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 4 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 8x5x11 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 44 Comments

Hey everyone…Kylie here again!  During the recent ‘vacation’ our beloved blog celebrated its second birthday! ~ on May 1st ~ YAY!!  Now that we’ve returned to our usual “scheduled-programming” we just couldn’t wait any longer to kick off this year’s birthday bash!

Any great birthday celebration must, of course, include a fun party game or two…and to help us celebrate all month long…we are inviting everyone to come & play!  It’s going to prove a lil’ difficult for us ALL to sit down and play pass the parcel, musical chairs or even pin the tail on the donkey (or should that be pin the element on the scrapbook layout – lol!!)…so I have detailed below TWO ‘not-too-shabby’ games that you might like to take part in.  And where there are games…there are sure to be PRIZES!! YAY! :o)  You can opt to play just one of the birthday games or both…either way I hope you enjoy them!

Link-A-Post is as easy as one, two, three!

1. Find your favorite Shabby Shoppe Blog Post published over the last two years

2. Grab the link to your favorite post (by copying the http: address from your internet browser).  Then add a comment here on today’s Blog Birthday Bash post.  The comment just needs to include the LINK…but if you’d like to tell us why it’s your favorite, then that would be really great – but not essential!!

3. All comments must be added by MIDNIGHT (US eastern time) on Thursday, May 31st.  The very next day we will select THREE ‘WINNERS’, at random, and announce them on the Blog.  Each ‘winner’ will receive a $10 Shabby Shoppe Gift Card!

(UPDATE:  It appears that our SPAM guard system is loving almost all your “linked” comments and wants to keep them for itself - LOL (well – not really LOL!!)!!  If you add a comment and don’t see it straight away it has unfortunately been directed to our spam queue, awaiting approval. I check this queue daily, SO DON’T WORRY, I will catch it and add it back to this post so everyone can see it, and more importantly so that you have a game one entry.  Apologies if this causes any confusion! …and THANKS for commenting in the first instance!!) 

Roll up, Roll up!!  It’s Shabby Squiz time!  Every correct entry gets a prize, folks!! :o)

Quiz…Squiz – oh it’s fun to play with words! LOL!  And if you haven’t heard the word squiz before here is a little info – squiz (noun) [ skwiz ]  quick look, a quick inquisitive look at something (Australia, NZ) – informal.  (gotta love Aussie slang!)

GAME TWO quiz rules:

• answer each of these 10 questions…

Question 1. The “new (and much improved)” Shabby Shoppe blog started out on May 1, 2010.  We kicked things off with a lovely chat with the amazing Shabby Princess herself…can you tell us what three desserts SP said she has trouble resisting?

Question 2. Which digital kit did we have fun product spotlight’ing on March 8, 2011?

Question 3. Which beautiful kit did SP use to design the NOVEMBER 2010 free desktop?  She mentions three…but what’s the main one?

Question 4. Name four of our talented team contributors (Shabby Artists)?

Question 5. Who was our random winner for Easy-As-Pie Template Challenge 20? (answer with their username)

Question 6. How many eggs in Kylie’s Choc-Cherry brownie recipe?

Question 7. In the blog post “Kim’s TOP 10 for organized memory-keeping”, what was Kim’s number 1 tip on her list?

Question 8. What hybrid project did Lu make for National Game & Puzzle Week, November 2010?

Question 9. Take a trip to the Shabby Shoppe by clicking on the “SHOPPE” link at the top of this page.  Can you tell us “What’s the latest at the Shabby Shoppe’s Blog?”  (Once you’ve written down the answer stay right there on the Shoppe homepage for the next Squiz question…or feel free to have a look around while you’re there!)

Question 10. Take a short trip to the ShabbyPrincess.com website via the free kits short cut (here’s a tip for you – click the little aqua heart that says “free kits” in the top right-hand corner).  Once you get there, name any two of Shabby Princess’ free kits? (here is another tip – click on “downloads” to view all)

• Once you have collected all ten answers, email your list to kylie@theshabbyshoppe.com with the subject heading: Shabby Squiz Answers
• I will then check off your answers and if all correct will send you a sweet little gift to say thank-you for participating in our Shabby Squiz adventure!!
• Your email must be received by MIDNIGHT (US eastern time) on Thursday, May 31st…this is a firm deadline and we won’t be accepting game two emails after this time.  Please understand that the quiz is only open for a limited time and to be fair to everyone there will be no exceptions. 

…sooooo, what’s the gift?

How cool is this Easy-As-Pie Invitations layered template set?! I just love it!!! …and it’s exclusive to those that complete the Shabby Squiz! (…it is not currently available in the Shabby Shoppe, just in case you were wondering?!)  So if you’re planning a party…well, with these templates in your stash you’ll be able to create invitations FAST…but still be as creative as you like and tailor them to your party theme!  Plus I’m sure you’ll find other fun ways to use these goodies…and not just for party time :o)

This gift package will be zipped down to an approximate 2.8MB file and emailed directly to you.  Generally, this size file is fine, but please let me know in your Shabby Squiz Answers Email if the current zipped file is over your email limit and I’ll happily break it down to smaller (separate) emails so that you can receive it all successfully.

So what does your gift include?

• [1] 5×5 layered invitation template
• [3] 4×6 and 5×7 layered invitation templates included in both sizes (for a total of 6)
• [3] layered label templates
• [2] present digi stamps (.png format)
• [4] please join us wordart stamps (each a different font style)
• [4] you are invited wordart stamps (each a different font style)

You have three whole weeks (plenty of time!) to complete this Squiz challenge should you dare to take it! ;o)  Come on, it will be lots of FUN!  If you are new to the Blog then this is your chance to have a look around & discover some older posts and other Shabby Shoppe ‘treasures’.  And if you’ve been with us from the very start well, you may just re-discover a few gems you may have missed, as you complete your Shabby Squiz journey.

Need a little help completing Game Two??

I really don’t expect you to go through every single post looking for the answers to my questions…we’ve nearly reached 500 posts, so it would take A SERIOUS amount of time, and then some!! LOL!!  There are ways to narrow down your search:

• Don’t forget to glance over at all the sidebar information on the right-hand side – there’s categories, contributors and monthly archives.  Clicking on these will also narrow down your search time!  So for example if you are looking for a Product Spotlight in March 2011 – you could choose to click on Product Spotlight (categories section) or March 2011 (in the monthly archives section) and then scroll through the results until you find the answer to the Squiz question!

Good Luck and HAVE FUN!!!  Feel free to play both games or just the one…totally up to you! :o)

———————————————————————–

Not only is May the blog’s birthday…but it just so happens that it is the Shoppe’s birthday month as well :o)  …so along with the fun and games (and gifts!!) today…I also want to let you know that we are having a SALE at the Shoppe!  When it comes to store-wide sales, we generally only have a couple each year…and love when we can celebrate both the Shoppe’s birthday AND the Blog’s birthday with one :o)  EVERYTHING (excluding gift cards and professional/photographer use products) is on SALE for at least 25% off…so head over to the Shoppe and have FUN!

Phew!!! …that’s it for today!  Enjoy our 2nd BLOG Birthday Bash and be sure to read the game requirements carefully – however if you are unsure about anything just leave a comment here and I’ll do my best to answer it! :o)  I’ll see you again tomorrow for TEMPLATE CHALLENGE 23 – and to announce the lucky winner of # 22! – yay!

KylieBirthday Bash, Shoppe News, Uncategorized 52 Comments