Blog train time!!

It's time for another blog train!! This month's Color Challenge at BAM (BabyAndMe forums) was hosted by Kaelira, who came up with a very pretty pastel-y palette, perfect for scrapping your Mother's Day photos, your Easter photos, or whatever else you can dream up! :) Here's the palette:


I called my minikit "Spring Flowers." Click on the preview to download!


We each made a minikit with 3 papers and 3 elements, but many of us got carried away and did more than that! So make sure to check back over the next few days. I'll be posting an addon, a CU glitter pack, and an alpha! For now, visit the other BAM designers and leave them some love too! Oh, and if any of the minis aren't up yet, just check back in a while. ;) We're all in very different timezones, but all of the minis should be available within the next 24 hours.

BAM Color Challenge #2 Blog Train!
Kaelira's Digiscraps
geniaBeana Scraps
Digital Designs by Me
Creatively Mom
Creativity Meets Girl
Scrap It Simply
Kimi's Kreations <--- you are here!

A few pretties~

First of all, we had a speed scrap today at BabyAndMe forums (which you frequently hear me refer to as BAM). We were to use white as a background color, and a lot of journaling, and try to use just one color other than neutrals. I used two, but she said at one point that green could count as a neutral, so I guess I'm safe. *lol* Anyway, here's my page:

Credits:
kit - Tracie Stroud's "Snips and Snails" (LOVE this kit)
glitter - BCC1 Glitter Styles by Kimi's Kreations (still available on this blog!)
font - My Own Topher
So, I actually have done quite a bit more than just this one layout in the past couple of days, but I can't post most of it. I have some free photobook credits at Artscow, so I made a lovely little photobook for my sister of her seven darling children. Since they're not my kids I probably shouldn't post them publicly. ;) BUT, one of the layouts used quite a few pictures, and became Template 35!

Additionally, another mommy on the forum asked about my "alpha" used in this layout, and I had whipped up a real alpha for her before I noticed that she asked if I could make it in pink. *lol* So you get THREE freebies today -- two "My Own Topher" alphas and a template!

Topher's Tangerine and TwinkleTopher Alphas
These alphas both use the font "My Own Topher" from Kevin & Amanda. The glitter is from my BAM Color Challenge #1 glitter pack. Simple, but effective. ;) I'm loving this font lately. (Incidentally, if you haven't picked up the glitter yet, you can find it by clicking the "glitter" tag to your right.)

Click on the previews to download! (Two separate links!)


Template 35
This template is a doozy! It's a very versatile two-page, 50-square template, just a little wonky. You can fill all the squares with pictures, or just a few smatterings of pictures among squares of pretty papers. You can turn a few squares off for a "window" to your lovely elements or title work. In the preview, I have turned off a few of the squares layers, but they are all included in the PSD for your toggling pleasure. ;)
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!


...But wait! Don't forget to come back tomorrow~ Late tomorrow evening, the BAM Blogtrain for Color Challenge #2 will be leaving the station! I'll be posting a minikit for you -- with glitter styles, an alpha, and an addon to follow over the next few days! PLUS, you'll get links to all of the other awesome designers at BAM, including a few who were not included in the last blog train! Woot wooooot! See you then!

Has it really been a week?

This past week has absolutely flown by. I'm not sure why. I went through a major scrapping spree early-on, working on the next BAM Color Challenge. Then, I think about mid-week, I found one of my templates on someone else's blog, hacked into a two-pager and claimed as an original. Thanks to Angie (IkeaGoddess), the blog was deleted for copyright violation. In case it's not clear, it is so not okay to take mine or anyone else's templates and/or graphics and claim them as your own. *sigh* Anyway, I got into kind of a funk after that and it took a few days to recover.

But I did! :) Here's one I did for the Altered Candy Challenge at Digital Candy. My alterations were the burnt edges on the cream-colored paper, sanded edges on the flowered paper, and a subtler change -- I flipped the orientation of the silver part of the clip.

Credits:
Modern Neutrals kit and addon by Christie Lemmon Designs

There was also a speed-scrap this week. We got to do a lot of new things, like photomasks and layering/stacking and using brushes. :) Great fun! I also entered this in the Fontastic challenge at Digital Candy. This is my oldest at less than a month old. Isn't he so sweet?

Credits:
kit - "In Dreams" collab by Steel City Scraps and Christie Lemmon Designs
brushes - Obsidian Dawn
photo masks - Gunhild Storeide
fonts - FG Jayne Print and Splurge

Last but not least was the weekly challenge. I doubled-up on this one with the Numbers Challenge at Digital Candy (if you're on DC, you may notice a few slight differences on that one that I had to add to make it work). All the hostess wanted us to do for the BAM challenge was to use some "real" flowers or bits of nature. Easy peasy! :)

Credits:
Most stuff is from "Pure Perfection" by Stolen Moments.
Rubber-bands are from "Playtime" by geniaBeana.
Green glitter is mine, from BAM Color Challenge #1.
LO inspired by geniaBeana. :)

Template 34
This is a 3-photo template with inspiration! You can use any clip you like to hang the photos from a pretty ribbon or string (or rubber band, in my case!). There's also room for some layered papers and plenty of white space. Inspired by the templates of geniaBeana.
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!


That's all for today! In case I don't get back here this next week, keep an eye out next Thursday/Friday for another blog train!! BAM Color Challenge #2 is on its way!! Choo chooooo! That means no less than SEVEN coordinating minikits to download, plus addons from those of us who just didn't know when to stop. And yes that includes me! I will also have a GLITTER PACK to give you! Watch for it!

Collaborative recipe challenge LO and Template 33

For those of you just making your way to my blog, be sure to check this week's post -- I've been template happy and there are a lot of freebies there now. ;)

This was done for BAM's first collaborative recipe challenge. Basically, a random 6 participants each picked a step, one each day for a week, and then we had an extra week to finish. The steps were:
1. Pick 1-3 photos. Make one of these photos the main focus of your page, in whatever way you choose.
2. Choose a color from your photos (one they all have in common) and pick one paper and one element (any element) that is that color or has that color in it.
3. Add something that is a circular shape, a square shape, and a triangle shape. It could be your pictures, an element, papers - your choice!
4. Add three staples, and a string. Put the string under an element.
5. Use an alpha to make one word in your title pop out from the rest. You can use another alpha for the rest, but one word should be totally different and really pop!
6. Add a doodle, copy it somewhere else, you can shrink it or stretch the copy if you need to.

The circle is the string, the square is the papers (okay it's a rectangle, whatever), the star's points are triangle shaped. :D I'm pretty sure everything else is included/obvious.
Credits:
kit - "Fresh Air" by Steel City Scraps
staple - "Front Porch" by Steel City Scraps
font - Pea Kawai

As I usually do with multi-pic layouts, I got right on the ball and made y'all a template from this one. ;)

Template 33
This is a clean and simple one-page template with rounded edges, very thin-edged mats for a touch of color (or white), and only three photos. There's also room for a few papers and plenty of white space for elements and journaling. :)
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!

Speed scrap LO and Template 32!

Yep, another Speed Scrap! :) Tonight's steps included three pictures, certain instructions for clustering, and required use of a bracket and wordart. I should note that I got the idea for my wordart from one I saw online somewhere, but didn't download. I thought it was particularly appropriate to the pictures. We are always warning Richie that someday Andrew will be bigger than he is (most likely, since he was 4 lbs bigger at birth) and he needs to be nicer to him. *lol* Here's my interpretation:

Credits:
Papers - Blast Off collab
Elements - Grosgrain Girl collab by Mel_h, Color with Caryn and ScrappyWeiss Designs
Font - My Own Topher

I then modified this layout into a template for you. Ordinarily I'd wait until the next day, as I try to spread out the freebies, but I don't know how my free time will be tomorrow. So you get lucky tonight. ;)

Template 32
This is a one-page template in PSD format, with room for 5 pictures. Please remember to check the TOU, and be sure to send me a link to any pages you might make with my templates, I'd love to see them and leave you some love!
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!

New LO and Template 31

I participated in this week's Grand Theft LO at ScrapMatters. I love how the page turned out, and I learned/played with some new shadowing techniques. I had no idea you could make your drop shadow into a new layer and mess with it! If I wanted a wonkier shadow, I usually would duplicate the layer, fill it with black, mess with the edges....etc. Took a lot longer! Anyway, here is my LO:

Credits:
The worm extraction is from an actual photo of the worm, but the stick it's sitting on comes in the kit.
kit - "Snips and Snails" by Tracie Stroud
font - My Own Topher

Template 31
This template comes from my "To Love Oneself..." layout. It's a two pager, with room for 7 largeish pictures.
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!

(Edit: Link fixed)

Template 30!

Woot, look at that round number! I don't know when I'm going to get more free time, so you get your template early today. Don't forget to scroll down to the previous post for yesterday's pretty two-pager, and remember to come back tomorrow for #31!

Template 30
Today's template is a one-page, 12x12", crazy mishmash of wonky pictures with mats. There are nine of them squished into one page! I tried to do a layout for you, but ended up wanting to do something different with the pics I had chosen, so you'll have to imagine it for yourself. ;)
6/11/09 - This template has been updated and now includes both the original PSD and new PNG files.

Click on the preview to download!


I'm trying to branch out here and there with my freebies, but sometimes I'm not sure what would be well-received as a standalone freebie. What are you guys interested in? More alphas? Glitter? Standalone elements? Or should I get my butt in gear and release a minikit?