I am so excited!! I am participating in my first cookie swap in about 15 years. I guess my kids are finally at the age that I can lolSo, I googled and pinterested my little heart out and rested on this one. If you participate in a cookie swap, I hope you will post your recipes in the gallery - that would be a lot of fun, plus, we can look at them calorie free!! *bonus!In this recipe, after I dip each ball in chocolate, I then dip it in the extra Oreo powder to look like coal. This is the only coal I'm hoping to get this year!!Here, I used a new upcoming Froggy Favorites kit by Just Jaimee called Merry - look for it to arrive December 15th! It's so much fun!! Enjoy! … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2017
Creating Snow in Photoshop & PSE
Hello everyone! I don't know about you, but we got some awesome snow this weekend in the Southern part of the United States. Growing up in the north, I have really missed the sight of snow in December - so the winter storm was an unexpected pleasure. I took several photos of the snowfall, and I thought it would also be so cool to create this effect in Photoshop. It turns out that there is a very simple way of creating digital snow that works in both Photoshop and PSE. Here is a peek at the technique in practice: How did I create this effect? There are actually several ways to create create digital snow. You can use round brushes (playing with the jitter and opacity settings), create your own scattered snow brushes or create some random snow flakes with a couple of filters. This last method is probably the quickest of all of them, and is the … [Read more...]
CCM: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Can you believe that this is the last CCM of the year? Where has 2017 gone? As expected, this month's CCM is all about Christmas and totally fun!I love all of the Christmas colors, and the super whimsical elements included in this kit! This is just the main kit! There are a bunch of great Add-Ons by the designers to check out too! The main kit is $11.99 this weekend and all Add-Ons are 20% off. If you decide to SUBSCRIBE to Create Crate Monthly, the cost of the kit is $8.99 and Add-Ons are 35% off! That sounds like a bargain to me!I have a thing for Christmas kits, so I picked this up right away and was able to put together this awesome layout.I also saw this layout by Ellen, which I fell in love with.There is just so much awesome layering and shadowing on this layout. I literally can't even. Plus, these layouts are only the beginning. Don’t waste any more … [Read more...]
Finishing Touches
Hello all my artsy friends! I am dropping in with a quick tip on how to add the perfect finishing touch to shaped template elements. Have you ever noticed how the shaped elements such as word strips in designer kits always look perfectly finished? Or how they never look that good when you try to make them yourself? There is a secret to achieving this look that involves adding an inner glow around the shape. This trick works great with shaped elements in templates like these from Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs (which are currently on sale in The Lilypad Store): Here is how that template looks dressed up with the latest release by Little Butterfly Wings (A December to Remember): I used the inner glow effect on the tree and related elements to the right side of the page. Here is how I did it: 1. First merge the shaped layer and … [Read more...]
Free Christmas Printables
Wheeeee! It's my second favorite time of the year (Fall is in first place lol) --- but hey, I sure do love the fun spirit of the holidays!! So for extra fun, I created TWO free printables for yall!I used by December Storyteller 2014 by Just Jaimee for this fun project: and Wrapped Up by Little Butterfly Wings for this one: Have a great holiday! … [Read more...]
December Challenges
Hello and happy December everyone! Polly Karen here and I’m here with an at-a-glance look to show off the 8 monthly challenges that the Challenge Polly’s have created for this month. Each month we have 8 brand new challenges that are posted in the forum Challenge Pad on the 1st (the BYOC Challenge is posted on the 1st Friday of the month.) You can use the challenges simply to inspire you to keep creating new layouts OR you can also earn yourself a fabulous coupon for your next shopping trip in the Lilypad Store. (2 challenges = 10%, 4 challenges = 20% and 6 challenges = 30%). Those who complete at least 7 challenges will be entered in a drawing for a $50 gift certificate! Isn’t that an awesome prize?!?! You’ll get lots of great memories captured in your scrapbooks AND you could win a fat GC prize!!! Woo-hoo! So let’s take a look at this month’s new batch of challenges!1. … [Read more...]