Here is the Grand Prize Winner from the "My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest - "Dark Horses" by Gord Clark:

We were lucky enough to have acclaimed local photographer Leonard R. McGregor (Master Photographer, accredited national and international photo judge, and the list goes on and on) as our judge.  Here is what he said about the winning photo:

"Dynamic Impact  --  Strong Composition  --  Story Telling (two riders in solitude on a dyke) --  Simple and creative  --  proper exposure  --  good use of silhouette and strong colour."

There were plenty of strong entries.  We were very encouraged by the 225+ photos entered, and will be looking to run more contests like this in 2010.  You can see the rest of the finalists and Len's comments on our Facebook page (you don't have to have a Facebook account to see it).  Enjoy and by all means leave your own comments!

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

 Here's another great layout from My Mind's Eye, using their Penny Lane collection. Click on the image to go to a pdf with full instructions that you can print out!

The Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze custom papers were SUCH a hit, that we decided to bring in more designs for you!

You will find these papers in our winter display. But hurry....they're more than half gone already!

via debbiedesigns.typepad.com

Just Rite is doing a blog hop with easy last minute gift ideas. What a great way to use your Just Rite Stampers (still a few left at PE), clear paint tins (at PE) and Spellbinder dies (at PE also) to create personal inexpensive gifts. Great for Teacher gifts, mailman gifts, hostess gifts, neighbour gifts etc. Instructions here on Debbiedesigns blog.

When Marilee brought this gorgeous advent calendar into the store last week....well, I was simply blown away! Her attention to detail and her perfectly placed embellishments absolutely blew me away!

She used the advent calendar box by Kaisercraft and then painted, embellished, blinged, glittered, layered, and anything else you can imagine...she did it! Can you imagine receiving something like this for a gift?! Simply fabulous :-)

I asked Marilee for a quick blurb of her process and here's what she had to share...

"This was the kit from Kaisercraft.  It came as a flat pack that had to be separated and the edges sanded to remove the “blips” from the way they were cut.  I did not use acrylic paints on the wood as I thought that the liquid might cause the MDF to swell and not fit in the pre-cut slots, so I bought some spray enamel paint to use and then sanded between coats to give it a nicer finish.  The little boxes were made of chipboard and also came flat, unassembled which made painting the insides easier.I made up one of the small boxes and then wrapped it like a Christmas gift and then used the creases to design a template for my Silhouette so that every box would be cut and covered the exact same way – it was easier than trying to cut each one by hand.

I don’t really remember what the papers were other than they were what you had in store that was foil and shiny and a couple of scrap pieces that I had in my stash. I glued in a piece of flocked snowflake vellum because I didn’t like the blank section behind the picture frame and I thought that it would just have a more finished look.  I also glued a full 12 x 12 piece of Christmas paper to the back to cover up the slots that the shelves etc were glued into.

I bought an acrylic picture frame with a magnet on the back and glued in a metal disc so that the picture could be changed out each year.  The stars were just from the dollar store I think and the Fa-la-la I found at Michael’s and then cut and glued a couple brackets on the back so that it would stand up.

The numbers(chipboard) came with the kit and I spray-painted them with the same paint that I used on the MDF frame but I also bought some silver glitter Thickers because the red numbers didn’t show up well on some of the papers with red backgrounds. Then I put some decorations on each of the boxes to glitz them up a bit and added pearl around the frame. I probably made it a whole lot more work than needed to be done but you know me...a little over the top!"

Wouldn't this make a wonderful gift as a baby's first Christmas present?! Or a stunning display on your side board in the dining room.These advent calendars are currently out of stock, but if you email me at kate@photoexpressions.ca and let me know that you want one, I'll be sure to call you as soon as they're back in stock.

Thank you so much for sharing, Marilee!

Looking for a unique Christmas card? Here's Kate's idea! The perfect way to remind people to focus on the real 'reason for the season'. Or use it as an invitation for an afternoon tea to celebrate friendship during this crazy time of year.

And remember, we're here to help you out with the stress of the season! We have tons of different gift ideas for everyone in your life, from kids to grandparents. We can set up a wish list for you, take care of shopping orders over the phone, and we'll even gift wrap your order for free!

It's that time of year, when parents squat their way to the front of the school gym to get a picture of their little angel, battling bad angles, low lighting and elbows all the way.  Here are some tips for great Christmas concert photos:

• Bump up the ISO.  ISO settings affect a photo in 2 ways: how much light is let into the camera, and how much "noise" will appear in the picture.  A higher ISO setting will let in more light and also allow more noise (noise appears as random coloured dots).  I would personally rather have a sharper picture with a bit of noise than a smooth, blurry picture.  So take your camera off "Auto" or "100" ISO and try changing it to "400" (or maybe 800 or 1600 if you know your camera can handle it).  Make sure to change it back after!
• Get as close as possible.  You know all those parents who sneak up to the front row to get pictures of their children?  They are doing a good thing.  Christmas concerts tend to be dark, so you need to be as close as possible for your pictures to turn out.
• Zoom with the feet.  You might be tempted to use your big zoom from the back of the gym, but keep in mind that the more you zoom in, the less light reaches the camera, and the more your hand movements are multiplied, which can lead to blurring.  You are best to crawl up the aisles.
• Got image stabilization (usually called IS, OIS or VR)?  Use it!  What a great invention this is.  It counteracts the shakiness of your hands to create sharper images.
• Here is the Flash Rule: if you are within - oh, say - 20 feet of your subject, flash will make your picture look better.  If you are further than 20 feet from your subject, flash can actually make your picture look worse!  Beware the folly of distant flash!

In the 2 photos below, I used a camera that can shoot 1600 ISO no problem.  It's really a matter of preference in this case.  The flash photo (top) freezes the action while casting some shadows on the back wall.  The high-ISO photo (below) allows for some movement and takes on the characteristics of the gymnasium lights.  Realistically, in a Christmas concert setting I'd be happy with either one because they are sharp and capture the moment!

200 ISO with flash - about 20 feet away

 
1600 ISO without flash 

• One last tip. If you can - sit in the front row.  That's how I got the picture below! (and I used flash).

Trust us with your Memories,
Ron C

I have been flipping through a couple of magazines lately and have found myself looking at some of the layouts and thinking “You know, I wish I could get more people to realize that they too can create the same layouts that are published, in their own scrapbooks!”  So I have decided to prove to you guys that page maps are really easy to follow and more importantly … “scrap lifting” is perfectly legal and such an easy and inspirational way to get your pages done!

This first installment is taken from a page that Ali Edwards just had published in the November 2009 issue of Creating Keepsakes.  For the most part, her layout is all white with a hint of blue in her title. I liked how really simple her page was but at the same time it packed a visual punch.  I decided that I wanted to re-create it. 

So I recruited Renee and, using the silver glitter paper from Best Creations, she cut the giant snowflake for my first page using the Silhouette.  I used the stores snowflake dies and our die cut center to cut the smaller snowflakes for my second page.  I used the “Storybook” alphabet for “SNOW” and the “Stardust” alphabet for “Angels” (both alphabets from QuickKutz), added a little pink bling and some gorgeous pictures of my two girls and my nieces and DONE!

See, now wasn't that easy?! Stay tuned for more scraplifting ideas soon!

~ Tanya ~