Hello Shabby Shoppe readers…Rosy here!  Can you believe that it’s Monday already?!  The weeks seem to be flying by, and before we know it the holidays will be here!

This week the gallery was again full of beautiful layouts, but the layout of the week is… “tobogan” by Sahndra.

I love the adorable photo that shines on this page with a simple color scheme and design.  The little birdie embellishments are so cute!  Looking at this page with it’s wonderful use of white space, just makes me happy!

Congratulations, Sahndra!  Look for your $10 gift card in an e-mail soon and have fun shoppe-ing!

Check back tomorrow as Casharina will bring us a product spotlight with some “chic” inspiration!

RosyLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 2 Comments

hi there :o) SP here today…for the SEPTEMBER project SCRAP 2012 check-in!  Can you guys feel the start of the ‘holiday’ season yet? Dear me – I know it’s been that way in the retail world for a while now, lol…but schedule-wise, school-wise and everything else…it’s HERE, lol!  That means that life is going to get crazy in the next couple of months…but thanks to our little project SCRAP 2012…we’ll can still fit in our scrapping and stay caught-up!  Not to mention – we will most likely have LOTS of pics to scrap with, lol…so that’s a good thing :o) Wow, just think about it…if you’ve completed your September pages…then you only have THREE months left (and a cover)!  It has certainly been flying by…and I know I’m so excited to have another album at the end of this year!  It’s like a huge small miracle for me, lol! Before project SCRAP, my albums were all over the place and certainly NEVER up-to-date!  So, this has been a huge blessing to me…and because of the blog and the group feel of the project – I have great motivation to keep up :o)  I really appreciate that (and need that extra push)! Anyhoo – I’m rambling, lol…but just happy to have my album…and such a great group of scrappers to share with :o)

Back to the topic at hand, lol!  Let’s check in on the SEPTEMBER templates and some of the amazing layouts from the project SCRAP 2012 inspiration gallery! If you missed the September templates – no worries, you can still download them HERE!  We’ll begin with my pages…I’ll be honest…I took like NO pictures in September…I mean NONE, lol!  The only reason I have the pics below is because we ‘babysat’ my parents’ puppy dog…and I had to send them pictures daily so they knew he was having a great time, lolol! That’s why my pages are a wee bit ‘dog heavy’ ROFL!  Well, I also included kit previews as in all honesty…the new product release last month really dominated my time (well, for the past few months actually, lol) along with school!  I’ll use myself as an example…so you can see that you do not always have to have all the pics…and you can substitute other things into your layouts – be creative and make project SCRAP work for YOU and your photos!  There truly is no right or wrong here (thank Goodness – ’cause I know I don’t need the added pressure, lolol)!

Let’s just say that when I first saw Amber’s main page in the gallery – I nearly melted, lol!  Little Mallie is toooooo precious for words…and there is just something about that photo?!  The angle…the smiling eyes…the hair – just pure sweetness! And…the other pics – the family portrait…the ‘ghost’ pics…awesome!  of course, the scrapping rocks, too – lol!  Thanks so much for sharing, Amber :o)

Same thing with Kim’s pages!  That main photo with the dolls…the PERFECT little girl birthday photo, lol!  And all the rest of the silly and sweet pics make me smile!  Also – really impressed with how she combined Penelope and Memory Lane…clever, and the result is gorgeous :o)

Now, if there was ever any doubt (there wasn’t) that I hope to visit Kylie one day…well, that main photo fixed that, lolol!  BEAUTIFUL!  And all of the birthday treat/party pics…total Kylie perfection!  Had to smile when I saw she had some puppy dog pics, too lolol!  GREAT PHOTOS and there is just a glow to the pages :o)

Finally…sweet Rosy’s pages :o)  You guys know how much I always love Rosy’s photography skills…and that main photo illustrates it perfectly for me!  No faces…just a ‘feel’ from the photo…LOOOOVE!  Really enjoy the way she tells the story with the photos!  BRILLIANT…thanks, Rosy :o)

I wish I could fit ALL of the GORGEOUS September pages in here…but it would have made for one LONG blog post, lolol!  So, please don’t forget that there are always MORE layouts to enjoy in the project SCRAP 2012 gallery – take a peek as no doubt they will help you to get started on your own pages!

Also, here is a quick little peek at October’s templates!  Kylie will be sharing them with you next Thursday :o)

I believe that’s it for today :o)  We’ll see you guys back here on Monday for LOTW!  Until then – have a wonderfully blessed weekend :o)  XOXO — SP

P.S.  Just a reminder that TODAY is the DEADLINE for our Shabby Artist TEAM CALL :o) We are super excited to welcome our new team members soon…and would love for you to apply (thought time is running SHORT now, lol)!

Shabby Princessproject Scrap 2012, Uncategorized 4 Comments

Happy Wednesday everyone!  This is Kim here today to share a shadowing trick I love.  Back when the Shabby Team did this post looking back at some of our first digital layouts, a common theme was that we all wished we had known more about shadows when we started.  It got me thinking about where I am with using shadows and I’ve been attempting to learn even more about them and think more about making the shadows in my layouts more realistic.  Along the way I’ve found a few tricks that I love to use, and I hope you’ll enjoy looking at one of them in this post today.  It’s really quick and easy – YAY!

First of all, let’s take a look at a layout I made for this post today.

I see a lot of layouts right now that use the technique of “cutting out” papers to show another paper layer underneath.  In this layout, I created a wheel shape and wanted that to be cut out to show the red layer underneath.  Now, I could have actually cut it out of the top layers (something we’ll not cover in this post), but I would have had to cut through several layers.  Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to get everything lined up just right on a cut out like this.  So what’s the trick??  An inner shadow.  Here’s how you can use an inner shadow to give the effect that a shape is cut out.  (Please note that I’m using Photoshop CS5 and it’s possible that your version could use a different menu or shortcut to get to these options.)

• Step 1: Create the shape that you want to “cut out”.
• Step 2: Open up the blending options for the shape’s layer (I double click on the layer in my layers palette).
• Step 3: Create an inner shadow.  As with all shadowing, you can change the settings to get the look you are going for.  Try different blend modes, opacities, angles, sizes, etc.  For the inner shadow in my layout, I used the settings shown below.  (As a side note, I’ve recently started using the blend mode “linear burn” for many of my shadows.  I like the look better in most cases. )

• Step 4: Bring in the background paper you would like to show under your cut out.  Clip it to your shape.  (Layer -> Create Clipping Mask or  Ctrl-Alt-G)

All done!  Your shape now looks like it is cut out, but it actually isn’t.  One of the things I love about this trick is that as I work more on the layout, I can still move the cut out shape around or resize as I need.  The shape has not been merged with any other layers.  How many times have I created a cut out, merged it, then wished I could move it later??  Many times – lol!

I thought I would also share a recent layout I posted in the gallery that uses this technique as well (might as well give a little more inspiration while we’re talking about it!)  This layout was inspired by Beckie’s rainbow post.  In this layout, the dotted papers all look like they are under the squares of the kraft paper.  But they’re not!  I created this layout with a series of squares layered on top of each other.  It is just that the squares that have the dotted paper have an inner shadow on them that makes them look cut out from the kraft paper squares around them.

Using inner shadows really is an easy way to get a cool cut out effect.  Hope you give it a try sometime!  And be sure to stop by tomorrow as SP is going to check in with us on Project Scrap 2012.  I’m sure there will be lots of great inspiration for those September pages!!  Bye bye!

KimTips and Tricks, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Happy Monday everyone!  Kylie here…with Layout of the Week!  The gallery was overflowing, and in a BIG, BIG way, last week!  Soooo many fabulous layouts, soooo much scrapping inspiration…yet I can ONLY pick one! Awww! ;o)  Today the honor goes to DYNAMOMAMA10 with her very cute Moose & Patches – so happy together!

This LO is heaps of fun and extra cute & cuddly!  I love the placement of everything around the page – so fun!  The journaling is awesome, especially with the little smiley face and heart doodles.  And the titlework on the banners works perfectly for this beloved pet page.  Including this gem of a page, DYNAMOMAMA10 has posted some amazing layouts recently using some of the fun new Shabby Princess digi-kits.  You must check out her gallery!!

Congratulations to you DYNAMOMAMA10!  We hope you enjoy spending your $10 gift card in the Shoppe and we look forward to seeing more of your amazing pages.  (Don’t forget to check your SPAM folder if you can’t find my email in your inbox).

Thanks for stopping by today.  Be sure to visit again on Wednesday to pick up some awesome tips & tricks Kim has ready to share!  Also, don’t forget that applications for our Shabby Artist Team Call close this Thursday! :o)

KylieLayout of the Week, Uncategorized 5 Comments

Pork, pineapples and rice…Yum!

 Okay well it’s me again, Casharina, bringing you another Food Friday post!  Although you know I love to do anything in the crock pot, but when the weather is warm, I love to bring out the grilling foods and this is one of our new favorites!  It’s a pretty easy one too, and can be cooked on the grill, or inside on the stove, your preference.  The first time we had this was while we were camping with friends.  I was a little weary that my kids wouldn’t love it, or us for that matter (we’re VERY boring eaters! LOL!) …but to my surprise my whole family likes it!  So, let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• ½ small onion
• 1lb stew pork pieces (I try to buy them when they’re on sale, and stick them in the freezer.)
• 1 each: green, yellow, red, and orange pepper (These can also be prepped ahead of time and placed in the freezer.  I have also found that Save-A-Lot carries a small frozen bag of these ingredients and it works GREAT, and they’re CHEAP, much cheaper than buying fresh, unless you’ve got a garden!!)
• BBQ sauce (your favorite flavor…I use Kraft Original)
• 2 cups of rice (Instant is what I use, brown rice works great too.)
• 1 can of diced pineapple (I usually buy “chunks” and then cut the chunks into smaller pieces.  I use about 3 rings and then I divvy the rest up for the girls’ lunches the next day.) Reserve some of the juice from the can for the sauce.

Preparation:

• Cut EVERYTHING into small bite size pieces.
• This includes the already small pork pieces, it just taste better to have everything on the smaller size.  I usually cut the pork pieces in half and trim off as much of the fat as possible.
• Dice onion, peppers and pineapple into small pieces as well.

I chose to purchase enough to make two meals out of the ingredients and went ahead and chopped each of the peppers and onion, placed them into a large freezer safe bag and laid it flat in the freezer to use at a later time.  When using ingredients from the freezer the veggies won’t take as long to cook before they start becoming soft so be careful when cooking them.  Also there will be more liquid in the pan as they will have ice pieces, it’s fine, no worries!

Hard parts done, now it’s time to cook!

• Place your pork a pan. If you’re cooking on the stove your standard kitchen pan is fine, OR if you decide to use the grill/bbq, an aluminum pan or other grill-safe pan should be used.
• Add a little BBQ sauce to the mix – enough to keep it moist and some of the pineapple juice from the can.  You don’t want it too wet but you want the meat to take in the flavors, so add a little at a time during the cooking process.
• Okay, begin your rice (seperately).  Like I said, I usually use the instant 5-minute rice and it works great.  If you are using something that takes longer, you may want to start it a little earlier and follow your prefered method!  I use a 4 serving size of rice for this amount of meat & veggies.
• Once the meat is thoroughly cooked add the veggies.  Continue cooking/stirring and keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t scorch.
• After the veggies are done, you are too!! YAY!  Now you can choose to either mix the rice in and eat, or spoon it over the rice.  I like to mix and eat because I feel like it goes a little further that way.  My hubby adds more BBQ sauce right on top.  Either way it’s DELICIOUS, and definitely one of our family favorites!!

And here is your FREE 4×6 recipe card.  You can CLICK HERE to download the card…or simply click the image below! Enjoy!

Thanks for checking in with the Blog today…we’ll see you all on Monday for the Layout of the Week.  Have a lovely weekend!

CasharinaFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 2 Comments