Overflow With Beauty Charity Kit

The amazing designers from MScraps and 9th&Bloom have made a collaboration kit called Overflow with Beauty in aid of Unicef's appeal for Pakistan.  Here is a peek at the kit:

Here is a page I did using this kit:

And here is my quickpage you can download for free! Don't know how to use a quick page?  Go HERE for a video!

Click HERE EXPIRED for a link to download this free QP!

This kit is now available to buy HERE.

To help promote the release of our amazing charity collab “Overflow with Beauty”
the teams of 9th & Bloom and Mscraps have come together to create the most awesome giveaway.
A huge selection of  “Overflow With Beauty” quickpages are available on our members blogs.
You can find them here…
Alina (DolceVita) – http://dolcevitadesigns.blogspot.com/
Ann (Nzingha) – http://nzinghascraps.blogspot.com/
Bianka (bianka) – http://biancka.blogspot.com/
Brenda (berrysweet) – http://www.brendasmithdesigns.blogspot.com/
Cheryl (gonewiththewind) – http://cherylisadomesticgoddess.blogspot.com/
Courtney (court8133) – http://lilyrosescraps.blogspot.com/
Crystal (crystalbella77) – http://crystalseverydayart.blogspot.com/
Dani (dansch) – http://daniela.bplaced.net/wordpress/
Davita – http://ifnotforlove.blogspot.com/
Flora (my3sweetchicks) – http://threesweetchicksdesigns.blogspot.com/
Iva (Damayanti Studio) – http://damayantistudio.blogspot.com/
J (Jippo) – http://designsbyjippo.blogspot.com/
Olga (Olka) – http://olkablogspot.blogspot.com/
Pauline (PaulineM ) – http://pmrmoncada.blogspot.com/
Sheri (SeattleSheri) – http://seattlesheriscraps.blogspot.com/
Trina (slurpeegirl13) – http://scrapaholicanon.blogspot.com/
Wendy (wendy85) – http://www.2magicalwonders.blogspot.com/

Make sure and stop by next week (Oct 4-8) for a chance to win a free book!  What free book, you ask?!  I can't tell you yet, but if you are a scrapper, you will love this book!  :)
Happy Thursday and thanks for stopping by!

Neglecting my blog

Happy Wednesday!
I am so sorry that I have not been around since Friday!  I have been dealing with horrible back issues for over 2 months now!  I finally got some relief this week thanks to my new chiropractor!  Per his instructions, I am not to be sitting for long periods of time for the entire week!  WHAT?!  Doesn't he know my computer/scrapping/photo editing addiction?!  I am, however, feeling MUCH better!

I am sorry that I missed Template Tuesday!  I will get 2 templates up next Tuesday!

For now, here are 2 layouts I made that are in the Oct 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes.  Have you ever wondered how you can get published in Creating Keepsakes Magazine?  HERE is a list of tips that can help you increase your chances!

As seen in the OCT 2010 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.  To get a subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine go HERE

Click on the image to view it larger (item used by ErinInk, House of 3, Jesse Edwards/Katie Pertiet/Lynn Grieveson)

Click on the image to view it larger. (items used by ErinInk and Katie Pertiet)

New products out

Happy Friday and thanks for stopping by!
Here are a few layouts I did for the Creative Teams I am on at mscraps.  (Click on the links under the photos for the goodies used.)

Joyce Paul Designs

Angie Hinksman

BerrySweet Designs

ErinInk

Three Paper Peonies

published

Have you ever wondered how you can get published in Creating Keepsakes Magazine?  HERE is a list of tips that can help you increase your chances!
Here is a layout I created that was featured in the Sept 2010 Creating Keepsakes Magazine:

All items by ErinInk at www.mscraps.com

As seen in the Sept 2010 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.  To get a subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine go HERE

Happy Fall and thanks for stopping by!

Template Tuesday!

Welcome to my very first Template Tuesday!  My intentions with Template Tuesday are to encourage the non-scrapbookers out there to give digital scrapbooking a try, and to encourage you veteran digi folks to take a step back and see why your digi pages look good!  Having a free template handed to you is just icing on the cake!  :)

If you are new to digi scrapping, you are going to need some software to get started.  Go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE 30-day trail version of Photoshop Elements.  (For a direct link, click HERE )  There are instructions all over the web as to how to get started in digital scrapbooking.  You can click HERE for instructions too.  Click HERE to for instructions on how to use a template.

Here is today's free template (click HERE for a yousendit download link-EXPIRED)

I created this layout years ago using this design:

I was so excited about this layout because it was the first time I was ever noticed in the digi world.  Silly huh?  I was picked for the Designer Digitals Saturday Scraplift.  You can see what other people did with this design by click HERE (pgs 225-228).

So let's talk for a minute as to why this design "works."  Without knowing it at the time, I applied a few basic design principles to this layout which makes my layout more visual appealing to the viewer.  The first design principal that stands out is the visual triangle.  

Placing items on my scrapbook page in a triangle allows the viewer's eyes to see the page as a whole rather than being distracted by one or two pieces on the page.  A  visual triangle can be created on a scrapbook layout using photos, embellishments, or event text such as your title, date, and journaling.

Another design principle used on this page is white space.  White space is the areas of a layout that is has no text or graphics.

Now, according to the professionals in the scrapbooking world, this layout is lacking a title and a date.  I am a rule-breaker.  There are times when I don't want a title, or maybe I don't want any journaling.  I know, I am a rebel.  Seriously, this is art, and if you don't want a title, don't put on a title.  :)

Want to read more about the Principles of Design.  Check THIS out.

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Tuesday!

Back in the day

I have been going through my scrapbooking stuff in hopes to delete items that I will never use or haven't used in years.  I first started digi scrapping over three years ago so I have accumulated quite the load of goodies.  I was going through my old layouts and giggling at some of the designs and pages that I thought were awesome!  It's amazing to look back and see the progress made through the years.  I am not saying I am a pro now, but a bit better than I was 3 years ago!  Here is one of the first layouts I ever made.  Clearly I did not understand the importance of realistic drop shadows (the dark areas around the photo and papers)!

Honestly, I still struggle with keeping my drop shadows realistic!

This layout was made in April 2007.  I was just learning how to use Photoshop Elements.  There were not a lot of tutorials on using PSE with digi scrapping so I learned by trial and error and reading forums.  This design was a template so all I had to do was clip my photos and paper to the already made design.. The problem?  I didn't know the keystroke to clip papers/photos, and I didn't know the right terminology to ask in the forums!  Instead I painstakingly erased portions of my photo and paper to fit the design.  I kept wondering how templates were a time-saver!  

Stop giggling. :)

I post these embarrassing moments in hopes to encourage the beginning scrapper.  We all have to start somewhere!  I am sure that I will look back in another 3 years and giggle at my current layouts.  It's a learning process, but you can't be afraid to try!
In an effort to encourage beginning scrappers, I am going to start "Template Tuesday."  Every Tuesday I will give you a free template to use and show you an example of how I used the template.  I will point out different design elements that I have learned over the past three years.  Hopefully I can help the beginner not make as many mistakes as I have (and still do!)  See you tomorrow!

Camping with Friends

This past weekend we went camping in Palo Duro which is just south of Amarillo, TX.  We were leery in going due to the 3 inches of rain and grapefruit-sized hail the park got pounded with the night before.  Portions of the park were closed due to flooding.  I was a bit nervous about camping in a flooded canyon!  But I sucked it up, climbed into the van and traveled 4.5 hours to hang out with our fabulous friends!  The camping experience didn't start out on the right foot.  The kids wanted to play in the creek, but we had to drive to a creek area due to the flooding.  We took the WT approach and loaded ALL of the kids into the back of a truck.  The locals didn't appreciate our thinking:

But Pastor Matt pulled the "I used to be a cop" trick and got us out of any tickets.  The nice officer requested that we yank all the kids out of the truck and go back and get more vehicles.  Nothing like having a gaggle of muddy kids in the back of your vehicle:

Later that night we enjoyed a campfire & a peaceful night in a tent listening to the coyotes howl a few 100 feet from us!

The next day, we enjoyed another campfire meal, hiked in the mud, and played in the creek for hours:

We found a few treasures too:

Priceless memories were made with some great friends:

Now it's time to face the mounds of dirty laundry that reek of campfire smoke and are streaked with red clay-mud!  Thanks for the fabulous memories, Friends!

Can you handle two posts in one day?!

So this past Wednesday, the kids and I headed to the local zoo (Lee Richardson Zoo) to study endangered animals.  We have been studying animals/ecosystems/environments in science.  The kids got to pick what endangered animal they wanted to study.  I figured we would spend an hour or so at the zoo.  You know, look around, pick an animal, do the stupid report that mom requires, and go home.   Boy was I wrong.  Three hours later, we had searched most of the zoo for EVERY endangered animal housed at the zoo.    We looked at almost every animal, and I was tired.  Priceless learning time happens when I shut my mouth and let the kids lead the way.  Lesson learned by me too.  Anyway, here are some pics:

You talkin' to me, punk?

How you doin'?

The giraffes weren't on the list, but they were fun to photograph!

Morgan also learned how hard it is to photograph an animal who is sitting so close to a fence!  She did a great job capturing the jaguar's spots!

Hee hee!  :)

Where did the week go?!

I ran out of week before I got my to-do list done! I meant to get these photos up on my blog days ago! *sigh* So sorry for the delay!

We went to Texas last week to see our treasured Texas friends whom we call family! It had been almost 3 months since we moved away, and we were ready to head back and see familiar faces! We had a fabulous time spending every waking moment visiting with friends. My heart needed the time and laughs with these dear folks. I missed them more than I could express. We came home exhausted, but our hearts were full of happiness! Here are a few photos from the weekend:

We entertained ourselves with photobooth!

Morgan had 6 inches cut off of her hair!!

We played for HOURS with our friends.

We ate like hogs!  :)

The kids loved seeing the puppies at Kace's house!

And when it was time to head home, we tried taking a few friends with us!

Thanks for the fabulous weekend, Texas Friends!  We love you & miss you!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

Charity

ErinInk helped design this Charity Scrapbooking Kit for the Benenfit of the Cancer Research Institute at Songbird.com for $8

Here is a layout I did using this fabulous kit:

Go check it out!  It's for a great cause!

I will be back later today with some pictures from our weekend trip to Texas!  We had an awesome time visiting our fabulous friends in Lubbock!