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 3 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 8×5x11 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 y’all!  It’s Casharina bringing you another easy dish; can you tell those are my favorites?  Today I’m sharing a recipe that I got from my cousin/bff,  that my family ended up really liking, so I thought I’d share it today…and did I mention it was pretty easy too? Lol!  I even got my itty bitty to help me out with it!  Give it a try and let me know what you think! 

Ingredients:

• 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 large can of spaghetti sauce
• 1 box jumbo pasta shells
• 1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 package Frozen spinach
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 tsp salt

 Directions:

• Cook pasta shells according to directions on the box, drain and rinse in cold water.
• Thaw spinach and dry. (Tip: I used a dish towel to help soak up the excess water and it worked pretty well!)
• Brown your ground beef and let cool.
• Add the meat, half of the shredded cheese, and the remaining ingredients to a large dish.
•  Stir well.
• Stuff pasta shells with mixture and place into a 9×13in baking pan. (Get your kiddos to join in on this part if they are willing! ;) It gets a little messy but just think of the wonderful memories you’ll have.)
• Continue until your pan is full.
• Pour the remaining mixture (if any) on top and then add the rest of the shredded cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake at 350 F (180C) for 25 minutes, uncover and bake a few more minutes to brown the cheese.
• Eat and enjoy!!

Also check out this receipe card I made to share…I hope you like it.  Just CLICK HERE or on the below image to download!

I just love how the deep colors of the Gracie Kit worked so well to create to these images today!  And I used one of the new Baked with Love Recipe Card Templates too!

Thanks for dropping by the blog today!  Kylie will be back tomorrow with a little blog news :) 

CasharinaFood Stuff, Free (not desktops), Uncategorized 3 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

Hi everyone!  Casharina here!  I have only recently learned how to use brushes to help embellish my layouts and I absolutely love them.  They can give a greater dimension to any layout as well as give another opportunity to add color to a layout.

Some of my favorite brushes come from the Shabby Shoppe in various kits.  I especially love the Carousel Monograms  brush set.  As well as the .abr brush file set, the monograms also come in .png format and can be used as standard elements.  A couple of other products that feature bonus .abr brush file sets are: Bountiful ~  which includes a gorgeous floral “stamp-like” alpha & Autumn Chic ~ which includes decorative stamps and frame.

Not all software is able to make use of the super-convenient .abr brush file sets.  But there is a way around this by using your .png files as brushes.  Yes, it’s possible! – and once you learn how you’ll never look back!  We have some awesome tutorials right here that can show you how…for both Photoshop CS and Photoshop Elements.  One tutorial shows you how to load and use a brush…the other shows you how to turn your .png files into brushes.  There is a choice of video or standard step-by-step tutorials…so take your pick!

And don’t forget you can make your very own custom brushes…see Beckie’s fabulous how-to post HERE!

Once you have all your custom brushes set up you can begin playing.  Here are some suggestions:

• You can adjust the opacity, color, and size of these brushes just like you would your default round brushes.
• I think it’s fun to play with layering of the brushes.  One way is making brushes look just like real stamps - just as Rachel showed us in her “stamping over layers” post.
• Another thing you can do with your brushes is create a layer with each brush and then clip a patterned paper to it.
• I also like to layer some of my stamps under photos to give them more depth.
• Experiment with all your brush palette options (or in Photoshop Elements your brush tool bar, and inparticular the “more options” on the far right of the bar).  For example, creating your own scatters is something you might like to try.

After following the “turn your .png files into a brush” tutorial using the sweet little heart doodle .png in the Shabby Squiggles font I created these heart scatters in Photoshop.

(index card from HopScotch, word art from Clementine)

How to create a scatter:

• Open a new layer
• Choose the brush tool and then open your brush palette
• Select the brush you want…in this case the Shabby Squiggles heart
• Move the sliders for the brush diameter and spacing

• Click on Shape Dynamics and play with the sliders until you are happy with the preview at the bottom.  Any of these are optional.  (Also, in my screenshot the preview is after I’d finished selecting all the brush dynamics I wanted, not just the shape dynamics…so yours will look different at this stage)

• Next is the Scattering options.  Again, experiement with the sliders and check boxes until you are happy with the preview.  I did the same for Color and Other Dynamics.

• When you play around with the color sliders the preview remains black and white.  Just practise by brushing the scatter on a spare layer and then go back to the color dynamics and adjust the percentages.  Keep doing this until you are happy.

• Then it’s just a case of ‘drawing’ your scatter where you want it.  You can use your mouse, or a pen tablet if you have one.

You can have lots of fun with scatters!  Here’s two more examples just by experimenting with different brush shapes and some of the different options in the brush palette.  Other software and/or software versions may not have as many options but don’t let that stop you from experimenting with what is available to you.

How about some stars…

(index card from HopScotch, word art from An affair to remember)

…or a little confetti!

(index card from HopScotch, word art from Clementine)

For some more brush fun, check out two more of Beckie’s awesome tips & tricks:

• digi watercolor
• her ad inspiration post that shows you a few tips about how to use brushes to customize your own papers

Using each of the tutorials/Tips & Tricks posts, as well as playing with brushes myself, has allowed me to utilize brushes on numerous pages I’ve done.  I’ve also had some luck finding free brushes by doing a google search…just be sure to check the artists’ user terms before using them.  There are so many ways to use brushes, I hope this post along with the others, will encourage you to try them as well!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Tomorrow, Kim will be bringing back some fun Thursday scrap inspiration!

CasharinaTips and Tricks, Uncategorized 2 Comments