Happy Monday everyone!  Jenelle here with you today, hoping you’ve all had a great weekend and have been enjoying watching the Summer Olympics.  I am so caught up in it all at the moment and as a family, we’ve really been enjoying watching it together.

So I’m taking a break from the action (LOL!!) and browsing through the gallery to find a stand out layout from the previous week….

Looking… looking… far too many gorgeous layouts to narrow down to just one….

But just as there can only be one gold medal winner, there can only be one LOTW and I am so happy to award it to dwilbanks with her fabulous page called Swim Lesson 2011.

Congratulations dwilbanks!  You’ve created an awesome layout here and I really like the way you’ve angled the photo blocks down your page.  Terrific use of  Sandbox elements and alpha here and your swim lesson photos are wonderful.  You may just have a future Olympian on your hands there!

To reward you for your talent (and for sharing it with us in the gallery) you’ve been emailed a $10 gift certificate to the Shabby Shoppe (check your SPAM folder if you don’t spot it straight away).  We look forward to seeing more of your great layouts – congrats again!

So that’s all from me for today – thanks so much for stopping by.  Please pop by again tomorrow when Kim will be spotlighting a well-loved product (quite darling really…wink.. wink…)  from the Shoppe.  Bye for now!

JenelleLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Hi all…Kylie here!  I hope everyone has had an awesome week so far.  How’s your Olympic viewing going?? – hope you’ve been getting some sporting action in…I have (well just the highlights really…I’m playing the time zone game)!!  And, how about a big welcome…to August!!  Yep!  AUGUST!! :o)  And, with every new month comes a brand new Easy-As-Pie TEMPLATE CHALLENGE from the Shabby Shoppe Blog!  Are you up for the challenge…CHALLENGE NUMBER 26…yeah, of course you are!  Joining in our monthly template challenges is super simple and so much FUN…we love bringing them to you!! :o)

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

I truly hope you enjoy scrapping this new template…isn’t it cute?!!  When I was designing it for you, I was thinking of a more portrait-style layout, rather than the everyday.  Something that you could use to celebrate that one SPECIAL photograph…or even use as an album cover.  By the way, did you happen to catch Rosy’s fantastic COVER INSPIRATION post yesterday?  Make sure you check it out while your here!  I also think this template can easily be converted into an 8.5×11 layout…if that’s your preferred scrapping size.

And remember, a template is just a starting point…a little jump start to your creativity.  So by all means dress it up or dress it down…add to it, take off some elements, rotate it, shrink it… SCRAP IT YOUR WAY!  To help your layout grow into something special – just add your beautiful photo/s and their story, your scrapping style, and of course, all those sweet Shabby Princess products.  Perfect! :o)

Now I mustn’t forget to go over the all-important GUIDELINES for our template challenges here at the Shoppe?!  It’s a bit of a read, lol, so don’t forget to keep on scrolling to view some of the gorgeous inspiration from our super-talented Shabby Artists!

The ‘deadline’ for this challenge is SEPTEMBER 2nd :o)  We will announce the template challenge winner on September 6th, when we share Template Challenge TWENTY-SEVEN…we are rollin’ through those numbers!!!  As you probably know, we 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 September 2nd, and again…the winner will be announced in early September (the 6th to be exact)!

I just wanted to add that our blog SPAM protection has been extremely vigilant the last few months.  If you do happen to 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 an entry.  Apologies if this causes any confusion!

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.

Now, let’s move onto soaking up all that INSPIRATION…just like I’d mentioned earlier in the post :o)

Here is my first take on the new template…a black & white polka-dot page with scallops, scallops and more scallops…and a little sweetie-pie cuteness thrown in for good measure!  Speaking of a lil’ sweetie-pie…my niece is looking oh-so grown up in that i-phone pic!  Not quite her usual trackpants look! ;o)

Next, I went for a bit of beachy casualness!  I tried to keep things simple…but couldn’t resist a couple of flower clusters, LOL!

Kim scrapped one of her own baby pics…how perfectly cute is that!!  And what an amazing “heritage” style page it is…so many special details – the petite gold flowers, the ribbons, a little touch of foliage, & that sweet pendant frame!  But hey, wait a sec!…Kim is far too young for me to be uttering the H-word! (Sorry Kim!, lol!)  Casharina took full advantage of pretty patterns with her pool “party” page. (Too many ‘p’s people??)  Her girls look like they are having heaps & heaps of fun jumping into the water below…love the sisterly hand holding!  Pure aqua and sunshine smiles!!! :o)

Now we move onto a little template tinkering!!! :o)

Jenelle‘s fresh picked layout is something special!  It all comes together so sweetly and I totally feel like I’m there with the boys…can’t you just smell the clean air, the fresh picked grass, even the horse?  Ahhhh, lovely!! …and cool photo editing Jenelle!  Next… yep, it’s another page from me!  Like Jenelle I rotated the template and had a bit of fun with glasses and goose bumps!

A sweet, sweet version scrapped beautifully by Rosy!  What a special everyday moment to capture on film and on the page.  (Bedtime reading is always a favourite of mine too!)  Love everything on the page but I think the little cluster off to the side deserves a special mention – so pretty!!  Want more sweetness?  Well then…there’s nothing sweeter than a perfect rose…except for our sweet Beckie!! :o)  Beckie is back and scrapping like only Beckie can!  Amazing photograph, awesome title work and pretty pops of colour!  LOVE!!

So whether you stick close to the original easy-as-pie template or use a little creative flair & change it up a bit…have a whole lot of fun playing along with the template challenge!  We can’t wait to see YOUR PAGE!! :o)

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

And now it’s my favourite part of the post…time to announce the winner of our last month’s TEMPLATE CHALLENGE…number TWENTY-FIVE! – HOORAY!!  And the lucky number picked by Mrs Random was #20… and that means that kkb42’s totally adorable Amelia is 5 months old layout was selected! :o)  Seriously now, how cute is that sweet set of photos?  I just can’t help smiling along with her…Amelia is a such a cutie-cutie-cutie-pie!!  CONGRATULATIONS, Krystal!!  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 big, big THANKS to everyone who participated in the last template challenge.  We are thrilled that you did…and hope you are inspired to scrap some amazing pages with our newest template!

Thanks for checking in with us today!  Have a really great weekend and we’ll see you back here next week for a whole lot of fun blog posts starting with LOTW on Monday!  Bye for now and Happy Scrapping :o)

KylieFree (not desktops), Template Challenges, Uncategorized 35 Comments

Hello Shabby Shoppe readers!  Today I (Rosy) will be talking about creating covers for your photo book projects.  I love printing my layouts in photo books!  To be able to physically hold a book and flip through all the pages I’ve created is so rewarding to me.

Many photo book printers give you the option of designing your own custom image to put on the cover of your book.  Here are some things to consider when you create a cover and also a few examples to spark your creativity.

Purpose:

The cover of your book should be a representation of the theme inside the book.  The viewer should be able to tell by looking at the cover whether your book is a summary of your year, photos of your baby boy or all about a family vacation you took.  For this reason, I usually wait to design my cover until the rest of the book is finished and I know exactly what is inside.

Kim shared some questions that she considers when thinking about a cover:

• Will this cover be displayed somewhere? My family books are displayed for a year before the next year’s is printed and the old year goes on the bookshelf with the others where you only see the spine. So one thing I care about is colors (there are some colors I wouldn’t put on the front because they would “clash” with other things in my house). And there are other preferences people might consider if the book is going to be displayed.
• Do I want to include a dedication? I often do this on the back cover. I write a note saying who made the book and why. (For example: This book was made by Mommy for Caleb so that he would be able to look back at his first year. Someday when you have children of your own, I hope this is a special keepsake.) And as an additional note, when making covers, don’t forget to think about the back cover too! There’s room to be creative there too.
• Do I want to include a “recap”? This isn’t something I usually do because I tend to do a summary on the title page of my books. But I’ve seen examples where the cover had a “top 10 of 2012″ for a family yearbook or a “top 10 things I love about you” for a baby book.
• What special verses, quotes, poems, song lyrics, etc should be included?

Kylie shared a quote that she used in her 2011 projectSCRAP album and would be great on a gift book:

“We gather up pictures and bits of our past and scrapbook them into a gift that will last” ~Kimberly Rinehart, “Scrapbooker’s Verse” found here.

 Design:

Once you’ve decided on the purpose and what you want your cover to say, you can get on to the fun of designing it!

A cover can be designed with or without photos, but it should make the viewer want to open the book to see more!

Every printing service will have their own guidelines as to trim area and such.  Most photo book printers have a cover template with trim guides that you can download so that you can design your cover specifically for their process.  Hardback covers usually have a trim area just like the inside pages, plus the area that gets “wrapped” under, so your best option is to simply keep everything off the edges.  If you’re a “living on the edge” type of person and willing to take the risk of having something important trimmed off, then by all means go ahead and put it out there, but don’t say I didn’t warn you! ;o)

Some printing companies let you stretch your image across front and back covers like this:

And others have the covers divided into front cover, back cover, and spine images like this:

I recommend deciding on your choice of printer and downloading their cover templates or finding their crop guidelines before you start designing your cover.

One thing to note is that your cover colors may vary depending on your choice of print shop.  I have had a book printed where the cover colors were more saturated than the inside pages and so I shy away from using brightly colored backgrounds on my covers, but Jenelle has had the exact opposite experience and says that she tries not to use pale “colours”.

Some other thoughts that Jenelle shared about covers:

• I am very wary of the cropping that can occur with some print places so always make sure I have left a large margin on the covers. (Way to go, Jenelle!)
• I like to write a little summary on the back of what the book is about/where we went/dates etc.
• I usually choose some favourite photos for the front cover and keep one quite large. Then I add smaller photos on the back.
• I sometimes get a smaller/soft cover book printed as well that the kids can keep on their bookshelves. Then I don’t stress about grubby little fingers or ripped pages and they can still enjoy looking at our holiday snaps themselves.

 I hope we’re not making this sound more daunting than it really is!  Like any other scrapping, there is no wrong way to create the cover of your book, but I hope our ideas can give some inspiration and direction to anyone who may be struggling with this part of the book printing process.

Thanks for joining us today…Kylie will be here tomorrow with our next Easy-As-Pie Template Challenge and to announce the winner of number 25!

RosyInspiration, Uncategorized 3 Comments