Happy Scrap Girl

A Grab Bag Collab with Chelle’s Creations!

2012-01-27T11:26:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday! I’ve got a little news for you today, a new Grab Bag Collab with one of my favorite collab partners and a new freebie for you!

First up, I’m sure all of my American friends know that the Superbowl is coming up next weekend! While I’m not really cheering for either team, I love Superbowl parties, football food and watching the commercials! Well if you aren’t a huge football fan either, you MUST check out SO’s Scrapper Bowl! We’ll have games, chats and the chance to win LOTS of prizes!! You don’t want to miss this!

I am SO excited about this newest collab! Chelle and I have teamed up before and this time I think we’ve put together an even BETTER bag for you to design with! Is that even possible???

This bag has 6 full size products that can easily become your go to products when creating your kits.

It’s only available for ONE week (until 2/1/2012) and the full previews are all available in the store.

And this GB is not just for designers – there is plenty in it that Scrappers can use too! Check out this amazing page by Katie! She used many of the products from the GB in this LO!

I’m also releasing these Photo Edgers 2 and a bundle this week!

Thank you for catching up with me today, here’s a little freebie for you today that coordinates with the Grab Bag Collab! (click the image for the link…)

Have a great day!

MORE Fabric Flowers!

2012-01-20T12:03:00.001-05:00

Today I have some new Fabric Flowers in the store. I think this is my favorite set ever! 3 of these little pretties have little bits of tulle tucked between the layers and it gives them such a fun extra pop of texture!

Don't you love the look of digital scrapbook pages where the journaling looks doodled on the page, Not quite perfect lines, but whimsical and free-formed? These new Say it with Style Text Paths can help you achieve that look. You can change the font, the font size & color. You can also increase or decrease the size of the path shape. Complete instructions and tips are included in the download – I recommend that you read them before using the templates.

Commercial Use Designers may use these for word art, elements and papers provided they are provided as png or jpg file.

Today all of my newsletter subscribers will be getting a little exclusive freebie. If you aren’t signed up for my newsletter – you are missing out on exclusive freebies and discounts!

Have a wonderful weekend!

HSG

I Beta you’ll want to try this!

2012-01-13T11:33:00.001-05:00

Winter has finally arrived where I live and today we are having our first snow storm of the year! I’m bundled up and enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate to keep me warm, debating if I should venture out to buy a new pair of boots or if I should just research some cute ones on Pinterest : ) hmmmmm….

This morning I ran across an ad that I wanted to share with you. Adobe is offering a Photoshop Lightroom 4 Beta to everyone for free. WOW! I honestly haven’t had a chance to try out Lightroom for myself, but I know that MANY scrappers and photographers can’t live without it. I’m excited to try it myself for both my personal photos and for my design work (what a great way to perfect those photos and scans before I extract them!!). Adobe has some videos to get you started. Digiscrap101 has a free class to teach you how to use Lightroom to organize your supplies. You can also check out Lightroom Killer Tips to help you dig in! You can offer feedback in the Adobe forums and the Beta doesn’t expire until March 31, 2012 – so you’ll have an extra long time to play!

Speaking of digging in and winter, I have a new alpha today. It’s perfect for winter pages from cold weather to winter sports. It would also be great for pages about your purple princess at play!

Scrappers love to create pages with realistic textures - try Texture Files Cardstocks to use as your paper base textures. Add brushwork, overlays, or edges to create even more interest.

I’ve added the rest of the Texture Files Cardstocks to my Scrap Orchard store and I’m offering some of them in a bundle at a great price. This week only they are on sale for an additional 20% off.

Freebie for this week… like to try before you buy? Here is a free Texture Files Cardstock.

I hope you stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

Creating a color swatch from a photo in Photoshop/PSE

2012-01-09T08:05:00.000-05:00

This is quick tip that I use ALL the time to make my color swatches.

First I take a picture that has the colors that I want. Sometimes I'll have a theme in mind when I start a product and I'll do a google Image search to find pictures of what I'm looking for.

I found this picture when I was looking for fall colors…

I opened it in PS & go to Image - > Mode -> Indexed Color.

Choose the # of colors I want in the next box and enter. (sometimes I need to put a higher # to get a few more choices)

Now go to Image -> Mode-> Color Table and your new color swatches will be right there! Just save them as an ACT file and you can load them into your color swatches any time you want them!

Super Easy!

A Happy Feature and Freebies for you!

2012-01-06T14:18:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope you are having a great start to 2012!

My family had a rough December (lots of sickies here!) but we are starting 2012 on a healthy foot. I am SO grateful for that!

This year I’m working hard on my business model and a big part of that is working harder at how I can help YOU with your scrapping and design goals. I plan on offering more tips, tutorials and freebies on things like designing, Photoshop/PSE, scrapbooking and blogging. I have lots of freebies for you today so be sure to read all the way to the end of this post!

This month I am the featured designer at ScrapOrchard! I’m so excited to start of 2012 with this – and I figured that I should go BIG with the freebies for it! You may have seen it on my FB Page last week – each week, SO sends out a special edition newsletter so you can get to know me a little bit better – and you get to pick up a piece of this freebie too! I’m giving away 4 FULL SIZE CU products this month so please make sure you are signed up to get them!

Now, I know these products are CU, but like so many of the products in my shop, LOTS of them can be used for scrapping too! Like those Fabric Flowers, or maybe the Worn Out Pieces (wouldn’t those be great for pics or journaling blocks???)

You can pick up the 5th piece of the freebie on ScrapOrchard’s FB Page (just click the image to get there…)

Here are a couple of new products in my store. By request, Text Path Blenders 3 – now available for CU designers to use for WA or blending into papers, etc.

This Joyful Layered CU alpha is now available in store too!

Oh, I have one more freebie for you.. This one is on my FB Fan Page. I PROMISE my next freebie will be available someplace else (I know – not everyone is on FB!)

Have a wonderful day!

Tutorial: Getting More from your Worn Out Overlays

2011-12-21T10:32:00.001-05:00

Tutorial: Getting More from your Worn Out Overlays

I’m sure that you must know by now that I love a good worn paper, frame, tag - anything really. I love the dimension and realism it gives our designs and scrapbook pages. I love making those overlays and I love using them to create
elements for my kits. I especially love seeing them in your work, and seeing how creative you are with those overlays!

As much as I love seeing that white worn edge, I really want to show you some other ways that you can use your Worn Out Overlays. Here is a Worn Out Tag for you to play along with. It coordinates with these tags. I’ll be using this tag for my examples today. Open it in your software and play along if you would like.

By using different blend modes and different overlays or styles we can get many different looks from the same tag overlay.

First, I’m going to show you a very realistic chipboard look using these tags. Grab one of my Krafty Papers . Clip it to the mask layer and it looks something like this.

Now change the blend mode on the overlay to multiply. Then duplicate the overlay layer.Now we have a nice grungy chipboard tag. This would work great on the Element Shape overlays or the Frame overlays too!

Now let’s try to get another look with this same tag. Revert the tag so it’s back to the original that you downloaded.

Open up a paper and clip it to the layer mask. I’m using a paper from my Serenity kit.

That looks good as it is, but my kit has some worn chipboard in it, so it doesn’t quite fit well with the rest of the kit. So now I’m going to take that same Kraft Paper and clip it to the overlay layer.

That fits the kit look much better. I might go in with a grunge brush and erase a little bit of the edges that are folded over to make it look a little more realistic.

You can clip a different pattern to the edges or you could even use a layer style or filter to give it a unique look. This one uses an Alien Skin Brushed Metal filter to make this look like an old metal tag.

I can take a new paper and clip it to the mask. Then duplicate the paper layer and clip it to the overlay layer and change the blend mode of the overlay layer to difference and I get a tag that looks like I’ve inked the edges…

Try taking 2 coordinating papers this time. Clip one to the mask layer and the second to the overlay layer. Now duplicate the overlay layer and move it above all of the other layers. Change its blend mode to multiply. This looks like
one of those double sided papers that paper scrappers use.

Hopefully I’ve given you lots of ideas on new ways you can use your Worn Out overlays. I’m sure you can think of many more! Try it with my Worn Out Flowers too!

50% off 24-hour sale PLUS 2 FREEBIES!!

2011-12-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

Hi Scrappers and Designers!

It's advent time at the Orchard and that means a HUGE sale! Today is my turn to have my ENTIRE store on sale for 50% off!! I've been working hard at loading up some of my products from SM - plus a few new things for this month, so be sure to check it out!

Have you been collecting all of the daily Advent freebies? I have one for you too - and it's a CU freebie!!

Click on the image above for the link. Download is available for 24 hours only. It will expire on 12/22/11. If you have any problems downloading the freebie, please email me at happyscrapgirl AT live DOT com or PM me at SO.

Please note: All sales, specials and promotions are based on Eastern Time Zone. Coupons, Plum Perks and sales cannot be combined.
My Facebook Fans can get the full alpha for free here...

Wishing you all safe and happy holidays!

Paper Pretties and Krafty Goodness (plus a FREEBIE!!)

2011-12-09T10:54:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about ScrapOrchard’s Advent Promotion? Here’s how it works!

Every day a different designer’s store will be on sale for 50% OFF! That is right- their entire store will be on sale for 50% OFF- but only for 24 hours (sales based on Eastern Time Zone)!!!

So you have to shop fast!! Get those wishlists made up ahead of time! You won’t know who’s store is on sale next ! You might be able to guess though, lol! Just take a look at the calendar below! I can’t tell you yet which day will be mine, but maybe you can guess it! Don’t worry – I’ll send out an extra special newsletter to let you know when it’s my turn!

Every day ScrapOrchard will send out a newsletter announcing the sale of the day and we will include a little freebie for you to download. The downloads are only good for 24 hours as well- so make sure you download them right away!! Sign up HERE

It’s the most wonderful sale of the year!!

Here is the Advent Calendar and just some of the Freebies you can collect each day!

OK, now on to some things for my ScrapOrchard Store! I have a bundle of my Paper Pretties – it’s bundled at a great price & I’ve added an extra 20% off for the Fresh Fruit Sale!

Each of the sets are available individually as well… (oh 20% off of course!)

I can never get enough of great craft papers so I’ve added a set of Krafty Papers to my SO store. They add GREAT texture to your papers, and since they are in full color, they are perfect for scrappers too – Krafty Papers are a perfect neutral to compliment your LO’s!

I’m so obsessed with Krafty Papers lately that I’m pretty sure I’ll be wrapping all of our Christmas gifts with it this year – and tying it with some bakers twine. Is that going too far with my obsession?? Heehee!

Here is a brand new little freebie for you – a little bit of Krafty goodness… CU or personal use.

Have a great weekend!

Blend your Text–Plus a Freebie!!

2011-12-03T10:41:00.001-05:00

I have 2 re-releases in this week's fresh fruit at the Orchard. They are both 20% off!

Text Path Blenders Bundle
This Text Path Blenders Bundle includes Text Path Blenders 1 and Text Path Blenders 2. They will help you blend your text into your digital scrapbook page using a non-destructive method. Parts of the text will appear to be faded or erased on your layout, but you can still go back and change the type whenever you would like. It's easy to make these more or less distressed based on your journaling needs.

Text Path Blenders 2
These new Text Path Blenders 2 will help you blend your text into your digital scrapbook page using a non-destructive method. Parts of the text will appear to be faded or erased on your layout, but you can still go back and change the type whenever you would like. It's easy to make these more or less distressed based on your journaling needs.

All sales, specials and promotions are based on Eastern Time Zone. Coupons and sales cannot be combined.

I also a free sample available that goes with these blenders. It’s a great way to test them out and see just how easy they are to use!!

Have a great weekend!!

$1 Farmer’s Market Sale–NEW $1 products just added!

2011-11-26T11:58:00.001-05:00

Hi!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend! I know a lot of you have been busy with Black Friday shopping. I hope you scored some great deals!

Speaking of great deals – it’s time for my Farmer’s Market sale products to be changed up! I’ve just switched out 11 products in the sale- all on sale for just $1! This is a HUGE savings for you – and it will be the only time ever that these items will be on sale for this CRAZY LOW price! So if you’ve had your eye on them – this is the BEST time ever to pick them up!

Here are all of the products currently on sale. If you missed one from earlier this week, don’t worry – you can still catch it on sale for 20% off (price shows when you click on the product).

Have a wonderful weekend!!

$1 Farmer’s Market Sale!

2011-11-23T10:16:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about Scrap Orchard’s Farmer’s Market sale? It is a HUGE twice a year event!!! Everything in the Farmer’s Market category will be *just* $1… YES, I said ONE DOLLAR!!! How CRAZY is that???

It’s a great way for us to thank YOU for supporting our businesses and give you a chance to get those items you’ve had on your wish lists. I am so thankful for all of my wonderful customers!

I’ve loaded up my SO shop with LOTS of items for the sale, including 2 NEW products, CU, alphas, text paths and so much more – 20 products total. For JUST $1. Yup, you read that right!

And guess what? On Saturday morning – I will be taking at least 10 of those products and replacing them with 10 DIFFERENT products – for $1!!

You’ll have the chance to pick up 30 Happy Scrap Girl Designs products for just $1 each – but be sure to check out the sale before Friday and then AGAIN on Saturday to see which products have changed!

This will be the LOWEST price ever for these products – they’ll never go on sale this low again. SO if you even think you might want them, grab them before the sale is OVER!

All sales, specials and promotions are based on Eastern Time Zone. Coupons and sales cannot be combined.

Here are my 2 NEW products for this week – check out my store see all of the other $1 products! You may need to click on the products to see the sale price in the store.

Mark your calendars to check back Saturday to see the sale products change!!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!

Thank you again for all of your support!

HUGE Sale at the Orchard!!

2011-11-22T20:45:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about Scrap Orchard’s Farmer’s Market sale? It’s going to be HUGE!!! Everything in the Farmer’s Market category will be *just* $1… YES, I said ONE DOLLAR!!! Can you even believe it?

I’ll have 2 NEW products, CU, alphas, text paths and so much more – 20 products total. For JUST $1. Yup, you read that right!

And guess what? On Saturday morning – I will be taking at least 10 of those products and replacing them with 10 DIFFERENT products – for $1!!

You’ll have the chance to buy 30 Happy Scrap Girl Designs products for just $1 each – but be sure to check the sale before Friday and then AGAIN on Saturday to see which products have changed!

This will be the LOWEST price ever for these products – they’ll never go on sale this low again. SO if you even think you might want them, grab them before the sale is OVER!

All sales, specials and promotions are based on Eastern Time Zone. Coupons and sales cannot be combined.

The sale starts soon so get your mouse warmed up and ready to go.

Now, if you aren’t already signed up for my newsletter, you definitely WANT to be. First you’ll get a freebie just for signing up. AND when my newsletter goes out on Wednesday, I will be picking 5 newsletter subscribers to win 5 products of their choice from my store! But you have to be a subscriber to get picked so sign up now!!

Chat today & New products at the Orchard!

2011-11-17T16:38:00.001-05:00

If you’re not too busy, stop over to the Orchard for a little chat today!

Join us in the Treehouse Chatroom on Thursday and get to know all the new Orchard Girls – including me! We'll play a game and give out some prizes!!!

I’m also re-releasing a bunch of products today at SO. ALL are on sale for 20% off!! Use coupon code: extrasavings to save an extra 10%!!

First is one of my favorite Christmas kits – Christmas Cookies! It’s a fun collab with Mye De Leon to help you scrap all your holiday baking pages!

Here is some inspiration from my amazing CT!! (Thanks ladies!!)

I also have a few CU items I’m re-releasing.

Worn Out Overlays 6…

Bead Happy…

Happy Patterns 6…

Page Edgers 1…

That’s all the news today! Thanks for checking it out. I hope to see you at the chat today!

I’m an Orchard Girl!!!

2011-11-11T10:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday everyone!!

If you missed the news last week, I’m officially a designer at Scrap Orchard!!

That means TODAY is your last day to get anything from my ScrapMatters store. It will be closing tonight. My SM store is still on sale today for 40% off. You won’t be able to see the sale price until the product is loaded into the cart.

Here are my products for this week that are new to the Orchard – all on sale for 20% off!

I have a quick tip for you today. I’m a horrible speller- it’s true. So when I’m journaling on a LO or making up previews or word art – I found a great tool right in Photoshop to help me.

With your text tool activated, right click on your text layer and select Check Spelling. This will only work on text layers (not on rasterized type layers).

It will bring up the Check Spelling box. Click Check all layers at the bottom and let it check for errors.

Now you don’t have to copy and paste between Word and PS to check your spelling!

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

Big announcement, a freebie & DSD Sale news!!

2011-11-04T17:06:00.001-04:00

It’s DSD WEEKEND!!! WOOHOO!!!!

I hope you are ready to celebrate! I’ve packed a lot into this newsletter so hopefully you’ll stick with me here, lol!

First up – ScrapMatters is celebrating DSD with 40% off storewide! Spend $20 and get a beautiful collab for free!!

All of my SM products are on sale for 40% off for the sale, including this brand new Krafty paper pack. I can never get enough Krafty papers – there is just so much that you can do with them. Recolor, use them for the texture, add a pattern, or cut it up for elements. OR you can even just use them as they are to add to your scrapbook layouts!

I have a big announcement for you too. I’m so excited to tell you that I’m going to be setting up shop full time at Scrap Orchard! That means that my ScrapMatters store will be closing. I’m really sad to be leaving ScrapMatters but I feel that this is the best path for Happy Scrap Girl Designs to grow even more. My ScrapMatters store will be closing on Nov 11, 2011 (next Friday). All of my products will be on sale there for the remainder of the week. I won’t be having any additional clearance sales since I had one just a few weeks ago. I’ve started moving some products over to ScrapOrchard and will slowly be moving a few more each week.

SO if you there is something that you’ve been eyeing at my ScrapMatters store, you’ll want to grab it because it may not be available again for a while!

I wish Andrea and all of the other ScrapMatters designers all the best! ScrapMatters has been a wonderful digi-home for me for a very long time!

My Scrap Orchard store is on sale for 30% off but you can uses this coupon code to save an extra 10% off your purchase – for a total of 40% off anything in my Scrap Orchard Store.

Coupon Code: celebrate40SO

*please note that this coupon voids any other offers and your total discount will be 40% off your total purchase.

And last but not at all least, I have a freebie available on my Facebook Fan Page!!

Thanks for taking the time to read my newsletter and have a FUN DSD celebration! Hope you find lots of GREAT deals!!

Hugs,

HSG

Let’s get this DSD Celebration started!

2011-11-03T12:41:00.001-04:00

Hi friends!

It’s finally DSD and I can’t wait to go shopping for some new goods! I’ve got my eye on a few things and can’t wait to check out the new products and sale this week!

I’m popping in here today to tell you that my DSD sale is starting today at my Scrap Orchard guest shop! I’ve loaded up a few goods for you to check out. OH and it’s all on sale… Be sure to click on the products to see the sale price.

Brand new this week are my Fabric Flowers 4..

ALL of my CU products are quality checked and each of my SO products have close ups in the detailed images section..

Want a closer look…

Here are some of the other products I’m releasing at Scrap Orchard this week. These are all on sale for 40% off!

Before I start shopping, I wanted to point you to a little tutorial I posted on my blog this morning - Making repeating patterns in Photoshop using the offset filter.

I’ll be back tomorrow with a big announcement and my ScrapMatters new product & sale info. You won’t want to miss this!!!

Happy shopping and creating!

Making repeating patterns in Photoshop using the offset filter

2011-11-03T11:58:00.001-04:00

Mastering patterns in Photoshop is an easy skill once you know how to do it. Digital Scrapbook designers can easily put together paper patterns that can be used over and over again.

Are you ready to get started?

After each new layer I double check to make sure that the pattern is lining up correctly. To do this, go to Define Pattern (under Edit) and open up a 12x12 doc (or whatever size you want your finished pattern to be). Fill the paper with the pattern and check it closely.

If it lines up correctly (and it should - unless you forget to crop) go back to your pattern doc. Hide the background layer and all but one of your pattern layers. (By keeping all of your shapes on their own layers, you can easily make a pattern for each one). Then fill a new document with the patterns - one shape for each layer and you'll be able to easily recolor it and use the pattern over again.

You can use this technique to make any repeating pattern from simple stripes and dots to much more complicated patterns.

Have fun creating!

Guess where I'm guesting?

2011-10-27T17:16:00.001-04:00

Hello!!

I’ll bet you are surprised to find me blogging on a Thursday!! I’m SO excited that I’m guesting this month at Scrap Orchard and I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to tell you!!!

I have a bunch of products to tell you about, but I also wanted to point you to a new tutorial I posted this week on my blog… Tutorial- Save some hard drive space–converting psd files to tiff files, the quick way! It’s like spring cleaning for your computer!!

Now for those new products I mentioned!

Grab some cardboard overlays to add some fun new textures to your Digital Scrapbooking Kits and Pages! Use them as whole for interesting papers or cut them up for unique elements!

Ideas for use:

Recolor to coordinate with your current kit.
Add overlays and brushwork to make interesting papers
Use with a clipping mask to make an interesting edge showing through another paper
combine with your own shape templates to make unique elements such as journaling blocks, torn pieces, frames, buttons or tons of other shapes

I’m also moving these 2 products over to my guest store at ScrapOrchard. You can get them for 20% off

This action is perfect to save anyone who makes templates or layered pattern files TONS of time! You can very quickly save each layer as an individual png file (will remove drop shadows too) in numerical order. It is one of my best selling products!

Chevron or zig-zag patterns are a HOT trend right now. Are you including them in your kits? You can easily change each layer to a color to match your kit or use your blend modes for a more subtle monochromatic paper design. I’ve added these to my SO guest shop too so you can save 20% off!

Last week I completely spaced and forgot to send you a newsletter! I released some new things at my SHC guest spot that ends at the end of this month.

For those of you still finishing up your Halloween products, here are some layered element files – 20% off this weekend!

I also loaded my favorite Worn Out Overlays set to my SHC shop.. it’s 20% off this weekend too!

Thanks for reading my newsletter – I’ll be back next week to celebrate DSD!! Get your wish lists ready!!!!

Tutorial: Save some hard drive space–converting psd files to tiff files, the quick way!

2011-10-20T16:35:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love it when you learn something new??

Recently, I was organizing some template packs and I always save my LO's as tiff files - they take up less space that way, and I can see what they are without having to open them first. So I decided to save all of the digital scrapbook templates I had downloaded as tiffs too. Until I realized that I had to save each one, lol!

But I figured out how to process a whole folder of them at once! I thought it would be helpful to share for anyone that makes templates or just wants to convert their psd files to tiff files.

Ready?
This only works for Photoshop (PS) users (I thought I found a way to do it in PSE, but it doesn't compress the tiff files so they end up HUGE!) Go to File, Scripts, Image Processor.

Then in the pop up box (pictured below)...
Step 1 select the folder you want to process
Step 2 save it in the same location
Step 3 File type - save as tiff - make sure LZW compression is checked.
*If you want to get fancy and save a smaller size jpg of your LO or template, say for your gallery or for the psd file thumbnails if you are selling templates - you can also save as jpg and resize to 600 pixels and it will save both at the same time
Step 4 preferences included ICC profile (this was the default)
Step 5 click Run and go get something to drink or switch the wash over

This will save which ever options you choose in a new folder right inside the folder you are processing.

If you are a scrapper or a designer looking to save some hard drive space, consider converting your psd layouts, templates, product previews and working files to tiffs – you’ll be amazed at how much extra space you gain!!

DSD Pre-sale and Clearance!!

2011-10-14T11:56:00.001-04:00

TGIF friends!! I hope you have some fun weekend plans coming up!

I (like so many of you) am working hard to prepare for DSD in a couple of weeks. Which had me thinking that this would be a great time to have a little sale on some of my CU goods to help YOU finish up those projects in time!

This sale is only at my SHC guest shop – but don’t worry, there are lots of great products to pick from. Sale ends Thursday!

I’ve also added 2 BRAND new products to my SHC shop… both on sale for 35% off too!!

Page Edgers have always been one of my best selling products. They can be used SO many ways. You can use them to make an edge that looks grungy, inked, sanded. Use them to blend 2 papers together (like a patterned paper with a solid showing though the backside) or add a chipboard or cardboard edge.

I also have these FUN Messy Splatters too! They are available in both .abr and .png files for both PS and non PS users. Perfect for adding interest to papers and elements, or creating messy stamps for your kit – or the perfect finishing touch to your newest layout!

Today I’m also releasing Paper Pretties 4 at ScrapMatters…

and ScrapMatters is having a huge clearance event!! Be sure to check it out. Here are all of my clearance products – there is even some CU included here!!

That’s all I’ve got for today! Have a great weekend!!!

Did you miss it?

2011-10-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

This week I’m playing catch up and waiting for my new laptop to be delivered. I opened my CU grab bag and I posted some new freebies on my blog (keep reading for the links…)

My grab bag has been revealed and everything is now in the store. AND – it’s on sale for 20% off this weekend only!

Paper Pretties 4

Happy Patterns Vol 9

{CU} Buttons Vol. 2

Fabric Overlays Vol. 2

And incase you missed it, I have a couple of freebies on my blog this week.

I made up a weekly planner that includes a menu planner to help you get organized, one week at a time! You can download it for free on my blog…

And I have a little CU freebie that could absolutely be used in personal use LO’s too!

I’ll be anxiously waiting at the window for the delivery man today – can’t wait for that new laptop to arrive!! AND then I have some new goods almost ready to go in the shop for you next week. I may even have another freebie for you!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Helping you get organized- one week at a time!

2011-09-30T14:24:00.001-04:00

The kids are back in school and all of their sports and activities are in full swing. Add in parties and play-dates and soon the calendar is filled up for the week! Sound familiar?

My hubby and I were constantly asking each other about our schedule and trying to flip things around so that we could fit more into our days. On top of that, we have been trying to take a good hard look at our finances to see how we could better spend our hard earned dollars. It became a constant conversation with neither of us doing much about it – just saying we needed to talk about it. We aren’t the only ones that do this right?

Well enough is enough – we decided we needed to get real about it. Now every Sunday, we sit down together to talk about what is going on for the week, and talk about what expenses we expect to have.

One of our biggest expenses every month is food. Yes, I coupon – but I’m not extreme about it and we try to eat more whole foods vs. things that come in a box. That makes it a little harder to get good deals. Oh, and I’m super lazy about cutting, sorting and filing all of those coupons anyway! So having our meals planned out each week is one of the best ways I can save. If I know that we are going to be running 3 nights that week, I can plan simple meals ahead of time. I waste a lot less food this way.

So what exactly is my point here? Do I think that you should have a weekly meeting with your family? Um.. only if it works for you, lol!

But since hubby and I were working so hard to communicate all of this each week, I needed to come up with a good way to keep us accountable for it. I decided that I needed to keep our meal plan and our weekly schedule all in one place. So I whipped up a little something in Photoshop to keep track of it. I have a section for activities, meal plan, notes (I usually add our expected expenses here – think B-days, etc) a to do list and little section to remind me to be healthy (yes, I do need daily reminders, lol).

I wanted to make it pretty and I wanted to make it reusable. So I grabbed an adorable little kit from Erica Zane called Bluebird. I had it printed as an 11x14 and framed it. Now I just use a dry erase marker on the glass and I can quickly change it each week.

Take a look – isn’t it pretty?

Um.. OK, I totally cheated this pic, lol. My photo skills were non existent the day I took this shot. It cam out SUPER dark. So I fiddled with it in PS and typed in my meals and stuff. Don’t hate me ok? I promise I’ll make it up to you!

I turned my weekly planner into a template for you!

I made 3 sizes… 11x14, 8.5x11 and 8x10

And lots of formats… layered psd and tiff files (for you Photoshop users to pretty up), and jpg printables (with white backgrounds – no blue or yellow areas) for anyone that wants a plain version or to be able to decorate it with paper scrapbooking supplies. There are also individual png files included as well.

Just click on the pic to get the download… it’s free!

Please don’t share the downloaded files – send your friends here to my blog to let them grab it on their own!

Hope this helps you to stay a little bit more organized this week!

Enjoy!

{CU} Freebie and Mega Grab Bag Collab Reveal!

2011-09-29T17:20:00.000-04:00

I’ve put together a little {CU} freebie for you today – but first I wanted to remind you that there are only a few days left to purchase the Mega Grab Bag Collab! Kim B I and packed this bag FULL of gorgeous, full sized, quality checked CU products and are selling it a crazy low price!

I know so many of you really want to see WHAT is in a GB before you purchase it – ya know what? I’m that way too! So while the preview gives you a little idea of what to expect, I thought I’d show you that whole sha-bang before you put your money where your mouse is!

Ready?

Can you believe all the goodness we packed in? I’ll bet you can think of at least a dozen creative ways you can use these in your next kit, right?

Everything is quality checked so that you can be 100% confident in your purchase!

And now before I forget about this fun little freebie I made for you… here is a little vintage frame, a paper pretty and a cardstock texture!

This is the first time I’m using Dropbox for my freebies. Please let me know if you have any issues with downloading it!

Enjoy your freebie and please let me know if there are any requests for things you are looking for!

The Mega Collab Grab Bag with Kim B!

2011-09-23T11:16:00.002-04:00

Hello!!

It's been a bit since I've sent out a newsletter! Grab a cuppa and let's check out what's new!

Guesting at SHC has been so much fun! This week I had a chance to work with an amazingly talented designer and my friend Kim Broedelet (aka Kim B). She's also a fellow SM designer and we both happen to be at SHC this month.

We put together this HUGE (and I mean HUGE) Mega Collab Grab Bag!

Filled with 8 brand new Quality checked products.

Contains.
8 Full sized products in
PNG,Layered PSD, TIFF and JPG.

All @ 300ppi

It's packed with 8 CU products and it's just $7 (for a limited time only...). A HUGE bargain at less than $1 per product. You can buy it here, exclusively at Sugar Hill Co!

I've been seeing tons of button projects on Pinterest lately (see my pin obsessions... ) and dug through my button jars to find some pretty vintage buttons that would be an amazing addition to those beautiful kits you are creating! (btw - they are 20% off till Sunday...) They are available exclusively at SHC! Grab them here...

And last week, I was completely lazy (did I just admit that? ;P ) and forgot to send out my newsletter telling you about some new Krafty Papers I put in my SHC guest shop. So I'm adding them to this weeks 20% off new release sale too.

Don't you just love kraft paper? The texture just makes me swoon! And you know you don't have to keep them as "kraft style" brown papers - they look great in other colors or layered as the texture for your cardstocks or patterns too! Get 'em here...

Speaking of new releases being 20% off at SHC this weekend.... I loaded up some of my other favorite products and they are on sale too. Like ribbons and an action . You can check them all out here...

New Overlays, Fabric Flowers & Somewhere {Rainbow} Alpha

2011-08-19T08:17:00.002-04:00

This week my girls put on some little "shows" for me - it was great fun and one of the songs they did was Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I whipped this little alpha up for a speed scrap prize at ScrapMatters & now it's available in my store. I'm certain this is my favorite alpha - ever!!

I'm also unpacking my GB to go on sale individually as well. These Fabric Flowers are FUN! They would make a great addition to that kit you are working with!

Also coming out of the grab bag are these Crackled transparent PNG overlays. The background colors are just for preview purposes. These make amazing papers or the perfect finishing touch on frames or elements!

FREEBIE ALERT!!! I know there were a few technical difficulties with the FB freebie at SM, so if you missed it, it IS still available AND you can get it HERE on SM's FB Fan Page. Sorry for the confusion!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!