Hi all, SP here :o)  Monday’s are generally reserved for some kind of beauty/fashion inspiration…so I thought I’d go along those lines, with a new ad inspiration challenge!!  We’ve had one of these before…and I enjoyed it so much!  I love taking inspiration from the beauty and fashion world…and well, i guess the pickle world, too, lol!  I’m sure many of you have seen (or participated in) AD INSPIRATION scraps before!  They used to be a favorite of mine…I loved having that little bit of a jump start to a layout…and I really enjoyed interpreting an ad in my own way.  Not to mention, it sure was fun to see how everyone else ’saw’ it, too :o)  I find it difficult anymore to look through a magazine without seeing all of the similarities with scrapbooking, lol!  Fonts, page design, colors – they all catch my eye and bring my brain right back to scrapping and how well they would translate to a scrapbook page lol!

The first thing that caught my eye with this ad…was the rounded corners and super cool (and huge) shape of the graphic!  I am a sucker for rounded corners, lol!  I thought it might be a challenge to scrap with this shape (and it was, at first, lol)…but also love a challenge and decided to go with it.  I always appreciate having dedicated spaces for journaling…and the little pickle jar and plate of pickles lend themselves so well to a small clustering of elements.  So anyway – this is the one I went with and I hope you enjoy it!

Of course, I had to create a template to share with you guys (see below for download link), lol!  When working with the template (or any inspiration, for that matter) – keep in mind that you do not have to be ‘literal’ with your interpretation!  Perhaps you are inspired by the colors – or maybe the ad makes you want to journal on top of your photo – or, you could just like the idea of the rounded corner squares :o)  Be creative and have fun!

First – let’s get to the template…CLICK HERE to download it (or you can click the graphic below)…

And, here’s a better look at the ad…

And, while I have had this ad saved for a while…I haven’t had time to work on the template…until the last minute!  As a result, the team didn’t get this in advance (they are seeing it at the same time you are, lol)…so you are stuck with two layouts of mine, lol!  I went in totally different directions!  Here’s the first (I worked with the Darling Paper Collection, Giggle Box, Hopscotch, An Affair to Remember and Sprout…I think that’s it, lol)…

and the other (I worked with An Affair to Remember, Clementine, Sprout and Giggle Box)…

Whew, I think that’s it :o)  I hope that you guys have fun working with the template…and that you post your layouts in the Shoppe’s gallery for all of us to see!

I also wanted to mention that the BLOG will be taking a TWO WEEK VACATION for back-to-school from August 30th through September 12th :o)  That’s a couple of weeks away…but I wanted to go ahead and let ya know!  I know that school starts at different times all over the country and world…and I’m sorry if we didn’t get yours in the two week window…we really tried :o)

THANKS AGAIN – have a great week!

Shabby PrincessBeauty & Fashion, Free (not desktops), Other Challenges, Uncategorized 12 Comments

Hi Everyone! It’s Karen and I’m so excited about doing my first blog post. I don’t know about you, but I love baking. My absolute favorite thing to bake is cookies. I’m sure it’s because they are one of my favorite things to eat! I have several recipes that I enjoy using, but my most favorite cookie is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. I just can’t resist their ooey, gooey goodness fresh out of the oven.  For today’s recipe challenge let’s be inspired by yummy sweetness.  For my page I found a photo of my grandson that I had been saving.  I just loved his sweet smile in it.  Maybe you have a photo you’ve been saving, too.  Or maybe you’ve been feeling the needing to do some extra special journaling.  The assignment for this challenge is to follow the “recipe” below to create an extra special “sweet” page. When you’re through, please post it in the shoppe gallery, then come back here and share the link with us in the comments section below. We’ll select a random winner for a $10 gift certificate to the Shabby Shoppe. Pages are due by midnight July 12 with the winner being announced on July 13.

A RECIPE FOR A COOKIE INSPIRED PAGE:

• Take just 1 photo capturing a sweet smile.
• Add 1 or more items that are chocolate brown.
• Mix in a handful of elements.
• Top it off with a dab of “ooey, gooey” journaling.

And that’s it! So come on, everyone! Let’s see some “sweet” pages for our recipe challenge!  Here’s my page. I can’t wait to see what you come up with, too.

I used the Barefoot collection to create my page and the card.

HAVE A GREAT DAY :o)

KarenInspiration, Other Challenges, Uncategorized 25 Comments

And not the kind you might think!

This week we’re offering up some new inspiration…a scrapbooking “recipe challenge”!   Simply use the ingredients listed – and ONLY the ingredients listed – to create your own layout!

The directions on the card read:

Ingredients:

2 solid papers

2 patterned papers

3 photos

1 fastener (used TWO times!)

1 Alpha

5 Miscellaneous embellishments

Directions:

Use all the ingredients listed to create your own layout! Fonts are freebies and you may use as many as you like.

Miscellaneous embellishments could include ribbons, flowers, stickers, rub-ons, etc.  Some may be repeated but each copy counts towards the 5 allowed!

Be creative!  Your photos can be big or small!  your papers can be big or small!  how you combine the ingredients is TOTALLY up to you!

Textured papers, and those with slight color variations, still count as “solid” paper.  Fasteners can be ANYTHING used to hold something down! staple, tape, frame, stitching, etc – all counts as a fastener!  Free items, which you are allowed use whether listed on the recipe card or not, include:

• Clipping masks/elements (like the Scallops, Shapes and More)
• Fonts
• Shadows

For a little added inspiration – you’ll have a chance to win a $10 gift card to the Shoppe!  All entries must be received by the end of the day Saturday, June 5th.  The winner will be announced the morning of Monday, June 7th!  To be eligible you must upload your layout to the Shabby Shoppe Blog Challenge Gallery AND post a comment here with a link to your layout!  The winner will be chosen randomly.  You must follow the recipe to be eligible to win!

And, just for a little inspiration – here is a LO that SP created for the challenge :o)

If you have any questions, please post a comment here!  I’ll try to keep this post updated to reflect any rules clarifications that may be required :o)

Happy Scrapping!!

Note:  the recipe card was created with elements from French Countryside.  Fonts used are Adobe Caslon Pro, Pea Anna Bananna, and Pea Quinny.

BeckieOther Challenges, Uncategorized 36 Comments

good morning, guys – SP here :o)  First – thank you ALL sooooo much for your awesome participation in this challenge – it has been so fun to see all of the great photo before and afters!  I am so excited to announce the WINNER of the My Four Hens RANDOM ROCKS challenge!  The winner was selected from a random number generator…and here she is:

CONGRATS ‘browneyedsusan’ :o)  I sent you an email so I can get all the info necessary for your $100 gift card to Sarah’s amazing store!  YAY :o)

If you haven’t already downloaded the awesome actions that Sarah is sharing with our blog visitors (for FREE) – get them now!

And don’t forget that Sarah has SOOOOO generously offered all of our blog visitors a special coupon code for 50% her actions!

 I just have to say THANKS AGAIN to Sarah (owner and photographer extraordinaire of my4hens)  for her participation and generosity :o)  Her talent, sweetness and genuine kindness are unmatched!

OK…on to more Shoppe ‘business’ lol!  Just a couple of reminders for you :o)

TOMORROW is the DEADLINE for the Shabby Shoppe’s PRE-TEAM call – so get your applications/submissions in!  We have had a great response and are thrilled and excited with all of the talent we have seen!  But, it’s not too late to join the fun…we hope you will!

And finally (lol)…we wanted to remind everyone of our first TEMPLATE CHALLENGE here at the Shabby Shoppe Blog (there are plenty more to come :o))!  You have until May 22nd to post your layout/comment!  We will announce the winner on the 22nd of May – so be sure to have your submission in EARLY in order to be eligible for the random drawing!  We have been so pleased with the participation in this first challenge…you guys are just awesome!  You can download the template below…and don’t forget that we included a FREE piece-a-cake page for you as well!  For all of the ‘rules and guidelines’ for the template challenge – CLICK HERE :o)  Be sure to read them so you can be sure your are entered into the random drawing!

Whew :o)  I think that’s it for today!  Be sure to come back tomorrow as Kathy will be posting a SUPER AWESOME COOL ADORABLE hybrid project :o)  LOL…sorry, but it is just really fantastic!

HAVE A WONDERFUL and BLESSED day…and thanks again for stopping by :o)

Shabby PrincessOther Challenges, Shoppe News, Special Guests, Uncategorized 3 Comments