P52 Friday - Week #17

Happy P52 Friday - hope your project is coming along nicely.

Emily (my 19 month old daughter) looks at the scrapbook with our first 12 weeks in it EVERYDAY (she comes and asks for it, I don't make her hahaa!). I can't believe how much she enjoys looking at the pictures and talking about it - it keeps me so inspired to keep working on it each week. I can't say enough about how happy I am with my prints from Persnickity Prints - I can tell I'll be going back to them again and again for my other projects!

Well, it's Week #17 and that means there are still 35 weeks left this year - and I'm not too sure if I have 35 great ideas to share! So I've decided to make this P52 Friday post an "every-other-Friday" affair. You are all doing such a great job posting your pages and keeping each other inspired with tips and links on at the Facebook Support Group, I think it will work just great having a post every other week instead. Scrap Kat does a delightful "Thoughtful Thursday" post almost every week at the "Albums to Remember" blog that could give you an extra boost along the way too : D

To start I wanted to make sure to highlight the fact that this past week over 21 NEW PRODUCTS arrived in the Albums to Remember store including new page builders (some sports themed ones and special ones using the new .svg shapes from Barb's Facebook Fan Freebie) and the long awaited Easter kit and Zoo kit!

Last weekend Emily & I had a sleep-over with her little second cousin and her Mom. I got so many sweet photos of the girls together, I could barely scrap my P52 because I just wanted to do pictures of them! The first two LOs are my P52 spread for this week using a fan freebie from "Just Jamie" and "Miss Em's Bon Bons" (named after MY Emily!!) by Meredith Cardall and the LOs are with Jady Day kits.

 

 

But, I digress. 

Here's a couple links to fun ideas you might want to try in the coming weeks!

I saw this fun blog post on using rainbows in your layouts. Since so many cute spring/rain kits are popping up everywhere, you're likely to find a rainbow embelly in one of your purchases soon!

Are you stuck for layout ideas? Check out this whole forum of sketches where you can select how many photos you have and if you are doing a 1 or 2 page layout and then go through their collection of sketches to get some inspiration for your layout! For a quick lift, I just drag the image to my desktop, convert to a jpeg and then drag it on to my MMS page and make it fill the 12x12 and then I can arrange the photo boxes and shapes over top to match (rather than looking back and forth and back and forth between the original and my scrap lift!). 

Need a speed-scrap/recipe scrap to get you going? Trixie Scraps had a cute one on her blog this week!

How about a free quick-page to keep you on track? Scroll through Connie Prince's blog for oodles of cute freebies!

Alright gals, that's it for me! See you in TWO WEEKS!!! : D

P52 Friday - Week #15 - Poems, Quotes and More!

Happy Friday! Hope you all had a great Easter weekend last week - hard to believe it's the weekend again already, seems like we just chowed down on a giant turkey feast yesterday!

My page this week is in progress still, will add it here when I am done!

***

Unfortunately, the MMS store has been down for quite some time and although shoppers can now shop, designers are frozen on the other side and not able to upload new product right now. So hang on to those Easter pics because Barb at Albums to Remember has a lovely kit that will release as soon as MMS can get back on it's techno-feet. If you missed it, she has a couple great freebies at her blog - extra shapes for your MMS software and a cool soccer ball .png embelly!

***

My tip for this week is one to help you when you can't think of what to journal or your page has an empty spot that screams "I NEED TEXT!" - why not use a poem, quote or silly fact?

Here's a blog that lists the Top 10 Poetry sites on the web. I have a feeling you might have to put up with some pop-up ads, but they might be worth checking out! You can also visit sites like www.PoemHunter.com, www.Poetry.com - or just Google what you need, ex: "funny baby poem" and see where the fates of technology take you! Poems and quotes always help me in a pinch or when I think someone else has probably said this better than I could : D

P52 Friday - Week #13

Happy Lucky P52 Friday the (Week) 13th!!!I'm hoping today is my lucky day, I ordered a huge load of 12x12s from Persnickety and they should be in any day now... : D

Here's my LO for the week, still a bit of a work in progress. I used Albums to Remember and Connie Prince's "Teen Girl" Collab for this one. The second page is from the template set which should release soon!

In case you missed it, I had a tutorial this week on making a patchwork-style page using MMS (and an added bonus step if you have PSE or something like that). Here's how that page is going...

Other big news this week is Barb's freebies over at the Albums to Remember Facebook page - MORE SHAPES for your MMS program. This has me so stinkin' excited!!! Here's one of the pages I've been working on with those... The kit is "Oh the Places" from Connie Prince and is PERFECT for my little read-a-holic toddler.

I don't know if I have any other words of wisdom for you this week - I can't be original THAT often!! : D I am enjoying seeing all your pages and using our group to keep other on track and inspired! I couldn't do it without you all!!!

And, as always...

If you are trying to do one layout a week, do it!

If you are trying to do two layouts a week, do it!

If you are doing a layout a month, make sure you've taken your weekly photo(s)! And it's probably time to start cooking up that March 2012 LO!!

If you are doing a layout per year, make sure you've taken your weekly photo!  

MMS Tutorial - Making a Patchwork Collage

Here's a quick tutorial on making a patchwork collage in MMS - once you get going, there is potential here for an endless combination of sizes/shapes/colors!!

Make a first layer of different sized photo boxes, keeping an even space between them. 

 Add white shapes (or you could do black background/black shapes, whatever you want) over top of the photo boxes (ie. here I used circles). 

 Now make smaller photo boxes inside those shapes, using the shapes for borders at the same thickness as your spacing between the first back layer of photo boxes. ** I accidentally did this the hard way. A fast route is to just add a thick white matte to all your photo boxes!**

Now drag and drop papers from your resource bar in to the photo boxes, zoom how you want them and VOILA!!!!!!! 

 

If you use MMS and PSE or something like that, you could bring your page in to PSE as a jpeg, layer to background and magic wand the white away and save as a .png and the space in between all the patchwork pieces will be transparent!! If you are going to do this, your neutral color needs to be something found no where on the page, if you just do white it will delete ALL the white connected to the spacing white and that's no good : P Below is a photo of what it looks like after I've turned it in to a .png, re-imported to MMS and added shadows and embellies:

P52 Friday - Week #12 - Try something new!

Happy Friday once again! Can you believe it's Week #12?!?! I nearly forgot it was Friday today -  I was done my layouts early this week so Friday had already come and gone in my mind. Here's my layout for the week, it features mostly products from Designs by Connie Prince's "P2012 March" kit and add-ons.

There have been some big, exciting releases in the store this week! The much anticipated "Teen Girl" collab (see photo on the left) from Albums to Remember and Connie Prince is OUT (under the "Designer Allstar Alliance" if you are looking for it by designer)!!! : D And it's so fun. Perfect for any age of girl but especially those teen ones. I think I will use it for my P52 this coming week! Don't forget about the word art!


This week I wanted to offer a few ideas to inspire you! Sometimes when I'm stuck, I decide to try something new or scraplift a page I've seen that I like. This week I posted two tutorials, one on how to make an envelope that looks like it's contents are spilling out over the page and one on creating the star-burst effect like on the right-hand page of my P52 layout this week. Once upon a time awhile ago, we did a scraplifting series and there might be some tips and tricks in there that you haven't seen before either! Looking through galleries at places like Digishoptalk, Digiscrapaddicts and other store galleries can be a great way to find new ideas so you don't get stuck in a rut.

Hope you've had a great Week #12 - I look forward to seeing all your pages!!

It looks like there was no Week #11 for MMS so I can't link you to their word/blog this week.


And, as always...

If you are trying to do one layout a week, do it!

If you are trying to do two layouts a week, do it!

If you are doing a layout a month, make sure you've taken your weekly photo(s)!

If you are doing a layout per year, make sure you've taken your weekly photo!  

MMS Reverse Tutorial - The Star-Burst Effect!

 

MMS Tutorial - How to Make an Over-flowing Envelope!

Lately envelope templates with goodies and photos spilling out of them have been lighting up the digiscrap galleries everywhere and left me wondering "How could I do that effect in MMS?". Then I realized I could duplicate the effect using shapes! Here's a brief tutorial : ) I made this in a hurry with a screaming toddler on my lap so if you were to take your time, things will line up a little neater than than my example at the end.

Add square/rectangle. I did 6x4 for size settings (to change settings, click the "Edit" button on your right-hand shape tool bar)

Add a triangle (not a right triangle!!). I did 4x3.

Same thing here!

More triangle... I did 6x2.7 so it would over lap a little.

From here, you can group the whole thing and make it as big or small as you want and even change the rotation. Then ungroup it and re-group the sections as shown below to make your life easier when you go to "stuff" the envelope. You can also add a small shadow to help define the pieces. I would keep my x: 0 y: 0 and not too much blur for shadow settings.

Fill with papers/color and then group the back two pieces together.

Group the front three sections together.

Now add frames, embellies, alphabets - the sky's the limit!!!!

P52 Friday - Week #11 - Highlights to Help

Hello everyone! P52 Friday time! I've sure been enjoying all your pages this week - good for you for staying on track as best you can! : D


Here's one of my layouts for this week, the other is in progress!

This page features mostly products from Meredith Cardall Designs and Lyndsay Riches new collab, "Hello Spring!" just out this week. It always uses a Page Builder.

Did you see the MMS Blog Challenge this week? It's a Page Builder Challenge!! I bet lots of you qualify already - make sure to check it out for your chance to win!

If you haven't been in to the shop this week, there are some really fun new Page Builders to help you with any project - including your P52! This week Barb released a set that has really funky frames that make it look like your matted photo has the corners lifted slightly off the page - gives it that "scattered photos on a real-life page" look. There are also some new template sets! Worth popping by for a look - remember, you get a great deal when you by the Page Builder sets in a bundle : ) There's also a great St. Patty's Day kit, GREEN BLISS!

If you are following the MMS P52 plan, last week's (Week 10) word was "Demonstrate". And they have a great coupon code this weekend - use the PROMO CODE: MMSgreen5 (case sensitive) to save $5.00 on your next $10.00 purchase in the shop!

This week I just wanted to remind you of some ideas from past posts. I know not everyone was here right from the start and sometimes we read a post one week and think "that is not helpful right now" but it would be really helpful for where you are at this week! So here's a couple of "Highlights to Help"...

From Week #4 - Ideas for when you have no ideas or perhaps no photos:

How about...

- a typical day or a typical week: what's the usual routine? is there a routine? what does an average week at your home look like? you may think these things are mundane and that you'll never forget them because they are so simple but it's amazing what we DON'T remember if we don't take time to jot it down.
- this week in the news: what's big news these days? which celebrity broke up with who? which abandoned house on 89th street burnt down? who's sports team won what? etc...
 - interview a family member or pet: this is one of my favorites, especially for small children and pets. Imagine or actually find out their answers to regular and silly questions like how they are voting in the election (this would be great for a pet hahaa) or which super power they want! (here are some examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
- our favorite shows: make a page highlighting the must-watch shows at your house. Who like what and why? What are you totally addicted to? Which show did you swear you'd never watch again but did (cough The Bachelor cough)?
- our top five/ten foods OR what's for dinner?: talk about/photograph a favorite family dish or recipe and why you like it or what important occasions it is always served at.
- bucket list: a friend of mine has a "30 before 30" list of things she wants to do before turning 30. What's on your bucket list? Or your 50 before 50 (or 5 before 50)? Go all "Oprah" and make your own "Dream Board" for yourself - where do you want to be 10 years from now? What are your goals? (here are some examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
- Dear __________: write a letter to someone. It could be your children in the future, a deceased relative you wish you could sit down for coffee with, God, a famous person (dead or alive), or even your future self... What would you write?


From Week #5 - How to Catch-up with a Collage!

From Week #2 - On Improving your Scrap Skills - Check out Barb's blog on shadowing! This is the #1 best way to make your pages look better!


And, as always...

If you are trying to do one layout a week, do it!

If you are trying to do two layouts a week, do it!

If you are doing a layout a month, make sure you've taken your weekly photo(s)!

If you are doing a layout per year, make sure you've taken your weekly photo! 

P52 Friday - Week #10 - "Quick Page" Your Way to Freedom!

Well, we're back home this week after a great little mom-and-dad-only trip to AZ without Emily! My mom came up and watched her and off we went. It was the perfect amount of time, by the end I was good and ready to get back to my little baby. She was a total trooper and did just fine without us - but she was very excited when we got home! I've got a lot of "huk"s and "keez"es this week to make up for lost time. 

In "new release" news, in case you haven't heard, there are a bunch of Page Builders out and Barb has a fun little "Marathon" kit  for you crazy nuts who would rather run than do the more natural and relaxing activity I like to call walking. What's the rush, folks?!?! Kidding : D

My Week #9 layouts - features "Teen Boy" by Albums to Remember and Connie Prince

 My Week #10 - features "What Friends Are For" by Meredith Cardall

 My tip for this week is just a reminder of one of the BEST ways to catch-up quickly - faster than templates or Page Builders - but you have to be willing to give up creative control. This is, of course, QUICK PAGES! Add photos, add journalling, DONE. 

I say it's a small price to pay to get caught up if you are really behind OR, in my case here, to supplement your P52 Album with some different pages. Every few weeks I am adding in a double spread that highlights something more specific about myself or something that has happened. 

In this case, I have used to gorgeous FREE quick pages that I got from Jady Day Studio's blog. Her CT makes absolutely stunning QPs and PreDecorated papers! Below is an example of some supplement pages for Jan/Feb that I did. Guess how long they took? However long it takes to import 3 photos and do a little typing. Like, 10 minutes. And then I can pass them off as mine! LOL!

And don't let anyone tell you this is "cheating" - that's the craziest thing I've ever heard! You still made all your other pages!! No one says "it's cheating" if you use Stove Top Stuffing while making the rest of turkey dinner from scratch (unless you have a really mean mother-in-law or something) : D And using Page Builders is like buying the turkey instead of raising your own - again, no one calls it cheating when you buy your turkey from the store instead of your backyard.

And, as always...

If you are trying to do one layout a week, do it!

If you are trying to do two layouts a week, do it!

If you are doing a layout a month, make sure you've taken your weekly photo(s) and done your February spread.

If you are doing a layout per year, make sure you've taken your weekly photo! 

P52 Friday - Week #8 - Inspiring Links

This week my spread features mostly products from Meredith Cardall's new release, "A Wise Old Owl".

In release news, the TEEN BOY Collab by Albums to Remember and Connie Prince is out. It is SO good.... And I don't even have a boy! The kit is jam packed with great word bits, a cool chain-link fence, ink splotches, stars, scribbles, techno-gadgets - everything you need for those older boy pages. These kind of kits are in short supply, this is a must have for the men in your life.

While we're at it, don't forget, there is also a Page Builder set hiding in the "Designer AllStar Alliance" part of the store! And I have it from a good source that more page builder sets will be releasing in the Albums to Remember store very soon too!





Okay! On to our P52 Friday post. I just wanted to share a couple fun/inspiring links with you this week and I hope that helps you on your way or sparks a new idea for you if you feel like you don't have anything this week : )

#1 - We've talked in the past about "Scrap Therapy" and I saw this article this week and like what she had to say! It has some cute examples of different ways that scrapping can help us process our weeks. This page had a huge list of excellent resources for helping you scrap hard times or hard memories. My personal favorite was a list of one-liners about dysfuntional families including: "Your know you come from a dysfunctional family if your vacations are planned through AA instead of AAA."

#2 - This lady did a Project 52 with 52 goals for herself - why not consider doing a Life Project 12 or something with 10-12 goals for yourself for the year that you could track occasionally with a layout. Some of the goals are little - like "organize my pantry" and some are more long term - like "floss daily".... I really liked her #23: Sing in public. What a fun goal! I have one adult voice student this year and I am so proud of her for being brave and taking the plunge to try out singing lessons later in life. Our lessons are such a blast : )

#3 - Scrapbooking for your children or about your own childhood? Check out this basic list of things that you might want to remember to record. This page had a few ideas too. I like where she writes: "What happens if there's a childhood memory that you really want to scrap, but you can't find any photos to document it? You shouldn't give up. Instead, it's time to get creative! See if you can somehow take a picture that represents the event or memory. For instance, if you remember having a special bear that you took with you everywhere, take a picture of your child's favorite bear and journal about how it reminds you of your own."


Okay, that's it for me this week! I just want to say how much I am enjoying this group and all the love and support I see each person giving to others in the group.  : D

If you are doing the MMS P52 series, their work from Week #7 was "CAPTIVATE".

And, as always...

If you are trying to do one layout a week, do it!

If you are trying to do two layouts a week, do it!

If you are doing a layout a month, make sure you've taken your weekly photo(s).

If you are doing a layout per year, make sure you've taken your weekly photo!