Hi there! This series spills some of the secrets and highlights some theory, problems and solutions behind the amazing scrapbook pages you see in the gallery. Sometimes scrapbooking involves problem solving just as much as creativity and you may find these secrets help you with your own pages, especially if you feel like you are at a roadblock. Nobody’s perfect, some of us just know a few more tricks and soon you will too! ______________________________________________________________________________________________This month in Mixed Media Beginners, I featured photo masks as a way of giving your photo an artsy look and today I'm back with some tips and tricks from myself and other team members and TLP designers for using them on your pages. If you missed it or just want an overview of how to use masks and the different kinds already available in the TLP store, make sure to … [Read more...]
Thoughtful Thursday – Telling older stories.
Hello again, Stefanie here with a challenge to tell older stories. I am the oldest of a batch of cousins and I know that I remember stuff that none of the rest of them do. It's important to tell these older stories, to capture them and get them down in writing. If you don't tell your stories and memories who else will?Mrs Reinhardt by Iowan, tells the story of her childhood and a caregiver that loved her and that she loved. There are some awesome insights into Carol's life, her childhood and what mattered to her growing up. I loved reading all about and know that it is these kinds of memories that our children and grandchildren will treasure. Because they will also find us in our stories.I was inspired by Carol's layout and decided to reminisce about my Granny Rose. I found an old photo from the 1970's and added that into the layout. These kinds of memories are really … [Read more...]
SOSN: Same but Different!
Woo hoo! It’s Wednesday again! If you are relatively new to The Lilypad or digital scrapbooking, SOSN is a phrase you need to know.Every Wednesday the designers hand pick a bunch of their digiscrapping goodies and put them on sale for half price! It’s a great way to build or grow your stash with everything from full kits to separate element and paper packs, alphas, templates and anything you could want on offer for a limited time. The Wednesday TLP newsletter is always worth a look to see what’s included in this weeks bargains. (If you aren’t already subscribed to get the newsletter, sign up here). Today’s Something Old, Something New store product category is here for you to check out. (If you are viewing this post on a different day, the link may not work, but each Wednesday, look for the 50% off Specials category!)One of the other things about SOSN is it reminds me of kits … [Read more...]
Cute Kitties and Playful Pups: Pet-Themed Layouts
Hello Friends,My dog Lucas died recently, and if you’ve ever lost a beloved pet, you will know what I mean when I say that I am heartbroken.One of the things that comforts me? Going through 13.5 years of photos, from his puppyhood to his elder years. And another thing that comforts me? Realizing that I have quite a few scrapbook layouts featuring my playful pup.These are mostly everyday, ‘life’s little moments’ layouts, often with little more than a date and a couple of lines of journaling to accompany a cute photo. But those dates and those few lines of journaling are now such a treasure: a running commentary on his life as it was lived, and a future gift to his memory/commemoration.In the next few months, I plan to do an album, with some previously-scrapped layouts, along with a few new ones. And I also plan to treat myself to one or two new pet-themed kits, to … [Read more...]
Chocolate Gifts for Valentine
My loved ones deserve a little gift for Valentine's Day. Now I love crafting and they love chocolate. So I created giftbags and filled them with their favorite chocolate bars. I had so much fun with this hybrid project that I want to show you how I made these chocolate gifts for Valentine's Day. These giftbags are easy to make. All it takes is a bit of fussy cutting, gluing and lots of love.There are so many beautiful love themed products in the Lilypad Store right now it was hard to choose just one. In the end I decided to use Floral Steampunk Hearts Printable Papers No2 by A Whimsical Adventure and Lovey Dovey Bits and Lovey Dovey Paper Pack by Gina Miller. These kits are some of the new releases this Froggy Friday, so go check out the store.It might seem like an unusual combination, but the somewhat softened colors of the Lovey Dovey designs go really well with the … [Read more...]
Thoughtful Thursday : Eye catching titles
Hello again, Polly StefanieS here with some awesome layouts I found in the Pollywog gallery that feature some great looking titles. I have to say that not all layouts I create get titles, but I can fully appreciate a layout that has a title that grabs your attention and makes you click through to see what it's all about.As you drive on the roads, you might see a sign advertising a local newspaper, and it's the headline/title that gets you interested. I can't be the only one that judges a book by it's title?This one by tkradtke is a clean and simple one. She uses a wordart [Let the magic begin] which really sets the scene with the photo to tell you it's a Disney story that's unveiling.These wooden letters with shadowing that lifts them high off of the page, really packs a punch and you want to read the details on the paper strips.Euchre Party by Karen features … [Read more...]
Template Tuesday – the LOVE edition
Hello there, Stefanie here with some gorgeous love and heart filled templates to inspire you for the upcoming holiday.One thing I love about templates is that you can use them as intended - to document your Valentine's Day, but you can also get creative and go off script and document other stuff. I want to highlight some LOVE-ly templates that we have in store and what our Pollys and creative team members have created with them. Images will be linked to the store and galleries.Kayla (keepscrappin) created a wedding layout using one of Designed by Soco's Templates.and I made a layout about little everyday joys from February.This time I created a layout featuring two photos, one from when hubby and I were dating and then a second at our oldest's wedding.garrynkim created a stunning layout about a young man in her life, what a cutie!A layout I created … [Read more...]
Beginners Mixed Media: Getting Artsy with Photo Masks
For some of us, there is nothing more nerve-wracking than attempting a scrapping style out of your comfort zone or more daunting than a blank canvas with infinite possibilities.(OK, yes, I’m talking about me personally but I’m sure this applies to others as well!)So in this blog series, I’m attempting to make Mixed Media less daunting by giving you (and me) some jumping off points. Where to begin with digi – mixed media scrapping? Right here for Mixed Media Beginners! I'm getting back to being creative after a few months break for renovations. Jumping back in after a break can feel daunting, especially into a style you're still feeling new to but this is where the designers skill can really help out!Last year in this blog series, I tried a bunch of different methods to get a mixed media look but my favourite has always been using paint, and so today I'm planning to … [Read more...]
Loving the New BYOC!
Well hello there, Pad Scrappers!Polly Liana here, super psyched to introduce you to the newest BYOC for February. What’s BYOC, you ask? Great question! BYOC stands for Build Your Own Collection. Every month on the first Friday (actually, the night before, because we can’t wait!) we release a collection of products created by our fab designers, using the same color palette. It’s so great, because you can pick and choose what you want from the collection but everything will coordinate. Awesome, right? Let’s take a look at what’s coming for February (hint, it's full of LOVE)… First off, vibrant papers:. . . . . . . . . . Diverse elements and kits:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helpful templates:. . . . . . . Clever word art and alphas:. . . And for all you pocket scrappers, lovely journal … [Read more...]
Thoughtful Thursday : So many words
Hello everyone. One of the very best things about scrapbooking to me is the pairing of photos and words. I know that some people struggle to write on their pages. I imagine that I am speaking over someone's shoulder about the photos they're looking at and then write down what I would have said. I find that when the kids look through the old albums, they linger over the stories. Also I use the opportunity to tell things from my perspective. I have perused the Pollywog gallery and want to highlight some word-rich layouts to inspire you. First up is ArmyGrl, She used the same photo twice, once as her background, making it black and white with a beautiful dreamy feeling, and then in colour as a detail shot. Then she layered some vellum to house her journaling. Adding a layer like this helps make the writing more legible. To add another pop of dimension and interest she added … [Read more...]