The July Desktop is made with my latest kit called “Let Freedom Ring” which is GREAT for all your 4th July or patriotic pages! Great papers, with embellishments and wordard, and it’s on sale right now too! Along with a few other kits in my Scrapwow store!

Also new in the store this week, is this  365 add-on kit by DeDe Smith! Check out this kit for all your 365 project pages and be sure to stop by DeDe’s Scrapwow store for some other great kits!

Remember we Scrapwow Designers are adding new things to our stores every week, so be sure to stop by and check out what’s new and what’s on sale!

Di

As a reminder, the RAKScraps July Free Mega Kit will ONLY be available from the RAKCenter later this month. You must register with the RAKCenter in order to get the kit. So, if you haven’t registered yet, go ahead and do so!

Have an idea for a challenge at RAKScraps? Like interacting with people [or working on your extrovert skills?]? Do you already participate in the RAKScraps challenges and want to encourage others? Do you want to help RAKScraps become a better, healthier, greener, and lower carbon footprint place? [okay, I made up that last one!] If so - then consider joining RAKScrap’s Creative Team. There are perks [super secret but really cool perks!] to being on the CT - so why not join up? Check the newsletter for how.

Check out the MANY challenges we’re hosting this month - including the Mega Challenge, Spotlight Challenge, Posting Challenge, and Ad Challenge. To get out of a “scrapping slump” these challenges will get those creative juices flowing! [Don’t forget the Impromptu Challenges - you never know when one’s going to appear!]

We’ve got some great sponsors this month: K-Joi Studios and Di Hickman Designs [Don’t forget to check the Newsletter for their free newsletter kits; they are great!.]

We’ve also got a great tutorial - Photoshop Elements 7 - Selection Tools, Part 1 by Melinda Staley. If those selection tools have you ranting and raving at the computer [okay, I rant, rave, and kvetch - I’m sure you just sigh and roll your eyes], then read this tutorial about making those tools work for you!

We’ve got a new RAKFile challenge - One Designer Layouts. This challenge was inspired by a designer wanting to “break into the business” but never seeing any of her layouts. Designers create so many wonderful things and deserve our appreciation. So, this challenge is to create a LO using just one designer’s items, posting the LO, and then emailing the designer and letting them know you used their works of art in a LO at RAKScraps. [I did this as an impromptu challenge a few years ago and one person became a CT member for a designer, another helped a designer get “picked up” by a store, and another designer’s day was made by the email notification - spreading good karma out there!]

Our Spotlight Interviews focus on AngelaUK and lyjferguson. Read about them and don’t forget about Shannon’s “Scrapper’s Highlight Challenge.”

Designs by Shelle

Garden Whimsy

“I really like the combination of colours used in this kit - a lovely red, light yellow, and light grey. The elements are adorable - including the flower border, sun, and bird. The kit is slightly funky, slightly whimsical, and lots of fun.” - DarGolden

“Garden Whimsy” is a beautiful kit. The soften reds, grays, and greens are subtle and versatile. Twigs, flowers, a butterfly, a birdie, and a sun…all to add “Whimsy” to your page. This is a wonderful kit that I know I will go to again and again.” - LynniePoo

“This is such a fun kit for summer layouts! I love the jeweled flowers, stitched flowers and birds! The possibilities for this kit are endless. I used it with photos taken of a Bromelaid garden at the Dole Plantation on Oahu Island, Hawaii.” - clc

Garden of Love

“So pretty! The colors in this kit are all rich, darker colors in reds and browns. The elements are sweet and have a great romantic feel to them. Some glitter, frames, ribbons and tags, all of it adding to any of your pages. This kit would for sure work great with a wedding album you might be trying to finish up or just a page to show a little love.” - sarahwhithers

“I love the rich colour palette of this kit, and Shelle has given the kit an elegant look with the right amount of glitters in the beautiful elements. The little sparkling specks in the solid paper pack are such wonderful touches!” - scchua

“I love the burgundy and brown colors used for this kit. The flowers, ribbons and frames are gorgeous. I used it with a photo of my nephew and his wife but it would also work wonderfully for heritage photos.” - clc

Furbabies - Here Doggy Doggy

“FurBabies Here Doggy Doggy is a great kit for scrapping pictures of your pooch. The colors of soft blue, green and neutrals of brown, yellow and yellow/orange will co-ordinate with any dog’s coat color. There is a nice mixture of dog themed elements with more conventional elements.” - Ann_Ominous

Nature Walk

“Nature Walk” reminds me of walks my son & I took around my FIL’s lake in early Autumn - comforting, kinda soft colours, and unexpected surprises. I really like the soft colours - grey, yellow, brown - and then a zinger of green. I must admit to finding the pieced bird a great element - it’s just adorable!” - DaraGolden

“Nature Walk has very soft muted colors. Shades of green, yellow and brown make it perfect for scrapping outdoor nature pics. These colors would also work great for vintage layouts.” - Ann_Ominous

Hooty

“If you are looking for a fresh, upbeat kit for outdoorsy layouts…then “Hooty” is for you. The purple and gold color combo is bright, cheerful and fun. So many cute elements to inspire you…flowers, trees, mushrooms, and of course…a HOOTY or two or three.” - LynniePoo

“Hooty is a kit that will just make you smile. The complimentary orange and purple with the fern green to balance them work for layouts ranging from spring to fall, general family events and lots in between. The papers and elements are good for any age and gender, anyone who is a “cute hoot” to be around!” - sosumi

“Hooty is lots of fun! The owl elements are adorable and the colors throughout this kit are perfect for those fall pages, even any outdoor page. Purples, oranges and greens, it all goes wonderfully together and the elements add to it with circles, journaling blocks and flowers. Any page will for sure turn into a cute one!” - sarahwhithers

“Adorable kit, and I think the colours work great for both genders! I could see the owls being used on school photos, kids wearing glasses, big round eyes or literally photos of owls (or night owls) and etc, but other than that, this kit with all the cute elements and pattern is versatile enough for day-to-day events throughout the year!” - scchua

Autumn Medley - Worn Papers

“Autumn Medley is a set of five wonderfully worn full 12 x 12 solids. They can be used at full size and layered with other papers–patterned paper underneath would look amazing–or sized down and used as photo mats (they’re a good size for a multi-photo mat block). Additionally, for those with software that does this, they can be potentially useful when multiplied or layered with other papers. The set contains a standard autumn compliment of jewel-tone solids–these are perfect for the fall season but also work very well for Father’s Day, cottage, any layouts that could use a worn & torn look.” - sosumi

Mat Stack

“Designs by Shelle’s Mat Stack is a well-designed set of essential mats. In paper scrapping, mats–for journaling or photo mounting–are a basic and the same holds true for digiscrapping. Shelle’s set of mats lets the scrapper choose what look they want for their mat: she provides clean-lined mats, altered ones with distressed, inked and raised edges, pre-layered mats with hardware already included and, separately, those same pieces of hardware for those wanting something they’ve customized. There are both bold colours and cardboard neutrals in here.” - sosumi

Ocean Blue

“I picked this kit primarily because of our aquarium photos that needed to be scrapped. Unzipped, the kit is just amazing, especially the blended papers! They are just gorgeous, with a little shade of and ocean animal in a corner. LOVE them!” - ronagavino

Jaya Prem’s Hangout

Boys Will Be Boys

“Although this kit is named “Boys Will Be Boys,” don’t let the name fool you into thinking this is a kit only for boys. There are flowers, stars, and a glitter frame for the girls in your lives too. I like the colours in this kit - mainly oranges and browns. There are also two different alphabets, including punctuation and numbers.” - DaraGolden

“Boys Will Be Boys” is a wonderful departure from the usual blue color scheme. Its golds, grays, and browns are a great blend of natural tones with a bit of “pop”. Trucks, swirls, a rocket ship…help to round out a this uniquely lovely kit!” - LynniePoo

“Great shades of brown, with each paper having its own distinct texture. I love love LOVE the fuzzy stars, as well as the different alphas in this kit. Sooo perfect for zoo photos and any all-boy pics!” - ronagavino

“Orange and brown are the dominant colours in this kit and that alone makes it workable for so many things. The alpha, papers and elements aren’t typical “boy” at all, which is refreshing: the patterns in the papers and the grunge solids would each be great add-ins to a basic collection to draw on for any layout you might ever need to do. There are also a few neutral papers in this kit that would layer beautifully and add interest and depth to a layout–that alone, alongside the fantastic alpha–makes this kit a bargain.

Now, all of this said, the truck and rocket ship elements are “awesome”, according to my son…he is, after all a “boys will be boys” boy!” - sosumi

“Boys will be boys is a wonderful kit! The shades of orange and brown mix well together and can work well with of course, boy pages, but will work just as well for fall pics, animal pics, travel pics, pretty much anything you can think of! The elements are great with some frames, tags, flowers and stars. There are also a few boy-like elements in there, but the majority of the kit is pretty universal so you can have lots of fun with it, with all kinds of pages!” - sarahwhithers

“The cute elements such as the star felties and 2 sets of alphas are great elements to scrap with, and with the flowers and ribbons added, though the kit’s name implies it is a boys’ kit, it is great for scrapping girls’ pages as well!” - scchua

“This kit is huge! It has plenty of papers, elements and two alphas for scrapping all the boys in your life – no matter what age they happen to be. I used it with photos of my great nephew playing soccer last Fall.” - clc

Love is Sweet

“As the name suggests, “Love is Sweet” is sweet indeed! A cute, whimsical kit colored with reds, pinks and greens. And it is full of ‘heart’…glitter hearts, acrylic button hearts, foam hearts, trees shaped liked hearts…
“Love is Sweet” will work great for spring and summer photos, girls, boys, or the love of your life.
Cute…fun…SWEET!” - LynniePoo

“Love Is Sweet is indeed a sweet kit. The colors are very soft shades of green and redish pinks. This kit could be used for both romantic layouts and outdoor/nature layouts.

Since I have a dog named Lovie with “Love N Kisses” part of her registered name, I was very happy to find a kit with these words as embellishments.” - Ann_Ominous

“Love is sweet and so is this kit. I love the glittery hearts, doodle frames and pretty papers. I used it with photos of my great niece and her adorable little girl. It will also work well with Spring and Summer photos.” - clc

Felicity

“Seeing this kit, my son said, “I like the colours - they make me think of happy things.” He’s right - the colours are vibrant - pink, orange, blue - and are “happy summer colours.” I like the various elements - frames, strips, flowers, and some creative buttons - in addition to the bright, colourful papers.” - DaraGolden

“Love the bright colors in this kit…..perfect for preparing for the brightness and sunshiny days of SUMMER!!! The beaded string were the perfect touch to my page, and the frame stamps provided a beautiful, versatile way to show off my photos.” - ronagavino

“Felicity is full of vibrant, sun-kissed colour including sherbet orange and raspberry pink, ocean blue, lemon yellow and a lime green to round out the palette. The bright papers are a smart mix of patterns and distressed solids while the elements–ribbon, ricrac, frames, florals and swirls to name a few–come in multiple colours for quick matching. This kit would be great for fun birthday layouts and anything related to summer or needing that splash of summer colour.” - sosumi

“Felicity is so bright and beautiful, you’re sure to fall in love with it right away! The colors consist of Pinks, blues, oranges and yellows. The elements are a mix of ribbons, tags, frames and flowers and will work really well with any girl pages you’re trying to get done.” - sarahwhithers

“Felicity’ is so cheery and full of life with the colour combination! The papers come in great patterns including solids, and an assortment of elements are designed for happy pages, from birthday parties to memories at the pool.” - scchua

“Felicity is a fabulously colorful kit. The papers are beautiful. There is a nice mixture of fun colorful elements to go with the papers. This is a great kit for summer or anything colorful.” - Ann_Ominous

Designs by Shelle

Jaya Prem’s Hangout

If you like templates, we have new template sets for you in the ScrapWow store this week!!  Di Hickman has 3 New DIagram Duo Sets available and they are wonderful 2 page layout sets!!  They are available HERE in Di’s digital store…

Enjoy your week!!

You can now purchase the Add-on kit in the ScrapWow Store.

I also have some wonderful coordinating sequels to the kit that you can purchase at my ScrapWow Store.

And my CT have created some wonderful layouts that you can see below for inspiration!

ENJOY and I would LOVE to hear what you think!

RAKScraps June 09 Mega Add-on

RAKScraps June 09 Mega Add-on Sequels

CT Inspiration

So it was with some surprise that I read that “purple is normally a colour scrapbookers avoid” in a magazine a few months ago. Really? They avoid purple? I looked at the RAKScraps gallery and did a search through about 100 posted layouts. While there wasn’t a lot of purple, there were a number of pages that had either purple in the background or as an element on them. Purple wasn’t the most popular colour [blue and pink were], but it was well represented.

That got me thinking about my own pages and “colour avoidance.” For a RAKScraps Challenge, many months ago, there was a challenge to scrap about a colour you didn’t like. I did a page on Chartreuse - a page that still makes me wince due to the overwhelming chartreuse colour. I cannot say that I’ve ever gone out of my way to use that colour again, though a number of my pages have yellow or green elements on them.

Do you find yourself avoiding a particular colour? If you’d like to use it more [or challenge yourself to use it in a layout], here are some suggestions:

• use it as a supporting colour - such as a small brad or thin ribbon on a page
• find an advertisement using that colour and mimic the advertisement
• find a colour palette including that colour and use those colours for your layout
• if it’s a general colour [such as “purple”], play with different shades of the colour [lilac, plum, eggplant] until you find one that works with the layout
• find a patterned paper with the colour in it; you need not use the paper as the background, but could use it for a title, photo corner, photo mat, or journaling area

Colours are fun and while you may find yourself using the same colours again and again, going outside your comfort zone and using other colours can also be fun. Challenge yourself!

Check out Designs by Shelle’s store here right at scrapwow. You will find kits like these and many more!

Jaya Prem’s Hangout is having a blowout of 50% off her store at Brownie Scraps so check here to see that. For all her other kits visit her store here for these kits, sales and more!

On going challenges that have no closing dates:
Creating Gifts Throughout 2009 - have a go at making some digi-craft gifts. A new project is added each month, do which ever ones interest you.
RAKScraps Kit Designer School - have a go at creating your own papers and elements.