3. Next, add the egg, egg yolk and sifted flour.
4. Process this until it forms into a smooth dough.  I needed to work the dough a little myself on a floured surface to bring it together nicely.
5. Then, wrap the dough in foil/parchment/baking paper and chill in the refrigerator for around 30  minutes.
6. Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Farenheit).
7. Take dough out of fridge and unwrap.  Roll it out onto a lightly floured surface to about a quarter of an inch thickness.  (This got a bit tricky with the kids, but we used our hands a bit  and got there in the end!)
8. Cut out your Easter/Spring shapes (eggs, chicks, bunnies, flowers, butterflies etc) and place them on the baking trays.  I found it easier to flour the cookie cutter each time so it didn’t stick to the dough.
9. Pop them into the oven for around 10-12 minutes, then cool them on a wire rack.

While they are cooling, you can make your icing.  I made a Royal Icing mix that I found here, which uses egg whites.  It came out pure white in colour and adding food colourings also worked well with this mix.  If, however, you would prefer not to use egg whites, I found another recipe mix for Royal Icing here.  I simply scooped the icing into small, plastic zip-lock bags, snipped the corner and piped the icing around the edges of our biscuits.  Before the icing set (royal icing sets hard once air dried), I placed a mixture of sweets on top to help decorate them!  You could use tiny marshmallows for the bunnies’ tails, rainbow choc-chips, sprinkles, cachous, chocolate chips… the list is endless!

Last of all, we had fun bagging up the decorated biscuits to give away as Easter treats.  The Shoppe’s Sprout Confection Collection has some gorgeous tags and neat gift boxes you could use to package up these sweet treats.

Thank you so much for ‘indulging’ me in my first ever Food Friday post!  As a little treat for reading along, I’ve made up a 4×6 recipe card you can grab as a free download.  I used a card from the Shabby Shoppe’s Made from Scratch recipe templates, along with papers from Sprout and some cute stickers from Sprout Easter Additions.  Just click HERE or on the image to download.

I do hope you have a wonderful weekend ~ we’ll see you back here on Monday with our latest Layout of the Week winner.  Have you uploaded to the gallery this past week?  It may just be you!  We are always on the lookout remember!  Until then, happy scrapping everyone!

JenelleFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 5 Comments