Photocowgirl

Template GiveAway From PhotoCowGirl

2011-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!!

How are you all doing???

It has been really quiet all around and I hope everybody is doing great and having good time scrapping...

The flu has been going around and slowing down life: hard to create, design and all when you are sick!!!

As mention in previous post, PhotoCowGirl is hard at work on a new kit release and while we are all waiting patiently she is doing another giveaway: WOOT, WOOT!!!

Here is what a lucky winner will get:

Do you like it and want to win???

Then just live a comment below ...

For additional chances, go check-out those great forums:

Good luck everyone!!!

Until nextime.

Sincerely, fdgtgrl

Happy Digi Scrap'n ;-)

Post iNSD

2011-05-09T10:24:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone and happy Monday ;-)
How was your weekend ???
Did you all participate in the iNSD happening ???
There was so much going on and so much goodies going around you sure must have strike this good deal somewhere ...
And how about all those Speed Scrap and other great challenges: did you participate in any ???

I did end-up being able to participate yesterday only but got quite a full little basket of goodies and even participate in the Speed Scrap challenge at GingeScraps.
I used one of the template and 3 paper from PhotoCowGirl kit Barren Beauty and it came out amazing (I think: LOL)

So, what about you ???
How was your weekend ???

Now that all the craziness has passed by with Easter and this iNSD weekend, we should be back on a more regular schedule and start new giveaway and contest ...
For sure a beautiful new kit is in the making ;-)
So keep on checking us regularly, you wouldn't like to miss any happening here at PhotoCowGirl ...
Mean while, do share with us what you did this past weekend and while you are at it, let us know what giveaway you would like to see or maybe you have an idea of a cool contest we could do ...

Until next time.
Sincerely, fdgtgrl
Happy Digi Scrap'n ;-)

Kit Giveaway ... WINNER !!!

2011-05-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

Very fast ...

The winner is: Kate Ling

Please contact us so we can send you the link to the store with a coupon code for your price: Thank you and felicitation.

For everybody else, another chance to win is coming around the corner so check back often ;-)

Sincerely, fdgtgrl
Until next time
Happy Digi Scrap'n ;-)

Kit Giveaway ...

2011-04-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

PhotoCowGirl is hard at work on a new kit ... and let me tell you: it is going to be a BEAUTY !!!

While we wait for this exciting release, we have another giveaway for you ;-)
This nice sweet kit is one of our CT favorite ... and it isn't hard to unterstand why ... LOOK !!!

How do you like it ???
What if I tell you that this mini kit is the price we are giving away ...

LOL !!! Do I have your attention ???
Then leave a comment telling us which will be the subject of the LO you would scrap if you would to be the winner (ie: baby birth, wedding, birthday, valentine day ... please do tell us a story)

A winner will be chosen via Random.org sunday night around 10pm PST ... Good luck to all !!!

Until next time, sincerely, fdgtgrl
Happy Digi Scrap'n ;-)

And the winner is ...

2011-04-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I'm late !!!
I was planing on giving the result this morning but work got the best of me :-/ But on a good note it allowed more people to participate ;-)

DRUM ROLL !!! ... ... ...
And the winner is: MariaS

Congratulation MariaS :-)
I hope you enjoy your winning.

For everyone else, if you would like to have this "Down the Line Templates", you are welcome to grab it at the Store ...
As you use it to create beautiful LOs, don't forget to share them with us by emailing to: layout_stars@yahoo.com

Here are a few LOs from our CT to ignite some inspiration in case you were to draw a blank, just in case ...

By agrievingmommy using:

This great templates from PhotoCowgirl: Down the Line Templates
Kit called Toys for Boys by mandabean and zoe pearn

By missdamsel using:
Kit: October Haze by Modern June Creations
Template: Down the Line Template 3 by Photo Cow Gir

By sladd79054 using:
Kit: Everyday Happenings collab between Misty O'Brien Designs and Spinky Dink Scraps
Kit: Everyday Happenings Grab Bag Add on by Misty O'Brien Designs
Template: Down The Line Template by photocowgirl

Until next time, Happy Digi Scrap'n ...
Sincerely, fdgtgrl

Template Pack Giveaway

2011-04-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

Are you a template lover? If you answered yes then be sure to enter this giveaway. PhotoCowGirl is giving away her Down The Line Template Pack to two lucky winners. one winner here on her blog and the other at DST. The winners will be chosen using random.org. To be entered you must leave a comment here and the winner will be announced on Friday, April 22nd. Good luck to everyone and I hope everyone has a nice Easter weekend.

Love Me Some Templates

2011-04-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, fdgtgrl here.

So, how do you like the new release: "Denim Crush" ?

Did you get your copy already?
NO!!! Then click here and go to the store now: the kit and templates pack are 20% off ...

I personally love it and got inspired. The template especially helped me create the following LO.

Program: PSE-8
Credit: PhotoCowGirl "Denim Crush" kit & template
Photos: by Virgil Vidal

Templates are the reason why I particularly like PhotoCowGirl's work.
Kits are nice and all but at times even if they are beautiful, one still draw a blank as how to use them ...
Templates can juste give you that spark you need to get started ... and they are PhotoCowGirl specialty!!!

Here is one of my favorite: "Layers of Happiness Template Bundle"

By the way, this bundle is on sale too ;-)

Here are some LO from our CT members:

By Athena

Credits: PhotoCowGirl
Template: "Layers of Happiness (multiple photo)"

Kit: "Barren Beauty"

By Deanna
Kit: "Outta Control" by Meagan's Creations
Template: "Layers of Happiness (multiple photo)" by PhotoCowGirl

By jrmminga
Kit: "Because I Love You" from Pretty In Green Designs
Template: "Layers Of Happiness (single photo)" from PhotoCowGirl

Which template is your favorite ?
Share your LOs inspired by PhotoCowGirl's template by posting a link of them in the comment thread ;-)

Until next Friday, Happy Digi Scrap'n ;-)
fdgtgrl

Oldie But Goodie

2011-04-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to revisit an older template pack from Photocowgirl. How many of you have Room To Journal Template Pack? If you are a template addict like I am you have so many templates that you forget what you have and what you don't. So why not dig through them and pull out this set and shake the dust off of them and create some new layouts with them. If you don't have these in your stash head over to Amanda's store at GS and put them up. Template preview is linked to her store. If you do have this set you can still check out the store and check out some of the newer templates to add to your every growing template collection. For those of you who don't have these templates or those that do but need some inspiration here are a couple of layouts that I found in the gallery.

First Christmas Sweet baby Girl is by californiateri. She used Room to Journal Template Pack by Photocowgirl. Kit by Verena Karolyi called A Christmas Carol. Misc. red glitter paper on frames by Jen yurko. The font used is Pristina.

Where's Alice? is created by kathleena using Room to Journal Template Pack by Photocowgirl. Alice by Brittney of Britt-ish Designs and CK Ali's Hand font.

I'd love to see your layouts with products by Photocowgirl. Send them to layout_stars@yahoo.com with Photocowgirl in the subject line.

Denim Crush

2011-04-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the full preview for the Denim Crush Kit and Templates - on sale for 20% off through the weekend.

Denim Crush Kit

Denim Crush Templates

and congrats to Njos Family and Scrappingramma for winning the kit and templates!

Check out some of my CT's gorgeousness:
by Angela

by Deanna

by Joy

Denim Crush Sneak Peek and Chance To Win

2011-04-06T19:24:00.001-07:00

I have a new kit and template pack releasing Friday. It's called Denim Crush - for all those crushes in your life - men, jeans, and caffeine...:)

I'm giving away 2 kit/template combos. One here on my blog and one here at dst. For a chance to win on my blog just leave a little comment telling me who or what your crush is and I'll use random.org to choose a winner when the new release is announced Friday. Speaking of announcements, I have a couple of awesome ladies that are going to start helping me with blog posts so there will be lots more fun giveaways!

And...for one more little tease, check out these pretty pages:
by Tiffany (Using Squared Templates)

by Missy

My Dream Wedding Kit, New Templates, and a freebie!

2011-02-24T09:48:00.001-08:00

I'm so excited - By Becca at Ninth and Bloom (one of my design heroes!) is releasing a wedding kit this Friday inspired by my baby sister! I can't believe Ashton will be married in June! Becca was so superly awesome to make the main kit in Ashton's wedding colors.

I know Gaw-geous, right?!!!!

Check out the 3 add on packs too:

and even more AWESOME:
Becca also has an amazing offer for you to have a beautiful custom colored kit of your own!

I'm using Ashton's kit to make her entire wedding album and bridal shower invites - now that's my money's worth per page! Here's my first 2 pages I made of photos of her and her fiance right after they met:

I am also releasing 2 special template packs in my Ginger Scraps store inspired by my sister's album. They are 20% off this weekend.
Layers of Happiness (Multi-Photo)

Layers of Happiness (Single Photo)

or you can save even more and grab them in the bundle.

And, finally, Becca put together an awesome blog train for you!

To stay on the blog train, please follow along to Biancka's Blog where there is another goody waiting for you! There are several timezones involved so please be patient if a post is not up yet, it will be shortly.

If you get lost, you can go here to see the full list.

Here's my contribution:

Enjoy the template - it comes in PSD, Tiff and PNG files.
DOWNLOAD

Wild About You Templates 2

2011-02-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Introducing Wild About You Templates 2. 20% off this week!

and Ginger Scraps is having a special $1 sale for Valentine's Day. Lots of fun goodies hand selected for sale to celebrate!

Blog Train Freebie and All Sorts of Goodness!

2011-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

Happy First of February - can't believe I can say that - where does the time go?
I have all sorts of exciting things to share with you today! First up is the GingerScraps Bake Sale. We have a great selection of $1 goodies - including a bunch of new releases for the "Buffet" - a whole bunch of coordinating minis, alpha, etc. Here are my previews:
Mini

Word Art and Clusters

Also, I wanted to remind you about my newest template pack - a collab with Marshmella Designs. Her templates so rock - I love the polka dots she added!
Singled Out

and I just love this gorgeous page made by CT Stacy with one of the Singled Out Templates and my kit Lil Bit Country. Aren't her pictures just perfection!?

And woo-hoo Blog Train time!
You should be arriving here from Brandi White Designs And (finally) here's my freebie (There are actually 2 other papers not pictured - trust me they are yummy:))
4shared

Now head on over to Maggie May Designs by Laura Boetto to pick up your next fabulous freebie! If you get lost along the way, you can get caught up here.

Template Collab!

2011-01-27T12:22:00.000-08:00

Check out my first ever collab - Singled Out Templates - with Marshmella Designs - Grab it quick while it is on sale - a super deal - 10 templates for $5!

Wild About You Templates and Freebie

2011-01-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

I've been having a little fun with Valentine's Day around the corner. First I want to show you my newest template pack - Wild About You. A little jungle flair, a little wildness and a lot of love. You can always trade out the hearts for any element that you choose. Grab them 20% off this week!

Inspiration
by Angela using A Constant Yearning by Designs by Helly

by Photocowgirl using Chocolate Kisses Buffet coming to GS 2/2

And your freebie - Tunnel of Love Template

4shared
Thought this template would be super fun. As with all my templates, I would love to see what you do with it. Be sure to upload to my gallery - I promise I'll come leave you some love!

Barren Beauty Bundle and Freebie

2011-01-14T13:04:00.000-08:00

Get my newest release on sale 25% off all week or buy the bundle and save even more!
Bundle

Kit

Clusters

Templates

Word Art

Inspiration:

and a freebie:

4shared

Day 3 sale and freebie

2011-01-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of my Design Anniversary. Today is the last day of my 50% off sale!
You can find my GS store here

Your freebie today is a lowercase metal alpha (it coordinates with my new bundle, Barren Beauty, releasing next week). For a sneak peek, here's a page I made with it and Kathy Winter's Winter Wonderland Word Art (You also so want to check out Kathy's fab store - she's having a sale too!)

Your Freebie!

4shared

Party Day 2 Sale and Freebie

2011-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of my Design Anniversary kicks off today! You can still pick up yesterday's freebie template and my store is still 50% until 1/9!
You can find my GS store here

Here's your freebie for today - some fancy grungy paint splats - with a little bling - enjoy!

4shared

Happy Design Birthday to Me - sale plus freebies!

2011-01-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe I've been designing a year...well minus the months I took off to move and have a baby! Come celebrate with me - My entire store is 50% off 1/7 - 1/9, plus check out my blog all weekend for some great freebies!
Click here to visit my Ginger Scraps store

Freebie #1

4shared

My Favorite Pages and a freebie

2010-12-31T06:47:00.000-08:00

My newest templates are inspired by some of my favorite pages - hence the name:) Get them this week for 20% off!

Inspiration:

Kit: So Big by Marshmella Designs

Kits: Girly Girl by MandyMade and Dainty by HK Designs

And your freebie

4shared
You can also grab it from my store here
Here's some inspiration

Kit: Autumn Whispers by HK Designs

Pony Kit and Freebie Alpha

2010-12-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here's my newest kit, I Heart Ponies. A little different style for me, but I just had to have a cutesie pony kit for my dd and couldn't find one. I made sure to add plenty of blues and greens so you can scrap boy pages with the kit too. There's also a coordinating wood carved alpha for you free at the bottom of the post - enjoy!

A couple of pages for inspiration:

and you don't just have to use it for pony pages...

4shared

New Templates and Freebie!

2010-12-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Fellow Scrapbook Addicts,
I am super excited to share with you my newest template pack! I just love masks so I thought why not combine them with the clustering I also love? So here they are - Like Em Big Templates 2 - for all those gorgeous pics you just have to show off:

And if you hurry, you can nab them this week for 20% off!

Here's a little inspiration I've gathered for you:

by Deanna
Credits: Christmas Jingle Collaboration by Kathy Winters Designs and LauraMarie Scraps, Dear Santa... Word Art by Kathy Winters Designs

by Ella
Kit: Winter's Kiss by P'tit Studio Katia

by Lisa
Kit: Be Thankful by Marshmella Designs

by Missi
Kit: Happy Holidays P365 by Pretty in Green

and 2 by me:
Kit: Best Pals by HK Designs

Kit: Secrets by Marshmella

Finally, I have a little freebie for you - a cluster template in PSD format:

4shared

Exciting Oppotunity and Template Freebie

2010-12-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ziggle Designs and SuzyQ Scraps at Scrap Orchard have this awesome exciting opportunity for you to document YOU called Project Love Me. They will have a new kit every month along with templates, word art, and clusters. They even have journal prompts planned to make it oh so easy. At the end of the year you'll have enough pages for a book and 12 awesome kits! What a great memento to leave for family.
You can grab this awesome deal here

and if that's not cool enough, you can grab it at an even bigger discount by purchasing before 12/8!

Here's the sneak peek of the first kit

I know awesome! I am so in love with this kit - one of my all time favs!
Also, here's a page I made with the kit and Carly's (Queen of Hearts) fab template pack (releasing at dsb tomorrow):

You can check out the Project Love Me blog here
and finally, here's a little template freebie for you. You can pick up my templates at Ginger Scraps.

Download 4shared

November Blog Train

2010-10-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy with my little family and new house lately I haven't had much time to design, but it was fun to take a little creative vacation for this month's blog train!

and while I've got time to make a blog post, here's a preview of my newest template pack in my store at Ginger Scraps:

and of course my little contribution to the November Blog Train. Hope you enjoy!

4shared

You should have arrived here from Creations Pasko
and now you need to head over to HotFlashDesigns
and don't forget if you get lost you can find your way from the blog train headquarters here

I'm Back with a Freebie Template!

2010-06-18T14:34:00.001-07:00

I've spent the last 2 months moving...I know 2 months...what was I doing all that time...?

I'm finally back to designing and to celebrate here's a little freebie for you

4shared

May Blog Train and NSD Sale

2010-04-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

My store 40% off through Sunday!

and your blog train freebie:

4shared

If you get lost, the master list for all the blogs is here.

You are now headed to the fabulously awesome Teri of Teri's Thing-O-My-Jigs

NSD Sale and Freebie Cluster Frame!

2010-04-29T16:50:00.000-07:00

Check out the huge NSD sale at Ginger Scraps! 3 days only:

and a cluster frame freebie for you from a new kit I'm working (slowly) on :)

4shared

Win My Store Winner and Limited Edition Template Pack

2010-04-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry...I have been trying to reply to the Win My Store Post Comments, and for some reason cannot, so hopefully everyone checks here:)!

Rebecca was chosen by random.org to win my store - Congrats Rebecca - check your messages at GS. Thank you all for playing along - I loved seeing your beautiful layouts!

And just for being such awesome blog followers, here's a coupon for 20% off good until April 30th:
Coupon Code: blogfan410

And finally I'm moving into a new house so to celebrate, you can get this huge template pack, with all my templates in store now, at GS for $6 - for the next 2 weeks only and then it's gone and you will have to buy all the packs separately!

New Templates, Freebie, and Autism Cause

2010-03-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

I have a new template pack in stores! Extreme Cluster Templates - for fun and easy clustering:

Some pages I made with them:

CREDITS: All by Studio Gypsy: Indigo Spring collab with EM Designs, Handiwork Papers, Gypsy Rose collab with Studio Rosy Posey, Fiesty Frames, Flirty Flamingo, Glitter Splash Bleached, Glitter Slash Original, Glitter Glaze Strips, Glitter Stamped Alpha, Clean Canvas

CREDITS: Indigo Spring collab with EM Designs and Studio Gypsy

And...In case you haven't heard... Misty O'Brien is raising money for Autism. Check out her blog here... donate and get a coupon to her store! Fab reward for a great cause!

Finally, a little freebie for you, a cluster frame made with Lil Bit Country:

4shared

Win My Store Contest and Freebie Template

2010-03-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to win my store! All you have to do is make a layout using one of my templates (you can get one from my store or you can grab a freebie one off here), post it to the gallery at Ginger Scraps, and link it back here in the comments section. I will randomly select a winner who will be given access to my entire store until April 31. The deadline to submit your layout is April 3.

Here's a freebie template to use if you want (you may use any of my templates):

1. Create a layout with a template by Photocowgirl
2. Upload to the Ginger Scraps Gallery
3. Link layout to the comments here
4. Random winner chosen April 3, to win my store!

Introducing My CT

2010-03-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

So excited to announce my awesomely talented CT:
Martina

"Lil Bit Country" by Photocowgirl
Vanessa

"Charity" by Dream Big Designs
Stacy

"Happy Go Lucky" by Kristin Cronin-Barrow
Deanna

unknown
Caits

"Poprox & Lollipops" by Amy Stoffell
Jackie

"Contempo Yellow" by Jacabean Designs
Athena

"Everyday Happenings" from Misty O'Brien and Spinky Dink
A Grieving Mommy

"One Fine Day" by Kristi W Designs
Angela

"Junk Yard" by Holliewood Studios
Lynn

"Be an Arteest" by TMA Designs
D@mour
Scrapaholic09
Tayna.72

New Kit, FWP Templates and Freebie Wood Alpha

2010-03-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to show you my newest kit, Lil Bit Country! A little worn. A little vintage. Full of a youth. Perfect for heritage layouts, scrapping your children playing outdoors, or for showing off those precious baby photos. Bonus 4 Free With Purchase Quilt Templates - PSD format. And best of all it's 20% off this week here!

Lil Bit Country

and The Papers

Bonus Templates

My CT totally rocked this kit, I don't want to slow down the page loading too much so here's just a few...
pewtertm

Lynn

Majula

I even had time to make a page

And finally, a "Lil" Freebie, an alpha that coordinates with Lil Bit Country.

4shared

2 New Template Packs and a Freebie

2010-03-18T07:57:00.000-07:00

I have 2 new template products releasing this week!

Messy Text Templates
4 PSD templates with lots of text, white space and clustering. Add a little variety to your template arsenal. Journal here. Journal there. Journal everywhere!

Pick them up HERE

Clip It Spring
9 png templates to create a die cut look on your papers. Spring themed. Just place a template on the layer over your background paper. Then place another paper above your template and clip it to your template (right click on the paper layer, select group with previous). Shadow the template layer and easy as that - die cut papers without the mess.

Pick them up HERE

and a freebie template for you on 4SHARED

ENJOY!

New Template Pack and Template Freebie!

2010-03-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

My newest template pack is based off my original scrapping style. I loved my pictures big and beautiful across the page. It was refreshing to use a few of these and see my pages with giant pictures. So here's the preview of Like 'Em Big. You can grab it here for 20% off this week!

Here's a page I made with one of the templates and So Lucky:

and your freebie (This was also in my Twitter Grab Bag so if you have that, this will be a duplicate).
for S4H and PU:

4Shared

Shine On Blog Train Freebie

2010-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Well, you are here for the blog train, but what sort of designer would I be if I didn't have a few shameless plugs:). So here's a couple previews of my template packs:

and one of my favorite kits:

and a special bonus just for dropping by my blog - take an extra 30% off anything in my store!
coupon code: bloglove
expires: March 5th
and now for your freebie:
My little somethin' - enjoy!

4shared

You should have arrived here from
BooLand Designs - http://boolanddesign.blogspot.com/
and now you are headed to
Jewelscraps - http://jewelscraps.blogspot.com

Free Grab Bag!

2010-02-15T11:48:00.000-08:00

Just come follow me (Photocowgirl) on Twitter...all followers get an awesome Grab Bag loaded with 3 templates, an alpha, papers, and a coupon you can't beat!

Grand Opening Sale, Charity Collab, and a Freebie!

2010-01-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

My store grand opening is this Friday at Ginger Scraps! The whole week is going to be full of games, free kits, and coupons storewide.
Plus my store will be 50% off until February 3rd!

Here are a couple of my favorite goodies hitting the store:
I Am With You Full Kit
buy it here

Layouts

Room to Journal Template Pack
buy it here

Layouts
by Majula

by Kathleena

One Love Charity Collab
I was blessed with being able to help with a couple quickpages for the One Love Charity collab. The collab is to raise money for the earthquake victims in Haiti. You can get all the details and this fab kit at Scrap Orchard.

And Finally, the freebie

I Am With You inspirational word art
grab it free from 4shared

Final Round - Freebie and Collab Sale at Scrap Orchard

2009-12-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder, Scrap Orchard
is having a huge 50% off sale - a different designer every day.

The final round of the designer contest at Ginger Scraps is finally here! What a great Christmas present it would be if I became an official designer.

My week 4 kit, Wild at Heart

You can download the first set of papers here
and get the whole kit here

Round 3 and a Freebie

2009-12-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

I made it to Round 3 in the Ginger Scraps Designer Contest. My third round kit "Before prince charming" was inspired by "White Horse" by Taylor Swift. The song made me think of all the dark parts of the classic fairytales - before prince charming arrives. This kit is for all the princesses out there - especially if they don't always feel like one. Never give up on your dreams because one day "prince charming" will arrive.

Here's the preview:

My page with it:

You can download the papers from 4shared here

and pick up the rest of the kit at Ginger Scraps here

Big sale, Round 2 and a freebie mini kit

2009-12-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

Scrap Orchard is having an awesome sale all month. A new store is on sale and there's a freebie brag book page each day until Christmas - so check back often. Today is a super mega sale. And here's the rest of the sale flyer:

Also, Stolen Moments is doing a daily download on her ct blog for the first half of the month. It's an awesome kit, as always, so you don't want to miss a day.

Finally, I made it to round 2 in the designer contest at Ginger Scraps. To be fair, they let us all through, but excited anyway.

Here's a preview of my Round 2 kit, "White Out"

and a page I did with it...I just looove monochromatic layouts.

You can find the download links here (click the link and scroll down to the details).

Hope you enjoy all the Christmas goodies!
~Photocowgirl

Designer Contest and Mini Kit Freebie

2009-11-25T07:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm mostly just a scrapper, but I've been playing around in Photoshop Elements lately and decided to join in on the GingerScraps Designer Call/Challenge....mostly at the urging of my dh who insists that if I'm going to spend so much time scrapbooking, I should at least try to make money...but I have really enjoyed it:)

For our first challenge we were given 2 color palettes to choose from. I was inspired to do a rustic themed kit. I decided to name it Small Town Girl. If you do a layout with it, I would LOVE to see it. Also, any constructive criticism greatly appreciated - I can use all the help I can get.

Here's my kit preview:

and a layout I made with it:

and finally you can find the download links here.

Enjoy!

Want some more great freebie minis? Check out the rest of the challenge gallery at www.gingerscraps.net

Look at me:) and a freebie

2009-11-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

I'm trying my hand at designing...well sort of. I've been playing around with a kit inspired by my struggles with anxiety. Here are a few of the pages I've made with it...although it's still a work in progress...

And a little freebie for personal use only:

Download here

Great new kits and a Freebie

2009-11-07T15:26:00.000-08:00

Stolen Moments has a packin' Grab Bag in honor of DSD. So many fun goodies!
Here's a little sneak peak from a layout I got to do with it:

You can grab up the grab bag here

Also, Tracie Stroud has two new adorably awesome boy and girl kits
Boy (collab with Studio Flergs) here and girl here

And now that my work will really look dull in comparison, I tried my hand at designing for the color challenge at Enchanted Studio Scraps. There's a good reason I'm not a designer, but here's my free little mini for personal use:

Download from 4shared

I even got a chance to make a page about my dd with it:)

A Little Spacey Blog Train

2009-10-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Stolen Moments and Simply Scraps CT has put together an awesome blog train for you using "A Little Spacey" a collab with Stolen Moments and Simply Scraps.
Check out the preview, and you can pick up this awesome kit here:

Here's what I did with the kit - I had so much fun with all the space elements:

Finally, my contribution, a border cluster:

Click here to download it from 4shared. Enjoy and don't forget to hit the other stops along the way.

Here's the blogroll:

Stolen Moments: Amber -- http://stolenmomentsdesign.blogspot.com/
Simply.Scraps: Laura -- http://www.simply-scraps.net/
Yolanda -- http://yoli-scraps.blogspot.com
Bree -- http://breezybutterflycreations.blogspot. com
Niki -- http://onceuponascraptime.blogspot.com
Aimee -- http://polkadotscrapper.blogspot.com/
Lisa -- http://aprilisadesigns.blogspot.com
Jen -- http://jensscrapjournal.blogspot.com
Kim -- http://kim21673.wordpress.com
Lori -- http://bearycutecreations.blogspot.com
Jewelle -- http://jewelleslayouts.blogspot.com
Amanda -- http://photocowgirl.blogspot. com/
Keyr -- http://dreamsinspired.blogspot.com/
Kate: Stolen Moments CT Blog -- http://stolenmomentsct.blogspot.com

You should be headed to Keyr next

If you get lost along the way head back here

Please keep in mind the time zone differences if not everyone's blog train is posted yet and Enjoy!

Free Template!

2009-10-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce that I am a new Supreme Team Member at Go Digital Scrapbooking, and I get to host the Scraplift Challenge this month! Head on over to GDS and play along to receive the free template below!

Ziggle Creative Team Brag Book Blog Train and New Release!

2009-09-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Ziggle Designs and Tracie Stroud are releasing a new kit today, Lovey Dovey. It's so fresh and girly with a ton of fun elements. Just click on the preview to go straight to the store!

I used it here to scrap about my horse:

And now for the blog train...
Here's my brag book page for you using Gathering Leaves by Ziggle Designs. Just click the image to download it from 4shared. Enjoy and don't forget to pick up the other awesome pages on the train. If you get lost you can check back in at Ziggle Designs blog Your next stop is Neeceebee: http://denisebeattyoriginals.blogspot.com/

Get the Shot

2009-09-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

This is a basic shot you can get with almost any camera - and no expensive lighting equipment.

We were in the middle of town...without a lot clean background choices so we chose to work in the street. The shot needed a little clean up, but it took only a few minutes in PSE. Want to get the shot right in the first place? Here's a great article on choosing the best background.

The big key to this shot is exposure. You are going to need to make sure that you expose for the subject. In a central shot like this, even with your camera in auto, you should be able to lock exposure and focus on the centralized subject by pressing your shutter button halfway. If you are in auto and the subject isn't centered you will run into problems. Want to step out of auto mode? Check out these great tutorials at DPS here.

Setting up the shot:
You will need to make sure the subject is backlit by having them stand in front of a bright source. In this case, the sun (it was about 3 hours after sunrise, but any time before that would work great too). Expose for the subject and click away.
SOOC:

Making the shot pop:
I had a good friend take this shot for me after I set the camera, so I chose to crop tighter and clean up distracting elements in the background. I also increased blacks in camera RAW to add a liitle of the contrast lost to flare. No camera RAW...just adjust the black point on a levels adjustment. I then used the elliptical selection tool set at 250px feather to create a light vignette around the entire shot (on a new layer). I erased most of the vignette that overlapped the subject and used the same color at a low opacity to paint over any other background areas that needed lightening to get this photo here. Finally, I added a gradient map layer set to black and white and decreased the opacity to let a little color show through. I did the same thing with a sepia layer to warm up the shot.
Final Product:

Another variation:
I wanted a second version with a little more grit so I added a texture over the edited version. To add the texture, I opened my image and the texture in PSE. Copy/pasted the texture over my image. Resized the texture to fit by dragging the corners with the move tool, and finally adjusted the blend mode to multiply and decreased the opacity. I did this twice with 2 textures to get the desired results. You can pick up the textures by skeletalmess and pareerica free here:
www.flickr.com/photos/8078381@N03/3817596316/ www.flickr.com/photos/skeletalmess/3331754345/

Final with texture:

You should also play with the blend modes with different textures and images to get the best results. Check out this excellent tutorial on adding texture for a more in depth look and clearer explanation.

Happy Birthday!

2009-08-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

My dd's 2nd Birthday was this month...where did the time go? Here's a layout I did in honor of her special day: Lifted Neeceebee's awesome layout here

Using A Lady Bug Picnic by Steel City Scraps available here

2009-08-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

I tend to spend more time than should be scrapping...lol...
here's one of my favs from this week:

I used "Stop, Drop, & Roll," new this week at Scrap Orchard
by Ziggle Designs (Visit her blog here)
You can get "Stop, Drop, & Roll" here
...and here's the preview:

Introduction and a Photoshop Tutorial (Vintage Bleach Bypass Effect)

2009-08-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I've technically never really blogged before so we are all in for a big "treat". I am a photographer and a digital scrapper, so that is what you will probably get tired of hearing about, but you may find the occassional recipe or story about my crazy family.

Here's a Photoshop Elements Tutorial to get things started:
Vintage Bleach Bypass Effect
sorry it's so vague, but I did this awhile ago for a photography forum and didn't get any screen shots....

...and here's my steps
Processing (PSE 6):
Cloned branches
Added gradient to sky.
Added a bit of noise to gradient (if you don't add noise to the gradient it will band)
and reduced opacity.
Stamp visible (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+e) - Creates new composite layer
dupl. stamp visible
apply sepia effect and screen blending mode to dupl. stamp visible layer
and drag to top of layers palette
Set original Stamp visible layer to overlay blend mode,
Click on top layer and Stamp Visible
Set top stamp visible layer to multiple, erase center for vignette.
Add texture reduce opacity, gaussian blur over subject. Erase center of texture with low opacity eraser.
Wanted a little less saturation, so another stamp visible, sepia effect again. Lowered opacity. Increased contrast lost by texture with levels adjustment
Sharpened using unsharp mask.
Finally save.
PSE takes too much work, but it does get the job done.

Free texture I used, by Les Brumes can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33817682@N07/3255202809/in/set-72157613199718163/

More tips on using textures, actions for PSE, and other tutorials can be found here:
http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/
I love Rita's site...perfect for an Elements Photographer like me because you can use the actions to cut down on the steps.