Shutterfly Digi Scrap Blog

Decision Time! : By Alicia Bull

2009-12-04T17:57:04-08:00

Well, It is early December and I already received the first card of the holiday season from a dear friend this week. It makes me shutter to think that someone else is already done with cards and I have the task in front of me.

Luckily, I have a great database of names and addresses already on my computer and I of course have Shutterfly for the card creating process. My biggest challenge is always choosing just one card. So, for the third year in a row I will print 3 cards. Some may think I am a little crazy to do that, but honestly it makes the process less stressful for me. (sometimes around the holiday we need to do a few things to reduce stress!)

I thought it would be fun to share my selections for the 2009 holiday season. I am pleased with the way they turned out and feel relieved that they will be stamped and in the mail next week!

Happy December!

Alicia Bull

Photobook Inspiration : By Rhonna Farrer

2009-12-02T16:54:00-08:00

Rhonna Farrer shares a bit of inside info with us and also shares a Shutterfly photobook sample below. Enjoy!

What endearing project are you working on right now?

"I just finished a very inspiring creative retreat called Spark. I'm working on capturing & remembering this event through various arts; hybrid, scrapbook, decor, fashion."

Who or what inspires you most?

"life. my family. colors. fashion. magazines"

Rhonna has some incredible Shutterfly Inspiration. She has created several photobooks at Shutterfly and has shared a book with us! Just click on the image below to enjoy the inspiration.

Welcome : Rhonna Farrer

2009-11-27T14:00:00-08:00

We are excited to welcome Rhonna Farrer to the Shutterfly Celebrations Blog. We can't wait to share more about Rhonna and her design work. So, without further ado, lets find out a bit about her.

I'm Rhonna Farrer, a mother of 3 & wife to my best friend. I earned a BFA in Art Education & have been designing in the greeting card/gift wrap/paper product industry for 12 years.

I design under Rhonna DESIGNS for all of my freelance design work, but as far as scrapbooking goes: I've teamed up with Heidi Swapp & Janet Hopkins to bring you House of 3. We have digital design kits, House Adornmnents, Blog Couture & Design House kits. We aim to offer inspiration in home decor, scrapbooking & hybrid arts.

Rhonna has an exciting handful of freebies that she is going to be sharing with us over the next week or so. The downloads are themed around Blessings and being Thankful. (Perfect for all of those Thanksgiving photos we need to document!) Below you can download a greeting card created by Rhonna. You just add your own photo and print it. The card is, of course, perfectly sized for printing at Shutterfly if you choose! Have fun downloading this fun freebie and please remember that all freebies are for personal use only.

Download RF_HarvestGreetingCardTemplate

Kellie Hann Mize : Recipe Template

2009-11-21T20:00:00-08:00

Kellie Hann Mize from TheDigiChick created a freebie template some time back that continues to be requested year round from Shutterfly users. It is an adorable recipe template that will assist you in making an incredible recipe book in no time flat. (Maybe a family keepsake recipe book, a class recipe book for the teacher, or even a book of recipes for the bride to be) Whatever you choose, it is sure to turn out beautiful with this template.

Please feel free to download the template file below.

Download KHM-FreeRecipeTemplate

You can also visit a page of inspiration talking about a Shutterfly customer named Susie Roberts that found great joy in using the recipe template in her beautiful Christmas recipe book. Here is a link to the inspirational page from Shutterfly.

You can view Susie's Shutterfly book here!

Learning About Layers : By Scrapper's Guide

2009-11-14T19:23:00-08:00

Curious Fact About Layered Digital Templates

By: Scrapper's Guide

Digital scrapbooking templates definitely make life easier for busy scrapbookers. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but today I’m going to introduce you to a style of template you may not have used before, or even heard of. It’s a layered template that you assemble yourself.

This is not a grayscale template where you move your own paper onto the template and then group it with a layer. These are complete, no brainer, get-the-page-done-already templates using actual paper and elements from a kit. The only caveat is this: you have to assemble them yourself.

To explain how to use them, I filmed a video tutorial on assembling layered templates.

Why would we make templates you have to assemble yourself? Good question—and there’s a good answer for it: File size and flexibility. Let’s talk about file size first.

At Scrapper’s Guide we have a membership program called Digital Scrapper Premier that offers 4 pro level video tutorials, an exclusive designer kit, and a set of 16 layered templates, including a front and back cover and spine, made from the kit every month. Since I'm a raving fan of Shutterfly, all our templates are made to Shutterfly's specifications to make it easy to create your photobooks.

The first templates we made were one layer PNG files, but our members wanted the ability to remove or rearrange elements. People living in warm climates, for example, didn’t want snowflakes on their layouts.

The file size of layered PSDs was prohibitive, but we discovered that if you separated the layers, you could dramatically reduce the file size. A layered PSD that was 89 MB could be reduced to 10 MB by simply placing each layer in a separate file inside a single folder.

Don’t ask me how that works, but it does!

Flexibility is also a key benefit. You can easily move items around or resize a layered template so it fits a page size other than 12x12 inches. Watch a video on resizing layered templates. Because the templates are layered, you can also use the individual elements on other pages you make.

We’d like for you to experience the magic of our layered templates, so I’ve included this link for you to download a set of two complimentary layered templates from the October Premier for you to practice on. They’re made by Scrapper’s Guide Creative Team member Jenny Jorgensen using the kit Happy Harvest by Susan Bartolini.

This kit and template set is currently available only to Premier members. When the November Premier issue comes out, we’ll place the October videos, kit, and coordinating templates in our store. We hope you enjoy this sample set of templates for your fall photos!

Check out our previous layered templates to get an idea of the creative possibilities. I guarantee you’ll be inspired!

Thank you : Kim Gehring

2009-11-12T13:58:59-08:00

A big thank-you to Kim Gehring from PixelGypsyDesigns who has shared a bundle of inspiration and freebies with us. We are thrilled that she has a bit more to share before she leaves. Enjoy!

What is your favorite Holiday? Do you have any fun scrapbook traditions or project traditions that you do during the holiday season?

"Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the excitement that overflows from my kids and the quality time I get to spend with my whole family. I don’t have any scrapbook or project traditions, but I do love to scrap holiday photos. :-) "

Do you hybrid scrapbook and if so tell us about your experience with it ?

"I like to create hybrid gifts like money envelopes, altered blocks for holiday decorations, cd case calendars, and goodie bags with special treat toppers. Unfortunately, time always gets the best of me and I run out of time to photograph these projects."

Kim has created one last freebie quickpage template for us to download below but she has shared her blog address with us at http://kg-designs.blogspot.com where she says she has all sorts of freebie downloads. Check it out!

Download KimGehring_TemplatePage

My Little Ghoul : By:Kim Gehring

2009-11-09T09:24:00-08:00

Kim Gehring from PixelGypsyDesigns has a solution for all of those cute Halloween photos that you now have developed and want to scrapbook. She has provided us with the a darling mini kit called "My Little Ghoul." You can download the files and create layouts in Photoshop or other similar software programs. We would love to see what you end up creating! Please remember that all downloads are for personal use only!

Download KimGehring_MyLittleGhoul

Everyday Life Inspiration:

2009-11-04T04:30:00-08:00

Kim Gehring from PixelGypsyDesigns shares some more wonderful inspiration below.

Who or what inspires you most?

"My kids are a big inspiration for me, which is why my designs usually end up bold and fun. I'm also very inspired by color. I could easily spend hours browsing design and craft blogs or magazines just enjoying the color schemes!"

Since our Blog is about celebrating “Everyday Life” Kim shares a layout below and tells us about the special everyday celebration.

"This layout is special to me because it highlights the relationship between my kids. Despite their six-year age difference, my kids share a strong bond that makes me so proud to be their mom. They love each other to death! "Best Buds" captures them at these special moments...reading together, playing, cuddling."

Celebrate Halloween: With Kim Gehring!

2009-10-30T21:26:24-07:00

Kim Gehring from PixelGypsyDesigns tells us about her scrapbooking history and shares a wonderful Halloween Freebie!

How long have you been scrapbooking?

"I started digi scrapping about two and half years ago. I’m a graphic designer (and a total computer geek ), so it was the natural way for me to go over paper scrapping. Last January I started playing around with designing. It was so much fun that I soon found myself spending waaay more time designing than scrapping. I joined the Pixel Gypsy Designs team in July, and now I try to mix my design time with scrapping time."

Do you hybrid scrapbook and if so tell us about your experience with it.

Check it out, Kim created an adorable Halloween card freebie for you all to download. It is adorable and this is just one of a few to come! Enjoy and remember that all freebies are for personal use only.

Download KimGehring_GreetingCard

Hello! : Kim Gehring

2009-10-25T22:16:59-07:00

A special hello to Kim Gehring from PixelGypsyDesigns . We are so excited to have Kim here with us as we head into the Halloween season. She is full information, inspiration and of course wonderful Halloween freebies!

Lets start off by getting to know a bit about Kim!

"I’m a thirty-something mom to two awesome kiddos (9 and 3), a full-time admin/graphic designer, and a digital scrapbook designer for Pixel Gypsy Designs. I’m a really laid-back person who is usually found working behind the scenes to make sure things run smoothly. I enjoy spending lots of time at home with my family and, in my spare time (when I’m not designing!), I like reading and gardening. I’ve never been one to talk much about myself…I’m a much better listener. So I’d love to hear from you about what you like and what inspires you to scrap."

Below is a great layout created by Kim! Enjoy and check back often in the next couple of weeks to collect some wonderful Halloween treats.